The most recommended books about honey

Wild and sexy ProRodeo cowboy Colton Maples is the kind of hero that had me hooked when I read Ava, a short story by Callie Carmen in the Cowboy Desire anthology. This hot honey didn’t seem like the kind of guy to settle down and be a one-woman man, leaving behind past lovers, but he surprised me. It was love at first sight when he met Ava Kincaid, an artist who was equally smitten with him. It was no surprise when the gray-eyed, dark-haired hunk flirted his way into Ava’s life and in her bed, but would he break her heart? Colton and Ava took me on an emotional ride, that’s for sure. The steamy scenes were written tastefully and I enjoyed reading every page of this sexy romance. And yes, I loved the ending.

Covey is internationally acclaimed for The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. However, I have a penchant for his also famous First Things First, a gem with visceral concepts that stick like honey in the brain. 

For example, the brilliance behind “Quad Two”—shorthand for items and to-dos that are important yet not urgent. Because they are not pressing, the things (and people) that matter most often get waylaid—propelling us into a life missing our passions and aspirations. Only cropping back up when they do become urgent—such as neglecting health until we can’t fully function.

And who can proceed in life unchanged following his introduction of the “Big Rocks” concept. I won’t do a spoiler alert. Let’s just say it merges prioritization with a singletasked focus.

Finally, I’m a sucker for the thoughtful worksheets nestled throughout First Things First.

Maybe not a 'murder mystery' in the typical sense of Agatha Christie, but this is a delightful, cozy read, ideal for an afternoon snuggled before a blazing fire (wine and chocs to hand) or for lazing on a sunny beach (plus wine – maybe not the chocs). As someone living in a small Devonshire village I look forward to our annual summer show (hopefully without a corpse hidden anywhere!) I thoroughly enjoyed the rural background of this delightful little tale. Don't take the murder-to-solve element too seriously, instead, enjoy the lives of charming and quirky English Cotswolds’ characters, and the events that unfold around them in this, the first, of a highly enjoyable series. We need more entertaining cozy mystery novels like this series!

This is a condensed version of one of India’s Puranas. The 19th-century saint Ramakrishna described it as follows: “It is fried in the butter of Knowledge and steeped in the honey of Love.”

One example of that knowledge: Try as we might, we cannot know the nature of the Divine, as it existed before us. (The machine cannot know its maker.) What we can do, however, is to worship the miracle that is our own existence, and that might get us where we need to go.

Bees In America is a great read, as it chronologically takes you from the earliest European colonists who brought their bees with them—as honeybees are not native to North America—through to the present. It’s a mix of American history, biology, and American ingenuity, all rolled into a nonfiction account that’s chocked full of interesting facts and details.  For anyone interested in honeybees and/or beekeeping, it’s fascinating to learn the role they played in our developing nation. Plus, it’s exciting to read about all the innovations and advancements in beekeeping that have been discovered in America over the past 200 years. 

Tom Seeley is a genius. He is a professor at Cornell University in America, but this engaging book is no dull academic thesis.

He tells ‘the untold story of the honey bee in the wild’ with an enthusiasm that carries the reader along as if on an adventure of discovery. I was fascinated as, through the book, I joined him on his field research and learnt wonders with him. A joy for the novice and the experienced bee person.

 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.

I love shifter stories that feel unique and completely fresh which aren’t easy to find anymore! Nothing against the classic shifter romance story. I love and read them all but when you find something fun and new-feeling, it’s that much more unforgettable. Kelly St. Clare’s Shifter Wars series definitely does that for me. This one is a little more Upper YA and definitely sexier than some of the others on this list, but it’s one I couldn’t put down and one I always think of when I’m ranking my favorites. In this tiny mountain town in Australia, shifters play a very unique game with humans—one with stakes that equal life and death. When our girl Andie gets tossed into the game and forced to play, all bets are off. Definitely worth a read and one you won’t be able to put down once you start!

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!

No writer’s library is complete without a shelf (that’s right – shelf) dedicated to grammar books. Breaking the rules is allowed, but only by design and for a reason, not due to ignorance. This is my favorite grammar book because it’s witty. Medicine tastes better with a few drops of honey. The important rules are explained with great examples. Learn how to put verbs in their place, find help for pronoun anxiety, and experience the joy of punctuation. What could be more fun than that?!

This is a collection of poems, most of which were written shortly after the death of her son by suicide. They are all about grief and love. They feel so true and honest and heartbreakingly naked.

Reading these poems makes me want to write poems about my own grief, because her words are so exactly right and to the point. I feel seen in these poems. She inspires me to articulate my own feelings, and have my own honest encounter with my grief.