Bees are like oxygen: ubiquitous, essential, and, for the most part, unseen. While we might overlook them, they lie at the heart of relationships that bind the human and natural worlds. In Buzz, the beloved Thor Hanson takes us on a journey that begins 125 million years ago, when a wasp first dared to feed pollen to its young. From honeybees and bumbles to lesser-known diggers, miners, leafcutters, and masons, bees have long been central to our harvests, our mythologies, and our very existence. They've given us sweetness and light, the beauty of flowers, and as much as a third of the foodstuffs we eat. And, alarmingly, they are at risk of disappearing.

As informative and enchanting as the waggle dance of a honeybee, Buzz shows us why all bees are wonders to celebrate and protect. Read this book and you'll never overlook them again.

In the late afternoon today, I was sitting on my porch in the shade, reading a book. I had a glass of fresh made strawberry soda, my reading playlist on, and there was a lovely warm breeze as the sun started setting over the trees. I thought to myself, I feel so peaceful right now. and how idyllic this is.

So I thought I would share my little moment of peace, and ask you all, what is a moment of peace you've had recently that has brightened your day?

hi all! I think it was shared earlier here that hachette employees are working to organize into a union - I reached out to them directly on how they want us readers to support them, and wanted to share their response here:

"What we are asking of folks who want to show their support is 1) Share the open letter with your community! If you know anyone else in the industry who supports our movement, ask them to sign this open letter. 2) If you’re feeling fired up, you could directly email our CEO David Shelley, our head of HR Carrie Bloxson, and our Deputy CEO Richard Kitson - their contact info is firstname.lastname@hbgusa.com."

and also wanted to share this info from them: "we are in no way focusing on boycotting at this stage of our campaign" and "right now we are focusing on prepping for a fair election and getting certified as a union first!" Any calls for a boycott should come from the union organizers themselves; otherwise it may inadvertently cause harm to their efforts.

finally, if you are interested in the history of unions in the US, I would recommend Fight Like Hell by Kelly Kim (I welcome any recs for non-US coverage as well!)

My daughter will be 20 this summer and I was thinking of getting her a Kobo as a birthday present and loading it up with some books before giving it to her. Thing is, she's actually not really a reader, but she says she wants to be more of one. During the pandemic when she was in middle school she did binge read quite a bit - and back then she was obsessed with all the Hunger Games books and Five Nights at Freddy's. Of course, she's older now. She's in art school, LGBTQ+, and most likely neurodivergent (we're sorting that out now) - Anyway, if anyone can relate to that background and has some book recommendations that would be great! I know the books that I love are probably not going to be things she's in to. (Also, since she's not a regular reader, she doesn't really follow what's out there except what's super popular in the mainstream - so she doesn't even really have a book list - I did ask, and why I'm asking here. Although, I have told her about Pagebound!).

All my timeline is flooded with people joining the new quests and I am here for it LETS GOOOOO 🙌

Whats everyone's new fave? Since spying that badge I feel werewolves are my new passion 🐺😍