Best for: People who like a really well-plotted, well-written books that have some truly unexpected moments. In a nutshell: Elizabeth Zott is a chemist in the 1950s and 1960s, when women aren’t really allowed to be. Or at least, not supported to be. This is the story of her life, and how it intertwines with others. Worth quoting: “…and one who went along because she, like so many other women, assumed that downgrading someone of her own sex would somehow lift her in the estimation […]

This delightful little story was gifted to me by a colleague for my birthday, with the promise that ‘it’s not a chemistry textbook’. Too right! Rather, it’s the tale of Chemist Elizabeth Zott – a fiercely intelligent woman who is up against it in the 1960s, trying to be taken seriously as a chemist despite her gender. She is belittled, bullied, and outright assaulted… yet never waivers in her devotion to science or her resolve to make her mark. It is during her tenure at […]

Lessons in Chemistry (2022) by Bonnie Garmus is on NPR’s Best Books List, but I’d seen the title all over the place. The pink cover with the woman on the front made it look like a romance novel, but the NPR description sounded a lot more fraught than what you would expect. Initially, it didn’t sound very appealing, and I wasn’t even sure I wanted to read it. I did become a little more interested when it was recently recommended by a book club friend. But […]