Member Reviews

In <i>Dancing with Bees,</i> Brigit Strawbridge Howard recounts her journey to learn more about and commune with nature. She starts knowing no more about the plants and animals around her than the average person, but as she spends time in nature and plants a garden, she gains an appreciation of the nature that has always surrounded her.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author, but I think I would have enjoyed this more as a physical book, so that I could stop and look up things she was talking about as I read. The author lives in Great Britain, so British readers will likely recognize more of the species discussed than Americans. Overall, I struggled to get into the audiobook. The parts of the book discussing the facts of various species were dry, and the parts where the author described what she was doing sometimes were tedious, such as talking about uploading photos to Twitter.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC of this book.

Was this review helpful?

The author takes us along her journey back to nature. This is a beautiful story - one I can see myself revisiting.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* nice relaxing book to read in nature lol 4.5, read this slowly so i likely wouldn't reread but would recommend

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to Netgalley and Chelsea Green Audio for the audio ARC of this! I was a big slacker and had to borrow it from my library instead, since I wasn’t done yet.

This was a fascinating look at one woman’s journey to immerse herself in more nature and to learn all she can about it - primarily focused on bees and bee adjacent critters, with some chapters about other nature such as birds and trees. I loved that it was read by the author, but realized when I picked up the ebook version that I had been missing out on gorgeous illustrations! I definitely recommend borrowing whichever format you don’t buy, if you go for this one. Good for fans of The Insect Crisis, memoirs, and nature, this is an easy book to follow and enjoy, not requiring any specialized knowledge going in.

Was this review helpful?

I loved this sooo much! It was a long listen for me and I took some longer breaks, but I loved it a lot. Soothing voice, great topic and I loved learning more about our important pollinators. I think I am going to get a paperback version also to reread!

Was this review helpful?

This was a wonderful audiobook read by the author. I just loved the authors voice and this made the book more enjoyable to listen too. It had a very relaxed tone. I did have to speed the audiobook up but that is just my style of reading. I thought this book was brilliantly wrote and you could tell the author was passionate on the subject of bees and had people around to recognise new species to her. I must say I'm extremely fascinating by bees and I just love learning about these wonderful creatures. I'm so glad I found this book as I learnt a lot from reading it. I actually believe that no stone was left unturned about the subject. The book followed brilliantly. This would be an excellent book to reading during spring and summer so you can use the knowledge in this book to help bees straight away. I will definitely be looking out for more books by this amazing author. 

Many thanks to the author and publishers for creating this great book that I'm sure other bee or garden lovers will thoroughly enjoy. 
The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog today https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/dancing-with-bees-by-brigit-strawbridge-howard-chelsea-green-audio-4-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this book, it felt like a gardening meditation. I also learned a lot about which plants to focus on for attracting bees and pollinators to my garden. I was impressed with the gardening knowledge this book demonstrated.

Was this review helpful?

I typically do not listen to audiobooks but I am thrilled I listened to this one! I loved the elegant way the author wrote about the behavior and life of bees as well as the importance of them in our natural world. She opened my eyes and inspired me to make changes to help these creatures thrive by creating my own little garden of native flowering plants. It’s great being able to appreciate the bees’ presence and hard work! Beautifully written and read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Chelsea Green Publishing Company for allowing me to listen to this digital ARC in return for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Publish Date: September 6, 2019

This book recounts Brigit’s exploration of her own backyard, everything from the Silver Birch to the Hairy Footed bee.

I really liked the narrator/authors descriptions. They’re detailed and paint such a great picture. I really liked this as an audiobook because it was a little dry in parts so I could focus elsewhere if needed. If you like nature or are just curious, give this book a buzz

#dancingwithbees #bridgitstrawbridgehoward #audiobooks #bookrecommendations #netgalley

Was this review helpful?

I listened to this book and really enjoyed hearing about bees in their natural environment in Britain. I only wish that the content related to North America, specifically, Canada. It was interesting as honeybees are not able to survive on their own where I live. My fiancé and I are second year beekeepers, so I’m always looking to learn new things.
Thank you to NetGalley and Chelsea Green Audio for allowing me to listen to this novel. #NetGalley #DancingwithBees

Was this review helpful?

This book recounts the author's "journey back to nature" after an extended period of detachment from the natural world. I learned a lot about about bees and other invertebrates, as well as flowers and foliage in the author's native UK. At times, I felt myself a bit underwhelmed with the personal stories and was hoping for a bit more of a "science-y" book, but overall it was a very good read and the author's soothing voice makes her a wonderful narrator.

Was this review helpful?

If you love Nature and Science writing then put this book on your TBR. I listened to the audio and enjoyed the soothing voice of the author. Her love for bees pulled me right in. I enjoyed exploring her garden, town, and country and learning about the different behaviors of bees. I hope that, like me, you will learn to watch out for and protect bees after experiencing the author's knowledge. Thank you to the author and the publisher for the Advanced Readers Copy of this book

Was this review helpful?

A delightful look into the hives and gardens of British bees. A reader could learn more about bees in one chapter of this book than in a lifetime of casual observation. The audio book has the extra advantage of a lovely British woman, with the accompanying charming accent, conversationally talking about her life as if you were enjoying tea with her whilst (a commonly used word) sitting among thriving flowers, fruit trees, and vegetables. This is natural history writing at its finest, humming with the astonishing activities of bee life and enriched with details of the author's life as well. The facts are fascinating, but the writing is what shines here.

Was this review helpful?

This is one of the hardest reviews I’ve had to write. As a nature book lover I immensely enjoyed all of the facts and details surrounding the authors thoughts and explanations of nature itself. However, it felt as though it had been padded with other insignificant information that was not of interest to the reader/listener. I suppose though that we do need to remember that this book is classified as a memoir and as such will likely in some parts go off on tangents that don’t really have anything to do with bees. Enjoyable listen nonetheless and the the authors voice is very calming and therapeutic.

Was this review helpful?

This book is about the author’s rediscovery of nature after a period of detachment. Ms Howard fell in love with bees, and here she imparts her vast knowledge to help us better appreciate pollinators and gain perspective on our own role in the natural world. This rekindled love of nature provides a backdrop for her life story, she discusses loves and losses with a graceful air of reconciliation and without bitterness. The author’s own narration of the audio book is serene, like a very patient teacher and edged with enthusiasm, wonder and delight. Calm acceptance is the overriding emotion in this deeply personal account, but the charming vignettes about bees give everything a sense of hope and gratitude for life and nature. A beautiful book to listen to.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance audio book.

Was this review helpful?

This audiobook managed to be both informative and also cozy. The author's narration was so relaxing to listen to, that I really just wanted to go sit in a little cottage of my own and look at nature all day. I didn't realize there were so many different kinds of bees out in the world. I hope to slowly learn more and more about the nature around me.

Was this review helpful?

Honestly, I didn't totally finish this one before my audiobook lapsed, but what I did get through was beautifully written and highly informative about bees. I would definitely be interested in buying a copy to finish it out.

Was this review helpful?

I received this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although I am a little scared of being stung by bees, I am also intrigued by them, so I was excited to read this book.

The author certainly knows a lot and is passionate about bees, and nature in general! Her enthusiasm is both inspiring and catching! I already noticed on my walk yesterday, that I could spot that an insect was a hover fly vs. a bee.

Renting an apartment without a garden or balcony, I am now rather sad that I won't be able to plant any flowers for pollinators.

Well written and chalk full of information about bees (I never knew there were so many species!) and plants. Definitely worth the read!

My only critique about the audiobook is that I would have liked to be able to see the actual pictures of the bees. I resorted to google -- if I had to do it over again, and I had a choice between the audiobook and the written book, the written book would have been my preference.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

The author has presented here a true labor of love. As an 'amateur' (in the true sense of the word, meaning someone who truly loves a subject), she imparts all of her self learned and self-taught information about bees and other related insects. And she has a lot of information at her disposal. As an amateur apiarist, I really enjoyed some of the things she had to say.

Was this review helpful?

Dancing with Bees in an in-depth view about bees and the natural world they exist in from the point of view of a passionate naturalist.

Perhaps I should start this book by admitting that I actually have a very physical fear of wasps. After once being attacked by a hive of angry wasps, my body can't help but freeze up anytime I here the buzz of a flying creature near by. However, I love flowers, have a modest backyard garden, and care about the Earth in a way that I truly don't want to be scared of bees (knowing that bees and wasps are two completely different creatures!) That being said, I thought this book might be both informative and helpful in trying to reconcile my physical reaction to being near bees.

This book definitely gives the reader/listener a lot of information that they probably never heard about bees and other wildlife that is associated with their habitats. It was extremely evident that there author is deeply passionate about bees, and conservation in a way that was inspiring! The narrator was easy to listen. That being said, I think this book would've benefited from little more editing to make it a bit more manageable for the average reader/listener. Though I recognize if the intended audience is more for enthusiasts, that may not be the case.

I would recommend for people looking to grow their respect for the flying friends of the world, learn about bees, or interested in discussion on the needs for humankind to be more responsive to irreversible damage being done to the natural world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Chelsea Green Pub Co for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?