Love The Lure of the Honey Bird? Readers share 55 books like The Lure of the Honey Bird...

By Elizabeth Laird,

Here are 55 books that The Lure of the Honey Bird fans have personally recommended if you like The Lure of the Honey Bird. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Jinny Alexander Author Of Claude, Gord, Alice, and Maud

From my list on an unusual take on traditional cozy mystery.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve always adored mysteries. My dad has the entire collection of Agatha Christie books, but even before I read those, I worked through his ancient original hardbacks of Enid Blyton's Famous Five books and the less well-known Malcolm Saville Lone Pine series. I love getting totally engrossed in a series, so I really get to BE the main characterā€“I am one of four siblings, and when I wasnā€™t too busy reading, we were the Famous Five. I was George. I think I still am, to be perfectly honestā€“she was fiery, passionate, loved her dog, and wanted to serve justice and out the bad guys. What a role model!

Jinny's book list on an unusual take on traditional cozy mystery

Jinny Alexander Why did Jinny love this book?

This whole series always makes me smileā€“Mma Ramotswe remains one of the most hilarious main characters in any cozy mystery Iā€™ve ever read. The crimes she comes up against are usually low-key, usually secondary to the backdrop of Botswana, and often solved by accident as much as design.

Precious Ramotsweā€™s commentary on Botswanan life is simply brilliant, but almost even more amusing is her sidekick, Grace Makutsi, who bumbles through her role as secretary-promoted-to-assistant-detective, and the interaction between the characters never fails to give me laugh-out-loud moments.

This whole series has to be the most feel-good series ever, and now Iā€™m rediscovering it as an audio production of the radio series; itā€™s as heart-warming as a bright bunch of flowers on a dull day, a bowl of hot soup when youā€™re sick; a hot bubble bath when itā€™s snowing outsideā€¦I love it, love it, love it!

By Alexander McCall Smith,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Precious Ramotswe, a cheerful woman of traditional build, is the founder of Botswana's first and only ladies' detective agency. Here is a gentle interpretation of the detective role: solving her cases through her innate wisdom and understanding of human nature, she 'helps people with problems in their lives'. With a tone that is as elegant as that which is unfailingly used by his protagonist, Alexander McCall Smith tenderly unfolds a picture of life in Gaborone with a mastery of comic understatement and an evident sympathy for his subjects and their milieu. In the background of all this is Botswana, aā€¦


Book cover of The Barefoot Emperor

Robert David Author Of Lights, Camera, Jemuru: Ethiopia through the lens of a community film school

From my list on that show you the real Ethiopia.

Why am I passionate about this?

I lived in Ethiopia for 7 years and arrived expecting to find a country beaten down by war and famine, I could not have been more wrong. Ethiopia covers a vast territory and is as deep in history and culture, while its myriad peoples speak over 80 different languages. It remains one of the most mysterious, misunderstood, and least visited countries on the planet, and a paradise for both physical and armchair travelers alike to explore one of the last great largely undiscovered places on earth. I continue to write articles for both national and international newspapers and magazines about Ethiopia and its many wonders. 

Robert's book list on that show you the real Ethiopia

Robert David Why did Robert love this book?

What William Dalrymple is to India, Philip Marsden is to Ethiopia. They are both inspired travel writers and scholarly historians. What I particularly loved about The Barefoot Emperor was that it actually reads like a page-turning thriller. Central to the story is the towering figure of the Emperor Tewedros, a brilliant military commander, political reformer, and charismatic leader, who was both loved and loathed by the warring factions that made up his kingdom. His rise and fall compare with anything achieved by Julius Ceasar or Genghis Khan, and Marsden captures his incredible, true-life story with bravura writing that leaps off the page. He turns a searing searchlight onto one of the most forgotten episodes in African history and captures it all with a breathtaking sense of spirit of place.        

By Philip Marsden,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Barefoot Emperor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A fascinating narrative excursion into a bizarre episode in 19th century Ethiopian and British imperial history featuring a remote African despot and his monstrous European-built gun.

On one of Addis Ababa's main roundabouts today sits a huge recently installed mortar. This is a replica of 'Sevastopol', a 70-ton lump of ordnance commissioned by one of the most extraordinary leaders Africa has ever produced - King of Kings of Ethiopia, the Emperor Theodore. In 1867, as his kingdom collapsed around him, Theodore retreated to his mountain-top stronghold in Magdala. It took his army six months to haul 'Sevastopol' through the gaugesā€¦


Book cover of Orphaned: One Woman's Mission to Save Africa's AIDS Children

Robert David Author Of Lights, Camera, Jemuru: Ethiopia through the lens of a community film school

From my list on that show you the real Ethiopia.

Why am I passionate about this?

I lived in Ethiopia for 7 years and arrived expecting to find a country beaten down by war and famine, I could not have been more wrong. Ethiopia covers a vast territory and is as deep in history and culture, while its myriad peoples speak over 80 different languages. It remains one of the most mysterious, misunderstood, and least visited countries on the planet, and a paradise for both physical and armchair travelers alike to explore one of the last great largely undiscovered places on earth. I continue to write articles for both national and international newspapers and magazines about Ethiopia and its many wonders. 

Robert's book list on that show you the real Ethiopia

Robert David Why did Robert love this book?

Leader? Hero? Saint? Itā€™s difficult to find the words to define Haregewoin Teferra, the subject of this book, but somehow I feel these still fall short. A woman living in relative comfort in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, her life is turned upside down when she is given two young children to care for whose parents died due to HIV/AIDS. In time Haregewoin becomes a mother to many more just like them. In opening her doors, Haregewoin opened her heart to hundreds of orphaned children and gave them the chance of new and happy lives. This is a book that moved me to tears. Tears of rage at the injustices in the world and tears of relief that people like Haregewoin still exist.    

By Melissa Fay Greene,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Orphaned as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In a tin-walled compound outside Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a middle-class woman named Haregewoin Teferra suffers terrible personal losses. In grief, she turns to the church, and is presented with two orphans and asked to house them. Haregewoin agrees. Once she opens her gate, she never manages to close it again. Here is a woman who does not run away from HIV-positive and AIDS-orphaned children, brought to her on foot, by bus or by donkey cart. There are over a million AIDS orphans in Ethiopia; "There Is No Me Without You" tells a few of their remarkable stories through the eyesā€¦


If you love The Lure of the Honey Bird...

Ad

Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctorā€”and only womanā€”on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route upā€¦

Book cover of Ethiopia: Through Writers' Eyes

Robert David Author Of Lights, Camera, Jemuru: Ethiopia through the lens of a community film school

From my list on that show you the real Ethiopia.

Why am I passionate about this?

I lived in Ethiopia for 7 years and arrived expecting to find a country beaten down by war and famine, I could not have been more wrong. Ethiopia covers a vast territory and is as deep in history and culture, while its myriad peoples speak over 80 different languages. It remains one of the most mysterious, misunderstood, and least visited countries on the planet, and a paradise for both physical and armchair travelers alike to explore one of the last great largely undiscovered places on earth. I continue to write articles for both national and international newspapers and magazines about Ethiopia and its many wonders. 

Robert's book list on that show you the real Ethiopia

Robert David Why did Robert love this book?

How do you describe and encapsulate a country that can trace its history back to the days of the Queen of Sheba, whose ethnic peoples speak over 80 separate languages and whose many traditions and culture remain untouched by time? The genius of Ethiopia: Through Writersā€™ Eyes is that it solves this conundrum brilliantly by compiling the writings of explorers, travel writers, and journalists dating from the ancient Greeks right up to the modern day. The result is a fascinating kaleidoscope of images and experiences that turn constantly in this readerā€™s mind long after putting the book down. Itā€™s a book I return to time after time and it always transports me back to one of the most mysterious and beguiling countries on earth.       

By Yves-Marie Stranger,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ethiopia as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There are only a handful of destinations left in the world that have retained their ability to shock the traveller with their unique perspective. These places still awaken a sense of deep wonder as they offer the rare opportunity to observe the world from a different angle. Ethiopia is one of those rare countries. This book is the perfect companion to any exploration of Ethiopia, be it in the precarious saddle of an Abyssinian pony, or from the folds of an armchair. A compendium of all things Ethiopian, the book throws wide open precious windows of understanding, allowing you toā€¦


Book cover of The Wife's Tale: A Personal History

John Binns Author Of The Orthodox Church of Ethiopia: A History

From my list on the ancient Christian faith of Ethiopia.

Why am I passionate about this?

I had visited many Eastern Orthodox churches across Eastern Europe and the Middle East for a research project, and finally came to Ethiopia. Here I encountered a large and thriving Christian community which reached back to the earliest days of the church. Its location between the Middle East and East Asia and Africa as well as Europe has given it a distinctive way of living and worshipping which is unique in the Christian world ā€“ and overlooked by other churches. Iā€™ve spent the last twenty years exploring this tradition which gives the rest of us a radically different understanding of faith.

John's book list on the ancient Christian faith of Ethiopia

John Binns Why did John love this book?

The author is an Ethiopian/Canadian journalist living in London. The book is a vivid biography of her grandmother, Yetemegnu, based on many conversations and interviews. It begins in a traditional household in northern Ethiopia where the grandmother was married at the age of 10 to an ambitious priest twenty years older than her, and it takes us through a century of history as the family lives through and adapts to turbulent times, ending up in modern Addis Ababa where her son became a successful doctor and emigrated to Canada. Itā€™s a beautiful and affectionate account that introduces us to a changing society. 

By Aida Edemariam,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Wife's Tale as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WINNER OF THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2019
AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR
A CBC BOOK OF THE YEAR

The extraordinary story of an indomitable 95-year-old woman - and of the most extraordinary century in Ethiopia's history. A new Wild Swans

A hundred years ago, a girl was born in the northern Ethiopian city of Gondar. Before she was ten years old, Yetemegnu was married to a man two decades her senior, an ambitious poet-priest. Over the next century her world changed beyond recognition. She witnessed Fascist invasion and occupation, Allied bombardment and exile from her city, the ascent andā€¦


Book cover of Cutting for Stone

Dean-David Schillinger MD Author Of Telltale Hearts: A Public Health Doctor, His Patients, and the Power of Story

From my list on books by or about doctors that focus on our shared humanity.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a primary care doctor who is fascinated by my patientā€™s stories and what they reveal about their lives, their illnesses, and their pathways to recovery. I have always been a lover of literature related to the human condition and ā€œthe big questions,ā€ having majored in Russian Language and Literature as an undergraduate. All the books I have chosen were written by physicians who were accomplished not only in the sciences but in the arts. I hope you enjoy this hybridization of disciplines as much as I have!

Dean-David's book list on books by or about doctors that focus on our shared humanity

Dean-David Schillinger MD Why did Dean-David love this book?

How could I not love a book about an Indian surgeon who finds himself living and working in Ethiopia, especially when the book has a plot that simply refused to allow me to put the book down?

I was deeply touched by the struggles of a surgeon trying to apply his craft in circumstances that seemed nearly impossible. I was equally affected by the fulfillment he experienced by being welcomed and so deeply appreciated by a community. I was hooked when his trust and resilience were put to the ultimate test.

By Abraham Verghese,

Why should I read it?

14 authors picked Cutting for Stone as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

My brother, Shiva, and I came into the world in the late afternoon of the twentieth of September in the year of grace 1954. We took our first breaths in the thick air of Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia. Bound by birth, we were driven apart by bitter betrayal. No surgeon can heal the would that divides two brothers. Where silk and steel fail, story must succeed. To begin at the beginning...


If you love Elizabeth Laird...

Ad

Book cover of The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier,

The coaching book that's for all of us, not just coaches.

It's the best-selling book on coaching this century, with 15k+ online reviews. BrenƩ Brown calls it "a classic". Dan Pink said it was "essential".

It is practical, funny, and short, and "unweirds" coaching. Whether you're a parent, a teacher,ā€¦

Book cover of The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita And Alastair Smith Author Of The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics

From my list on rulers behaving badly in Africa.

Why am I passionate about this?

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith are professors of politics at New York University. They use the mathematical approach of game theory to understand the incentives of leaders in different settings. The Dictatorā€™s Handbook distills decades of academic work into a few essential rules that encapsulate how leaders come to power and remain there.

Bruce's book list on rulers behaving badly in Africa

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita And Alastair Smith Why did Bruce love this book?

All of Kapuscinskiā€™s books are gems. He traveled Africa and other parts of the developing world as a Soviet journalist. The Emperor describes the rule and decline of the Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Selassie. The dry day-to-dry accounts of the emperorā€™s benign neglect for his people is chilling. Haile Selassie knew to keep those around him happy and not to worry about the people: ā€œA man starved all his life will never rebelā€¦. No one raised his voice or hand there. But just let the subject start to eat his fill and then try to take the bowl away, and immediately he rises in rebellion. The usefulness of hunger is that a hungry man thinks only of bread.ā€.

By Ryszard Kapuściński,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Emperor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A "sensitive, powerful ... history" (The New York Review of Books) of a man living amidst nearly unimaginable pomp and luxury while his people teetered netween hunger and starvation.

Haile Selassie, King of Kings, Elect of God, Lion of Judah, His Most Puissant Majesty and Distinguished Highness the Emperor of Ethiopia, reigned from 1930 until he was overthrown by the army in 1974. While the fighting still raged, Ryszard Kapuscinski, Poland's leading foreign correspondent, traveled to Ethiopia to seek out and interview Selassie's servants and closest associates on how the Emperor had ruled and why he fell. This is Kapuscinski'sā€¦


Book cover of Understanding Contemporary Ethiopia: Monarchy, Revolution and the Legacy of Meles Zenawi

John Binns Author Of The Orthodox Church of Ethiopia: A History

From my list on the ancient Christian faith of Ethiopia.

Why am I passionate about this?

I had visited many Eastern Orthodox churches across Eastern Europe and the Middle East for a research project, and finally came to Ethiopia. Here I encountered a large and thriving Christian community which reached back to the earliest days of the church. Its location between the Middle East and East Asia and Africa as well as Europe has given it a distinctive way of living and worshipping which is unique in the Christian world ā€“ and overlooked by other churches. Iā€™ve spent the last twenty years exploring this tradition which gives the rest of us a radically different understanding of faith.

John's book list on the ancient Christian faith of Ethiopia

John Binns Why did John love this book?

Ethiopian society has gone through radical changes and transformations during the last century ā€“ and which continue into an uncertain future. The medieval-style empire of Haile Selassie was toppled by a Marxist dictatorship in 1974, which in turn fell to an alliance of northern peoples who set up a federalist system in 1991, which is now showing signs of tension. This collection of sixteen essays by some of the best-known authorities in their fields, outlines the political history and economic changes. It also tells about the arrival of Pentecostal churches, the growth of militant Islam, and the adaptation of the Orthodox church to a changing world. 

By GĆ©rard Prunier, Ɖloi Ficquet,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Understanding Contemporary Ethiopia as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When we think of Ethiopia we tend to think in cliches: Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, the Falasha Jews, the epic reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, the Communist Revolution, famine and civil war. Among the countries of Africa it has a high profile yet is poorly known. How- ever all cliches contain within them a kernel of truth, and occlude much more. Today's Ethiopia (and its painfully liberated sister state of Eritrea) are largely obscured by these mythical views and a secondary literature that is partial or propagandist. Moreover there have been few attempts to offer readers a comprehensiveā€¦


Book cover of Lions Roaring Far From Home: An Anthology by Ethiopian Adoptees

Carol LaHines Author Of Distant Flickers: Stories of Identity & Loss

From my list on themed anthologies.

Why am I passionate about this?

The anthology form unites diverse voices around a common themeā€”in the case of Distant Flickers, identity and loss. The stories in the anthology explore intense personal relationshipsā€”of mother and child, old lovers, etc. Some of the stories are in the moment and some recounted with the perspective of time, some are fable-like, some formal, and others more colloquial. Reading them the reader is struck by the variety of approaches a writer might take to a subject. The device of the contributorā€™s notes enables the reader to see the story behind the story and how life informs artā€”life furnishing the raw material or day residue of the story.  

Carol's book list on themed anthologies

Carol LaHines Why did Carol love this book?

The prevailing narrative regarding adoption, at least in the U.S., is crafted by adoption professionals and adoptive parents and largely overlooks the experiences of the parties directly impactedā€”the adoptees themselves. As an adopteeā€”one who undertook a search for and was reunited with my first family, reassuming the name I was given at birthā€”I am always on the lookout for the work of other adoptees. Only we truly understand what it is like to be ā€œsplitā€ between two families, to lose our roots and culture, andā€”perhaps most devastatingā€”not to have our losses acknowledged. These stories, by Ethiopian adoptees, challenge traditional narratives that cast adoption as a benevolent practice, revealing the racist, classist, and colonialist roots that give rise to the modern institution. The stories speak to themes of displacement, bewilderment, and what it is like to grow up estranged from oneā€™s culture, identity, and roots.

By Aselefech Evans (editor), Kassaye Berhanu-MacDonald (editor), Maureen McCauley (editor)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lions Roaring Far From Home as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Lions Roaring Far From Home: An Anthology by Ethiopian Adoptees includes the essays and poems of 33 writers, ages 8 to over 50, raised in six countries (the US, Canada, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, and Australia). It is the first ever anthology by Ethiopian adoptees.

This anthology shares Ethiopian adopteesā€™ wide range of experiences, from childhood into adulthood, through the voices of the adoptees themselves. There is more than one mention of grief, confusion, and loss. The writers also talk about their strengths, hopes, happiness, and love for family. Along with sadness and anger, there is also compassion, grace, andā€¦


If you love The Lure of the Honey Bird...

Ad

Book cover of Somewhere Else

Somewhere Else by Merri Melde,

Merri Melde has spent over two cumulative years of her life traveling, answering to an inexplicable need to see the world, to experience different adventures, cultures, people and places.

Taken from her travel journals, Somewhere Else features some of her backpack travels in Nepal, where she trekked the Annapurna Circuit;ā€¦

Book cover of The Gabi That Girma Wore

Anne O'Brien Carelli Author Of Scribble, Spin, Swirl, and Stitch: Crafts Around the World

From my list on multicultural crafts.

Why am I passionate about this?

My latest picture book was conceived when I participated in art fairs as a weaver and quilter. I was struck by how each craft, whether it be woodworking, metallurgy, glassblowing, pottery, etc., had a unique vocabulary and origins in many different cultures. My goal is to cultivate appreciation of the work of artisans around the world who are carrying on cultural traditions. I also saw an opportunity to expand vocabulary by sharing the language of the crafts, and to encourage children to think about a craft they may want to try. It is my hope that art teachers, parents and grandparents, artisans, and lovers of crafts will enjoy sharing this inspirational book.

Anne's book list on multicultural crafts

Anne O'Brien Carelli Why did Anne love this book?

This story is about how a garment called a gabi is made in Ethiopia, from the planting of cotton seeds to the weaving, trimming, and wearing during festive occasions. It shows the significance of carrying on a traditional craft through lyrical text and colorful illustrations.

I love the idea that children can see how clothing and other items around the world are not necessarily made in factories. In this case, the creation of a traditional piece of clothing involves many artisans of all ages working by hand. (Illustrated vocabulary is included.)

By Fasika Adefris, Sara Holly Ackerman, Netsanet Tesfay (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Gabi That Girma Wore as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

From seed to harvest, from loom to shop, to a gift for Girma, this lyrical story of the Ethiopian Gabi is a beautiful celebration of weaving, community and culture.

Written in the cadence of The House That Jack Built, this vibrant and lushly illustrated tale pays tribute to the Gabi- a traditional Ethiopian cloth that is used to celebrate both community and culture. From the tiny seed to the fluffy white cotton, from the steady hands of the farmer to the swift fingers of the weaver, from the busy shopkeeper, to a gift for a loved one, follow the journeyā€¦


Book cover of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Book cover of The Barefoot Emperor
Book cover of Orphaned: One Woman's Mission to Save Africa's AIDS Children

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,889

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Ethiopia, Christianity, and Africa?

Ethiopia 47 books
Christianity 689 books
Africa 269 books