The most recommended beekeeping books

You don’t have to have a beehive to help keep bees.

The honeybee, along with the thousands of other bees and insects that live alongside us, are vital to keeping us alive. At least a third of all we humans eat and drink is the direct result of bee pollination. So we owe it to the bees and to ourselves, to do all we can to create an environment to support them.

If you want to give over your garden to a wildflower meadow, or just plant up a window box, Sarah’s book will give you lots of easy ideas. And her illustrations are a rare treat.

This is a story about a young girl named Almaz who dreams of becoming a beekeeper in Lalibela, Ethiopia. When she is told that beekeeping is a man’s job and that she should go back to cooking, cleaning, and gathering wood, she doesn’t give up. Instead, with the encouragement of a local priest, she becomes determined to continue toward her dream overcoming many obstacles. This is a story that is culturally accurate and gently explores gender roles in Ethiopia. In the end, Almaz’s perseverance pays off and she is welcome at the market, where she sells the best honey. I love this story also because of my love for Ethiopia, where women and girls are very strong, determined, and must overcome tremendous obstacles in daily life. I am in awe of their beauty and strength.  

After graduating, the narrator's family set him up with a job on Wall Street but it just isn't for him despite his upbringing preparing him for this kind of route. A few months later, he sets off on a round-the-world trip. The book features the first eighteen months of this journey spent in Australasia scraping a living in any way he can with occasionally outlandish casual jobs including beekeeping, running a youth hostel, and working on a production line in a cardboard box factory. He comes across a young woman, another traveller, sleeping beneath a table of honey pots and they begin a passionate yet fraught love affair.

Not only is this a great story, it is also punctuated with Bloom's vivid descriptions of landscapes and people he encounters along the way. There are meditations on the quirky details of life and reminiscing on an unusual childhood.

There are scores of beekeeping memoirs in print, many of them very engaging. But if I had to choose only one, there is something to be said for this little classic. The biological information is good, but the book rises above the average in the way Longwood conveys it - with charm, wit, and an obvious fondness for his chosen subjects. Paired with a modern how-to manual, this volume could convince just about anyone to try their hand with hive, suit, and smoker.

This quirky little title captures a wealth of information about the deep relationship between people and bees. Ransome delves into mythology and folklore from around the world and across a huge span of history. Every page seems to offer some new and unexpected connection or story, from ancient Egyptians ferrying their honeybee hives up and down the River Nile to the Mayans cultivating a rainforest species with the agreeable trait of lacking a sting. No other book gives the reader such an exhaustive and entertaining exploration of how bees, more so than any other insect, have been part of human cultures since the dawn of civilization.

This book was exactly what I needed to better understand what is involved in starting a beehive in an urban setting. Flottum starts his readers with the bare-bones basics and builds from there. He also goes into what he calls “Extreme Urban Beekeeping” with tips on considerations for those of us with close neighbors. I have not started beekeeping yet, but Flottum has inspired me to add it to my list of future endeavors. 

Wahrman’s book is eminently readable but nonetheless provocative. He asserts that toward the end of the eighteenth century a radical change, a cultural revolution, in fact, occurred in notions of self and identity. He uses a fascinating and engaging range of evidence to make his point,  from theater to beekeeping, fashion, philosophy, art, travel accounts, and much more. 

I’ve always been fascinated by beekeeping and this lovely novel was a treasure trove of information and folklore about bees. I appreciated the way the author skillfully weaved the information into the story.

What made the story even more compelling is that the bees themselves became central characters. The novel chronicles elderly beekeeper Albert’s life and his lifelong friendship with his neighbor and fellow beekeeper, Claire, and the rift that tore their friendship apart. This is a beautifully written story and one that I will not soon forget.

 I was “stung” by this true story of Meredith May’s difficult life as a child.

She was raised by her grandparents because her parents divorced. Her mother suffered from mental illness. Her grandfather raised honeybees and used their lives as examples of how a family can care for each other and work together.

This is a powerful message for all readers. I loved this gentle story not only because of the connection portrayed by her grandfather and Meredith but also because of so much information about the life of bees. Fascinating to read and learn.

This is a book you won’t want to put down, and that is filled with twists and turns. It is about a young man whose girlfriend ends up dead and is on trial for her murder.

Being the mom of two sons, I could empathize with the boy’s mom and how helpless she felt to help him. The book also had a subplot about bees and how they made honey, and to be honest, I didn’t think I’d be interested, but I was wrong.

The writing was visual, and the bees turned out to be a metaphor for what else was happening in the story. The book was full of surprises, and one especially caught me off guard. I highly recommend it!