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The History of Bees
The History of Bees: A Novel | Maja Lunde
119 posts | 95 read | 3 reading | 144 to read
In the spirit of Station Eleven and Never Let Me Go, this dazzling and ambitious literary debut follows three generations of beekeepers from the past, present, and future, weaving a spellbinding story of their relationship to the beesand to their children and one anotheragainst the backdrop of an urgent, global crisis. England, 1852. William is a biologist and seed merchant, who sets out to build a new type of beehiveone that will give both him and his children honor and fame. United States, 2007. George is a beekeeper fighting an uphill battle against modern farming, but hopes that his son can be their salvation. China, 2098. Tao hand paints pollen onto the fruit trees now that the bees have long since disappeared. When Taos young son is taken away by the authorities after a tragic accident, she sets out on a grueling journey to find out what happened to him. Haunting, illuminating, and deftly written, The History of Bees joins these three very different narratives into one gripping and thought-provoking story that is just as much about the powerful bond between children and parents as it is about our very relationship to nature and humanity.
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Rachiiebookdragon
Mehso-so

This book was ok.. I may re-read the e book at some point.

Read for reading challenges.

3.5/5

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mirnas
History of Bees | Maja Lunde
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Pickpick

Excellent novel! Raising environmental awarness is only one of its fortes.

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natashalb
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Pickpick

Follows three storylines, eventually interwoven - from Natural Scientist William in England 1851, Beekeeper George in USA 2007 and Tao in a dystopian China of 2098 where bees have died out and tells of relationships between parents and children and humans and nature.

6 likes1 stack add
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Fang88
History of Bees | Maja Lunde
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Alright everyone, I'm back after not posting anything on Litsy for two years! Let's start up some sparking conversations about interesting books and share challenging insights. Let's talk about love, adventures, fears and the ability to imagine a new future...

TheKidUpstairs Welcome back! 3y
AmyG Welcome back!!! 3y
Fang88 @AmyG thank you! 3y
See All 13 Comments
Fang88 @TheKidUpstairs thank you! 3y
DrexEdit Welcome back! 😀 3y
Fang88 @DrexEdit thank you! 3y
Ruthiella Welcome back! 😃 3y
quietlycuriouskate Welcome back! 3y
JessClark78 Welcome back! 3y
Fang88 @JessClark78 thank you! 3y
bthegood Welcome back! 3y
BookmarkTavern Welcome back! Sweet looking kitties! 3y
rabbitprincess 😻😻 Welcome back! 3y
58 likes13 comments
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Texreader
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This is crazy! Bees are like little miracles! I‘m still fixated by bees after reading the tagged book and now this...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9616351/Two-honeybees-work-lift-bottle-...

mavey Ooh! This is incredible! Have you read Lunde's End Of The Ocean?💗 3y
Texreader @Mavey I know, right!? I haven‘t read it yet but I do have it in my ebook library. Bought it when it went on sale. 3y
mavey @Texreader I too have in my stack! Do share your thoughts on it when you've finished reading it! 3y
53 likes3 comments
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Texreader
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I‘m still thinking about the tagged book. I wish it had gone more into details about a bee‘s life.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/i-asked-leading-entomologists-what-s-the-smar...

Tamra Thank you - I didn‘t know about the bee dance! 🐝 3y
51 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Texreader
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This is heartbreaking enough but having just read the tagged dystopia about what happens to the world if all the bees died off, it makes this even worse!

https://apple.news/AbNDvc2DjTqCbUUIYR37gqQ

Ruthiella 🥺 🐝 3y
dylanisreading Wtf. That's awful. 3y
TEArificbooks That is terrible. And all those farmers will be have devastated fields. And we will have more shortages. 3y
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wanderinglynn Okay, maybe the packaging was faulty, but why were the boxes left on a truck for a week? Sounds like UPS is trying to shift blame. Serious fail. Poor bees. 3y
Amiable Wow! I used to live in the town next to Shrewsbury—I know exactly where that UPS facility is. That‘s completely unacceptable. 😡 3y
marleed This is heartbreaking :( 3y
Texreader @wanderinglynn @ruthiella @bianca @mdm139 @bookwormjillk @amiable @marleed I‘m with @wanderinglynn on this one. Those bees would have lived a few days in packaging but why were they left so long in the facility? I‘ve had a lot of delays from FedEx just sitting on shipments where they were dropped off that I‘m not surprised that ups did this. But it‘s still despicable 3y
47 likes8 comments
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Texreader
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Pickpick

A good book with 3 story lines in 3 countries in 3 eras with sympathetic as well as maddening characters describing a human catastrophe following the collapse of life-giving bee colonies. Some parts of the 3 stories felt inappropriate for the novel and only when the book focused on bees did it finally work well & I loved this part. Sadly the book ended with a lecture I didn‘t like or appreciate. #foodandlit by a Norwegian author. #Norway

AnneCecilie This book had been turned into a theater production. All the 3 storylines are on the scene at the same time. I saw it in September. 3y
Texreader @AnneCecilie Wow! That would be interesting. I‘m glad she wrote this book, a story that needed telling. I ❤️ 🐝 3y
58 likes2 comments
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TEArificbooks
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Pickpick

Finally finished the book I kept losing. Humans definitely need to do more to save the bees. I read this for #foodandlit since it has a Norwegian author. This book will go in the permanent collection. @Texreader @Butterfinger

Butterfinger Wow. Powerful review. 3y
Jess861 I'm always looking for books that have anything to do with bees (fiction or non-fiction). Definitely going to have to get this book! 3y
48 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Pia_hb
Binas historia | Maja Lunde
Pickpick

4 historier som vävs ihop i en av vår tids ödesfrågor.

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TEArificbooks
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Made Norwegian waffles for #foodandlit @Texreader @Butterfinger for Norway month. Best waffles I have ever had. Served with whipped cream and lingonberry jam. Took me a week to finally make them because people kept using my ingredients! And I lost the book again. Yesterday it was in my purse all day! It is like it is a book that doesn‘t want to be read and waffles that didn‘t want to be made. But once the stars aligned it was a great combination.

Texreader Aren‘t they the yummiest?? So glad you got to make them and you found your book...again! That‘s just so darned funny!! It has a life of its own. 4y
LoverOfLearning 😂😂 glad you finally got everything in order to enjoy your book and waffles! 4y
Butterfinger They look so good and I loved reading your post. 4y
43 likes3 comments
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Texreader
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Lots of progress audiocrafting to the tagged book!

Tattooedteacher Gorgeous! 4y
61 likes1 comment
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Texreader
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I‘ve chosen the tagged book off my tbr for my next audiobook. It‘s by a Norwegian author so satisfies #foodandlit #Norway and part is set in #China so it also works for #readingasia2021.

TEArificbooks I am reading this one too for #foodandlit 4y
Bookwormjillk Perfect! 4y
Librarybelle Sounds interesting! 4y
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Texreader @mdm139 Very cool! I don‘t get much listening time during the week so I‘m sure to fall behind you soon 4y
TEArificbooks @Texreader well I fell asleep reading the other night and lost the book. I looked throw all the bedding and pillows and nothing! I looked for a couple days. Turns out my hubby found the book and put it on his one bookshelf he has on his side of the bed in corner I can‘t see. Told him never do that again! Put it on my bookshelf on my side of the bed! 4y
Texreader @mdm139 That‘s hilarious!!! I would have thought I was losing my mind! 😂😂😂 4y
TEArificbooks @Texreader I totally thought I was losing my mind! I kept walking myself through it. Where was the last place I saw it? In my bed! I looked all over the house. I even told my boys I‘d pay $5 to which ever one of you finds it and sent them out on a search party looking! I was getting generally worried I need an MRI how could I lose a book! A book I know I fell a sleep reading. 4y
59 likes7 comments
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TEArificbooks
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Book mail is the best mail. I definitely have a thing for books with bees in the title 🐝 especially in the spring.

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rockpools
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Pickpick

This would be an incredible bookclub read. Although I didn‘t love it (all three mcs are pretty unlikeable), I liked the families, I enjoyed the storylines, I thought it was a well-crafted novel, I think it‘ll stick with me, and I‘ve come away knowing a lot more about Colony Collapse Disorder than I went in with! (Knowing more is a good thing!)

rockpools Strangely the 2098 dystopian China thread was the one I most engaged with (it is 2020 😕). And I‘d love to read Charlotte‘s story in Charlotte‘s voice.

A resounding pick, though quite a strange one for me. Thank you for sending me this Helen @squirrelbrain
4y
rockpools This is my #bookspin for December @thearomaofbooks 😊. Also 11/12 for #crushtherush @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick 🎉 And sneaking a final one in for #readingeurope #finland - an appalling showing this year, but ho hum @barbarabb @Librarybelle 4y
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 4y
See All 9 Comments
squirrelbrain It sounds rather ‘different‘ but I shall get to it one day....! 4y
rockpools @squirrelbrain It is really good - but it‘s so many genres at once it‘s a little disconcerting. Lots of 🐝 and 🐝 facts though 😊 4y
squirrelbrain I do love 🐝 so I‘m sure I‘ll enjoy it too! 4y
Librarybelle Great job! I really failed on the Europe challenge, but I figure I have an expanded tbr list from everyone‘s posts that I can happily visit in the coming years. 4y
Fang88 I felt the same about the main characters being unlikable, but that just kind of made it more challenging in a good way. I strongly believe that the main source of empathy is reading, and this book made me be a bit more open to closed minded people, if that makes any sense? 3y
rockpools @Fang88 Welcome back! Yes, that does make sense. Being open to closed-minded people is one of the hardest things - but without it, we‘re all a bit stuck, nothing can ever move on. Love your thoughts on this one. 3y
61 likes1 stack add9 comments
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rockpools
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Started this lovely yesterday - my #bookspin for December, and a gift from Helen @squirrelbrain a little while back (I‘m not good at reading books right away).

Three storylines. The futuristic China after The Collapse is holding me strongest right now. The fact that something so major could happen that our way of life changes forever just feels par the course now 😕

After this, I‘m going full-on fluff!

IuliaC I liked this one very much 4y
squirrelbrain I have this on my Kindle TBR...one day.... 😁 And I‘m the same as you - I either read a new book straight away or it languishes for a looong time! 4y
rockpools @IuliaC I‘m enjoying it! And wanting to Google lots of bee-related information 🐝, to see how much of it is fact - I‘m guessing lots! 4y
rockpools @squirrelbrain Soooo accurate! I‘m going to try and do better this year. Maybe! 4y
IuliaC @rockpools did the same here, I only knew bee pollination was vital to life on Earth, but was not really aware to what extent bees are actually threatened by extinction nowadays 😊 it's still not clear whether bee drones will be able to fully substitute real bees in the near future 4y
55 likes3 stack adds5 comments
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thewallflower0707
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I enjoyed reading this, although it waited for 11 months on my bookshelf. I am not sure though if I want to read the sequel. It was good, but not awe inspiring.
🐝🐝🐝

#readingtime #summer #tgif #thehistoryofbees

14 likes1 stack add
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TEArificbooks
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Got my #buzzword stack for the #buzzwordreadathon. I chose the word “bee” because that is a book club prompt too. I also have a few books downloaded. @Clwojick @hes7

Clwojick Ohhhh! I have Bee Larkin on my shelf, but haven‘t read it yet! I can‘t wait to see what you think of it. 4y
hes7 Ooh, looks like a good stack! 4y
36 likes2 comments
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Saari84
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Mehso-so

Also..
Ich war wahrlich nicht so begeistert wie die Mehrheit der Leser, dafür sind mir die Männer in diesem Buch zu sehr auf die Nerven gegangen. Generell war es eher eine Geschichte der Menschen, statt der Bienen...
Kann man lesen, muss man aber nicht!

Buechersuechtling Jaaaaaaaaa. Danke für deinen Post‼️? Bei mir war es genauso‼️ Diese kommunikationsgehemmten Männer‼️ Mann ey … ? 5y
Saari84 @Buechersuechtling ja und nur am rumjammern...und immer dieses auf die Söhne einschießen 🙄 ich weiß nicht... 5y
4 likes2 comments
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Saari84
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Schon lange stand das Buch auf meiner Wunschliste und dann fand ich es eines Tages im Bücherschrank 😍
Habt ihr es bereits gelesen?
Ich bin gespannt, ob es mich auch so begeistern kann wie die Mehrheit!
Habt einen feinen Sonntag!

Buechersuechtling Cool‼️ Glückwunsch zu deinem Fund‼️ Ich hab es letztes Jahr im Sommer während einer fiesen Mandelentzündung gehört; die hatte nichts mit meinem Urteil zu tun, das Buch hat mich gut unterhalten. Ernstes Thema, durchaus gut erdacht/erzählt, aber ich glaube, mich erinnern zu können, dass ich mit den Männern im Buch Probleme hatte … Insgesamt konnte es für mich die durch den Hype geweckten Erwartungen nicht erfüllen. 5y
Saari84 @Buechersuechtling bei mir ist es leider oft so, dass diese gehypten Bücher bei mir nicht ankommen 😅🙈 Ich bin noch nicht weit, aber bisher gefällt es mir gut. Hast du denn auch ihre anderen Bücher gelesen? 5y
4 likes2 comments
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IuliaC
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This book has definitely helped me decide to actually sign the petition to reduce the use of synthetic pesticides for the conservation of biodiversity 🐝🐝🐝

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AnneCecilie
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Thanks for the tag @batsy

#7days7covers #CoverCrush

For seven days I will post a favorite cover with no explanation.

Do you want to join @Siri_reads

Siri_reads Det omslaget er både nydelig og trist. 5y
batsy Nice! 🐝 Thank you for joining in! 5y
AnneCecilie @Siri_reads ja, det er noe spesielt med den forsiden som bare griper en. Jeg visste at jeg skulle ha den boka uten å vite hva den handlet om, bare på grunn av forsiden. 5y
64 likes3 comments
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frozenyogurt
Pickpick

Fakten auf eine menschliche Weise rübergebracht, gut zu lesen, wenn man romane mag.

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Buechersuechtling
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Mehso-so

I fell ill last night so I spend many hours with this audiobook today. Yes, it is an important topic and if I didn‘t already have shivering attacks I certainly would have gotten them while listening.

But I‘m glad I only borrowed it instead of buying because the stories that connected the history of the bees often didn‘t persuade me. Strange males not communicating properly are used as a means to create a family story. Didn‘t work for me.

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Buechersuechtling
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I‘m about half through with this. Have to say that up to now I can‘t understand where all the hype around this book is coming from.

Concerning one plot line, I definitely could say an hour ago where it will end. And the other two, well, I can‘t relate with Samuel and George very well. For me, they belong to the category “strange fathers”. Samuel is so thin-skinned, he ignores his family completely. And why can‘t George accept Tom‘s interests❓

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Buechersuechtling
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Just started this while having a bite for dinner. I‘m not very far in, 20 minutes maybe, but it already gives me the chills.

Homo homini lupus. *sigh*

thereadingowlvina History of Bees??? 5y
Buechersuechtling @thereadingowlvina Yes, that‘s correct. 5y
Freespirit We can't live without them😟 5y
thereadingowlvina @Buechersuechtling Oh, I loved this book! I read it twice! 😁 5y
16 likes4 comments
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Buechersuechtling
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Well, that‘s just _one_ of the interesting books found by browsing my library‘s catalogue …

i‘ve seen this book yesterday when we made a visit and remembered that, some years ago, there was a buzz around it. So I thought I maybe read it and _that_ rang a bell with regard to my online library‘s catalogue. And as you see, I was right.

I now have 2 books and 2 audiobooks to finish but I couldn‘t resist. Didn‘t want someone else to snatch it away.

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LitDrivenGirl
History of Bees | Maja Lunde
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My day off yesterday I shopped at our "competitor's" shop because sometimes you need to go to the town over to see books you don't see everyday every week ?. I mean I didn't announce that I'm a bookshop owner... I think most book shopping should be accompanied by anonymity and silence... aka leave me alone and don't recognize me as Pete from Pages Aplenty ?. Good time, good finds, and good bargains ?.

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Jeg
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Mehso-so

Finally finished it. I think it was just a bit too long and I had trouble with the switches from one time to another. Book is set in the past, the now , and the future. However I learnt a great deal about bees and how important they are and how if we are not careful we could be in big trouble if their destruction is allowed to go on.
A lot of honey on toast consumed during the reading. @MrsMalaprop

18 likes1 stack add
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tricours
Bienes historie | Maja Lunde
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Pickpick

I liked it, but perhaps not as much as the hype made me believe I would.

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AnneCecilie
Bienes historie | Maja Lunde
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Pickpick

This is not the tagged book, Lundy‘s latest novel is not in the database

This is a advent calendar, naturally taking place before Christmas. We meet Julian and his family. Recently they‘ve experienced a huge loss, Juni, the oldest daughter has died. So the Christmas spirit hasn‘t reached the family, but one day Julian meets Hedvig. And so the story begins

A book about loss, grief and family.

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AnneCecilie
Bienes historie | Maja Lunde
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Not the tagged, but this is Lunde‘s latest book, a Christmas story with illustrations by Lisa Aisato

#RedBooks #SeasonsReadings

Aimeesue Gorgeous! 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful ❤️❤️❤️❤️ 6y
erzascarletbookgasm Love the cover! 😍 6y
43 likes1 stack add3 comments
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xicanti
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Just when I thought all the discounted Halloween stuff was gone, a Scaero showed up in the Safeway clearance cart. Hello, dessert.

I'm on the fence with this book; interested, but maybe not engaged enough to spend 240 more pages with it. It doesn't help that Lunde loooooooves comma splices and I loathe them. Hello, punctuation-induced cringefest.

tjwill 😖 Comma splices! Ugh! 6y
xicanti @tjwill they proved too much for me. Goodbye, book. 6y
50 likes2 comments
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xicanti
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I have INTENSE PLANS for the rest of the evening.

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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
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Panpan

I could barely get through this (I forced myself since it's for the book club I run at work). I just found it dull. I couldn't connect with any characters and the writing felt flat and unemotional. I've felt similarly about other translations; I'm not sure if this is a product of translation itself (the translation is lacking something the original has), or if European fiction has more of a tendency to be written that way in the first place.

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Tamra
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Mehso-so

I‘m not sure why this wasn‘t a great book for me, it has many of the elements that should have made it a pick. Just fell a little flat. The novel revolves around three stories in three different time periods connected by bees, or lack thereof. The moral: be ecology centered, not human centered.

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bels_books
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I started a new “break book.” This book suggestion came from a podcast. It‘s very much out of my comfort zone.

4 likes1 stack add
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teainthelibrary
Pickpick

Definitely not what I was expecting, but interesting in its own right. Lunde weaves together three different narratives all connected through bees - she dissects their families and their relationships, and allows these characters to grow. A slow burn; a little tragic, but beautiful and hopeful all the same.

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thereadingowlvina
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📖 The History of Bees 🐝🐝🐝 - Cli-fi + dystopian = ❤❤❤

👧 Hazel Gaynor - Read two of her books so far and they did not disappoint!

🎥 Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters - A dark & fun movie!

😋 Oh honey! 🍯🍯🍯

Thanks for fun #LetterH #ManicMonday @JoScho !!! 🤗💖

JoScho Fun collage! 6y
31 likes1 comment
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teainthelibrary
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I‘m so stoked to read this! The premise sounds amazing. Can‘t wait to see what it‘s all about ☺️🐝

BooknerdsLife Started this book last month but had to return to library before I could finish it! 😭 6y
17 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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JaneyWaneyB
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Pickpick

This is a beautiful book. The 3 distinct voices all entwine to tell a tale that hits close to home. Maja Lunde has written a masterpiece which really makes you think about the future trajectory of the world if we don't make changes to limit our impact on the world.

I also discovered ReadTracker, what a fab app!

#Savethebees🐝 #TimeForChange #Books📚 #BookNerd🤓 #Bees🐝 #SummerReads🌞😎 #Sunday 🌞

27 likes2 stack adds
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JaneyWaneyB
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Thoroughly enjoying this book. There are 3 distinctive voices which fit with their era but also entwine together to shape this story with bees at the very heart

#SummerReads #books #TooHotNotMovingJustReading #Bees #Booknerd

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Traci1
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Today's book haul 🛍

tammysue 💖 6y
See All 9 Comments
readordierachel This History of Bees sounds really good! 6y
yourfavouritemixtape I‘m interrsted in how you like the Lost Book of the Grail! Have you read any Charlie Lovett before? 6y
Traci1 @thereadingowlvina @Crazeedi I had never heard of either book. They were impulse buys. 😁 Glad to hear good things about them. 6y
Traci1 @yourfavouritemixtape No, I hadn't even heard of him before. But the description pulled me in. I'm really looking forward to reading it. 6y
Crazeedi @yourfavouritemixtape I read this one, it was great. Don't know any other ones😊 6y
yourfavouritemixtape @Crazeedi i have read The Bookman‘s tale and really liked it. Then I read First Impressions and was a bit underwhelmed as it follows almost the exact storyline. 6y
123 likes9 comments
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Lchnessmnstr
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As a amateur beekeeper, I‘m super excited (and a little saddened) by the premise of this book!
I had no idea that hand pollination became a thing in parts of China in the 1980s. 😢

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squirrelbrain
History of Bees | Maja Lunde
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Thanks @RachelO for the gorgeous postcard! You say you‘ve had a ‘bee-thing‘ going on recently....
I try to grow bee-friendly plants in my garden and this year I‘ve had some red mason bees nesting in my bee box. Totally fascinating, there was a section about them on Springwatch recently. You can see where they‘ve plugged up the holes with soil and bee spit once they‘ve laid an egg! There‘s pollen in there ready for when they hatch next spring!

mabell How cool! Love bees! ❤️ 6y
rockpools This is v cool! I've just been reading about bee boxes. Definitely want one one day-at the moment, I've been watching them bumble around the yard. Given it's completely decked with about 8 inches of 'bed'/gap at the end, the last tenants must have been doing something right. And we have borrowed brambles from the other side of the fence which always helps 😊 6y
57 likes2 comments
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Insightsintobooks
History of Bees | Maja Lunde
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Has anyone ever read this? Is it good?

Redwritinghood I bought this already, so I hope so! 6y
38 likes1 comment
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jhod
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Pickpick

Today's beach read - three interweaving tales set across 250 years all linked to beekeeping - though one of them I enjoyed reading about far more than the other two.

Libby1 I just finished this one a couple of weeks ago! Where are you on holiday? Have fun ! 6y
jhod Valencia now - thank you! 💖 6y
101 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Libby1
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Pickpick

I went to a local Bee Festival yesterday where I bought this locally produced honey and decided to read The History of Bees.

The book focuses on three main characters who live in different eras (1852 England, 2007 USA, 2098 China). Each character‘s life is shaped by their relationship with bees.

This is my second bee related dystopia this year, but I liked this one better. I didn‘t love it for reasons that would provide spoilers.

❤️🐝❤️

SqueakyChu This sounds great! 6y
Libby1 @SqueakyChu - I hope you‘ll enjoy it! I finished it a couple of days ago and aspects of the story keep running through my mind. 6y
jhod Yay! I didn't get so much out of the William story as the others. I especially liked George, Emma and Tom 6y
88 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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xicanti
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I put another book in the Little Free Library tonight and took this Norwegian example of dystopian SF marketed as litfic in exchange.

BkClubCare Pretty cover 6y
45 likes3 stack adds1 comment