Thursday 7th May 2009

A parcel of books arrives from the well known online book retailer. Feeling that I wanted to read lots about bees, I had perused the searchable catalogue for bee books. Several years ago I bought Ted Hooper's Guide to Bees and Honey and now I had some basic knowledge, I find the book less scary and overwhelming. I feel that i want to read around the subject though, get a feel on the more spiritual aspects of beekeeping, rather than straight how to texts. My parcel today consists of The queen must die, by William Longgood,and, because once I added this to my basket, further recommendations popped up, so I was unable to resist The Shamanic Way of the Bee, by Simon Buxton. To balance that out I also opted for a light novel - The secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.
James is very grumpy all afternoon and just really wants to nurse a lot, so I pick up the novel. It is a very easy and enjoyable enough read, but I get the feeling I am reading a screenplay. I sit up late to finish the book as I am impatient to start on the others. I notice that each chapter in the Secret Life, begins with a quote from another bee text. Many of the chapters contain quotes from the William Longgood book - The Queen Must Die. I will begin this book next.