Skamania County Reads

What's happening?

We're having a community read with special events! Come to a library in Skamania County in April and pick up a copy of The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin to read and bring back so others can read it, too.

We'll have a book discussion on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 from 5:30-7 pm, and other speakers and programs during the month including an author visit. Choose events that appeal to you, and join in!

About the book

A feel-good, thought-provoking read for unsettled times, The Music of Bees by debut novelist Eileen Garvin follows three lonely people—a widowed beekeeper, a struggling teenager, and an anxious drifter—searching for purpose in rural Oregon while coming to peace with the painful detours in each of their lives. When the trio is thrown together on a local bee farm, they start to understand each other’s insecurities and find surprising friendship, healing—and maybe even a second chance—just when they least expect it.

A beekeeper herself in Hood River, Oregon, Eileen Garvin is well-versed in both the beekeeping world and the lifestyle and beauty of rural Oregon. A travel writer and memoirist whose work has appeared in Psychology Today, The Oregonian, and other outlets, Garvin’s writing about the subtle healing of beekeeping is magical and will appeal to readers who loved Delia Owens’ lush nature writing in Where the Crawdads Sing. Even more impressive is Garvin’s wholly original cast of characters—quirky, salt-of-the-earth people who step up to help their community when they’re needed most.

Learn more about bees

Read a book

Adult Non-Fiction

• "Attracting Native Pollinators: Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies: The Xerces Society guide"
• "The Beekeeper's Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes, & Other Home Uses" by Richard Jones
• "The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America's Bees" by Joseph S. Wilson and Olivia Messinger Carril
• "Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees" by Thor Hanson
• "Langstroth's Hive and the Honey Bee" by L. L. Langstroth
• "Real Gardens Grow Natives: Design, Plant & Enjoy a Healthy Northwest Garden" by Eileen Stark
• "A Short History of the Honey Bee: Humans, Flowers, and Bees in the Eternal Chase for Honey" by Ed Readicker-Henderson
• "Song of Increase: Listening to the Wisdom of Honeybees for Kinder Beekeeping and a Better World" by Jacqueline Freeman
• "Victory Gardens for Bees: A DIY guide to Saving the Bees" by Lori Weidenhammer

Adult Fiction

• "The History of Bees" by Maja Lunde

Board books

• "Hello Honeybees" by Hannah Rogge, Emily Dove
• "Little Bee" by Edward Gibbs
• "Little Yellow Bee" by Ginger Swift

Easy Fiction and Non-Fiction

• "Bee and Me" by Alison Jay
• "The Bee Tree" by Patricia Polacco
• "The Beeman" by Laurie Krebs
• "Bees" by Laura Marsh
• "The Honeybee Man" by Lela Nargi
• "The King of Bees" by Lester L. Laminack, Jim LaMarche
• "The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive" by Joanna Cole

Juvenile Fiction and Non-Fiction

• "Bee Fearless: Dream Like a Kid" by Mikaila Ulmer
• "The Nest" by Kenneth Oppel
• "The Way of the Hive: A Honey Bee's Story" by Jay Hosier
• "Zinnia and the Bees" by Danielle Davis

Watch a film

• Honeyland (DVD) 2019, 90 mins
• Pollination and Protecting Pollinators (on YouTube) (Washington State University Extension) 2020, 52 mins
• The Pollinators (from Kanopy) 2019, 1 hr 32 mins

Use these online resources

• Hegewald Center Demonstration Garden: how to use native plants to increase pollinator foraging opportunities and create habitat for wildlife
• Honey Bees + Pollinators (Washington State University)
• Western Washington Tree Fruit & Alternative Fruits: Pollination (Washington State University Extension)