Welcome to Litsy!

I didn‘t know what to expect with this book, it was a book club pick.

It‘s from the point of view of Flora 717, a sanitation bee in her hive in an orchard. Yes, it‘s from the point of view of a bee, and takes place in a beehive mostly. It‘s fictional, but on googling the bees‘ habits I found a lot of the hive‘s habits and actions are described accurately.

If you can handle strange and you like nature writing, I would recommend this.

I loved this book! It‘s been on my TBR list since 2017…once I started it, I couldn‘t put it down. The writing was beautiful, and the story was unusual and dystopian. I love a good dystopia. The author‘s descriptions of how the bees experienced scents and pheromone signals were incredibly vivid. I understand Laline Paull was on the 2023 Women‘s Prize shortlist. Not surprised, she is a compelling writer. I want to read all her work.

#ReadAway2024 A friend recommended this book and I am grateful. I don‘t know what I expected but the surprise was a pleasure. I loved this book!! Speculative fiction doing what it does best, social commentary from a different perspective. Bravo!👏

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!

#ABookADay2023

Love the design on both the jacket and cover underneath 🐝🐝🐝
#designoncover
#maymontage

This combination dystopian novel and story from the perspective of a bee was an interesting listen.

#audiobook

1. Haven't yet, as I rarely to never read Sci-Fi or Fantasy, which might use alien or mythological creatures' POVs.
2. Haven't read this one yet either, but it's been on my wishlist forever and I feel I might like it a lot. It's told from the POV of a bee. 🐝

@TheSpineView
Wanna play? @hannah-leeloo @Nute @BeeMagical

#Two4Tuesday #summer #summerreading

Saw this walking around my local library and it sounded interesting. 40 pages in and I‘m hooked. #thebees #hardcover #library #savethebees #currentlyreading

Ever since I stepped on a yellow jacket nest when I was a kid, I haven‘t been very fond of wasps or bees! 😬 But when my sweet pen pal @JaneyWaneyB sent this as a gift, I bravely dove it. The dystopian storyline is creepy and very compelling, and I can now say I admire this insect‘s fierce sense of community and the intricacies of how they run a hive. But has this book helped me conquer my fear? Not even close! 😳🐝
#BookSpin
@TheAromaofBooks

It‘s #WondrousWednesday, and I must thank @Blerdgal_Fenix who sent me this sweetest surprise Valentine‘s Day package. I‘m so grateful for Keia and all my #LitsyLove pen pals who keep me smiling with all their happy mail.🤗❤️
My current book, a gift from @JaneyWaneyB , is a pick and a page turner, but I‘m not sure yet if it‘s helping my fear of bees!😬🐝
@Eggs
Anyone else want to play? Dive right in!

#SummerBookmarkSwap great questions for @kaysworld1 @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego thank you @jenniferw88 for sharing this

My answers 😊
Book - Tagged but also The Northern Lights series, Winternight Trilogy
Shows - Supernatural, Line of Duty, Luther
Movies - Marvel (Captain America) Goonies, Bad Boys, Bourne Identity
Singer/Band - The Script, Eurythmics, Metallica, Elton John
Plant/Flower - Sunflower
Animal - Kakariki, Cockatiels

There are a lot to things to be learnt from the day-to-day life presented to us readers. However, I do think this novel would‘ve been better had it of been shorter. It‘s about 100-150 pages too long. By the end, I just wanted to finish it. I felt the story dragged on and I would‘ve liked to have seen this cut down. But, it is fascinating and it is extremely well-written and it‘s a great piece of literary fiction.

Thank you so much for your #LitsyLoveSpringSwap package, @JaneyWaneyB 😍
Can't wait to try all those tasty looking chocolates and I've already started reading The Bees 😊 What a great way to jump into spring!

#LitsyLoveSpringSwap #LLSS

@rsteve388 @Bookgoil

I'm posting one book per day from the ever growing unread stacks in my personal library. No description or explanation, just books I own and plan to read. #tbr

Day 22

it could be cool to read a bee's perspective but kinda felt like facts were just thrown at me. didn't really ever get invested in the narrator enough to care what was going on even though it seemed like a lot was happening

I think this is exactly what my reading life needed. Something a bit different!

This is a fairly typical dystopian story but it's set in a bee hive &it felt fresh to me. We meet Flora 717 on the day of her Awakening &follow her life and the rhythms of the hive over the course of a year. She is born to the lowest caste but like all chosen ones she is smarter, braver, & more gifted than her kin. Making herself useful in many areas of the hive the knowledge she acquires saves many of her fellow bees from a series of disasters.

I thought sure I'd finish this one this evening but that clearly isn't going to happen; the weekend has been too busy. Tomorrow then!

Plans for today. I'm so thankful to have a day off! 😊

4🌟

I may be a tad obsessed w 🐝 After lookin for a pic in my photoroll I realized I take more pics of bugs when on vacay than ppl. 🤷‍♀️

So no surprise I 💛🖤💛🖤the architectural descriptions in hive & the incredible research put into describing daily bee-life.

I might‘ve given 5 ⭐️ but I wasn‘t in the mood for dystopian (& at the end of the day, that‘s what this is). W everything going on, I wasn‘t feelin the guilt-ridden self-flagellation.

Went on an #audiowalk yesterday and came across this dude just chillin' smack dab in the middle of the foot path. I could almost hear him say “UGH. Those pesky humans are coming back into the wild.“

So far this book seems to be like The Handmaid's Tale meets Divergent, but staring bees. Kinda dig it.

Doing some #audiogardening, just started this one!

Flora 717 is the lowest class of bee in her hive society. Loved the personification of these bees and their society. @ShyBookOwl #bookhunt #scavengersaturday

Flora! 🐝 I wasn't sure I'd enjoy this: the premise caught my attention but I'm not a fan of anthropomorphism and these bees certainly have their share of human traits. But the more I read, the more absorbed in the life of the hive I became. What I appreciated most was how it is Flora's devotion to the hive that drives her to break its every law. Whether honeybee or human, she proves to be an extraordinary person.

Don‘t get me wrong I love nature and I love learning about nature but this book was actually making me cross. The fact that the bees in this story had human traits and values was totally distracting and seemed silly to me. Religion, gossiping about other bees that don‘t clean properly, stamping and applauding. Really ? And this was just a start. Others have liked it but I had to bail. I can not learn about bees here. For me it‘s an 🙄 Sorry

6/12 📚 Very interesting book, surprised it held my interest given it‘s a story about bees. Really believable imagining of a bee society, with parallels to religious and authoritarian human societies. But the ending and outcome was predictable. ⭐️ 6/10

This was okay. Better toward the end, but I just couldn‘t get into it the way I do with a really good book. It had a feel a bit like Animal Farm. A metaphor for dictatorship and those who are not supposed to ask questions of their leadership.

My husband actually said he misses those orange and black Halloween taffies 🤢 also in college organic chem we made some banana scent that filled the chemistry corridor with banana odor. It was wholly chemically derived, and the smell matches the taste of these banana taffies! Maybe the bees would enjoy when they‘re starving through the onset of winter 🌺🐝🍭🍬🍫

I had to find out why... how... a queen becomes royalty. It is the royal jelly that gives them ovaries... https://youtu.be/m_SlH3Uwslc

Truly fascinating—the author nailed the concept of telling the story thru the perspective of a bee w/o making it corny or silly. The bees basically have human characteristics, speech, & motivations, but we still get 100% bee life & behavior. It‘s hard to explain but I thought she did what she set out to do very well. It did get a little repetitive after a while, & be warned there is some bee-on-bee violence. But a terrific & singular read. 4/5 ⭐️

...the veil of scent parted to reveal the doors to the Chapel of Wax, from whence the Queen herself walked out, her ladies behind her. She was clothed in a mantle of pure white waxen lace, so light it flowed like air around her. Her divine fragrance was now blended with the wild air that had blown through the broken and ravaged hive, and when she smiled on her daughters, bright and steady waves of love and reassurance flowed through the air.

I feel you, homebody bee. 🏡🐝

This book is not just about bees. It‘s told from the perspective of a bee. Third-apian perspective. I‘m so here for it because 1) bees are a cute and fun aesthetic, & 2) like most people, I read about bees dying off and what it portends for humans and I‘m like ARE YOU OKAY BEE CAN I HELP YOU WHAT DO YOU NEED LET ME CARE FOR YOU. So I wanna read this bee book to expand my bee empathy even more. Plus it sounds fucking fascinating. 🐝🐝🐝 #nowreading

#7covers7days #covercrush Day 6

I wouldn‘t usually reach for this sort of fantasy novel but this is such an immersive, and imaginative read I would recommend it to any one who likes dystopian fiction. Strangely you immediately connect to the heroine my only critique would be the plot is a little jumpy, but I enjoyed the style of writing. I also spent ten minutes getting a picture of my copy next to this cute little bee in the corner 🐝 😂😂

Several reviews to catch up on for the books I finished during vacay last week... First up, The Bees: this is an interesting dystopia/cli-fi mashup. Think The Handmaid's Tale but in a beehive and all the characters are bees. Paull obviously knows about bee behavior and seeing that as a series of rituals was fascinating, but I didn't think she sold the possible conspiracy in the hive enough.

We‘re camping! I devoured The Bees (finally) after hearing a glowing review by a favourite university instructor a few years ago. I loved it. Flora 717 is a sanitation worker who ends up moving into other positions in the hive, eventually challenging the hive hierarchy.

This books is 🍌, fascinating, a real adventure story and Flora 717 is a world class heroine. I laughed, I cried, I raged. Bizarre and so cool.

3.5/5

This is the fictionalized life of a bee. It's a little weird and took me a while to get into, but I did enjoy it. It really imagines, based on the facts we know about bees, what their society might look like in terms of politics, religion, and relationships.

(I took this photo in my grandmother's gorgeous garden)

#readharder #readharder12

I don't usually travel with library books, but I am determined to finish this book this weekend.

I'm needing some friends on Goodreads!

1. When Dimple Met Rishi, The Wise Man's Fear, The Bees, and The Phoenix Project

2. The Bees by Laline Paull is kind of yellow

3. Yellow and Navy

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

I have wicked book ADD right now! I can‘t settle into a book and don‘t know what I‘m in the mood to read.

I keep switching between these 3 books! And they are all very different, I know.

I don‘t know if I‘m enjoying the tagged book right now. It‘s very religious for a book about bees, which I‘m not really into. I may have to put it down for a while and pick it up in a couple of months. It‘s a prompt for the #readharderchallenge - animal POV

Made a trip to the library today.

Here‘s my April TBR.

12 books! Hopefully I can get through all these!

I‘m most looking forward to the tagged book and A Girl Like Her!

Cozy coffee and snow day to close out a great year of reading.

Day 19 of #adventrecommends @emilyrose_x

I don't know why a book about bees would be so captivating. This story follows Flora 717 as she fights to find her rightful place in the Hive under a totalitarian regime. I was blown away by this novel & so has everyone I have lent it to. This is now one of my all time favourite books

#Bookaholic #Books #BookNerd #ReadABook #Recommendays

What did I just read? Apparently bees have sexy legs and wear lace. It‘s, uh, a lot to process. On a different note, this could have been wonderful if the author had a) not projected humanoid characteristics on bees (hands, faces, sin) and b) had expanded on the Hive and made Flora have even the vaguest hint of personality.