Lessons in Chemistry: The multi-million-copy bestseller

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Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing. Overall, you’ll have gathered that I think this debut is amazing and I urge you to read it. It has every ingredient of a book that fascinates, delights, charms and engages. If for nothing else read it for Six-Thirty ... and to find his out he gets his name cos I’m not saying!! I’m over quirky characters who behave as if they are on the spectrum. Why can’t we have a woman who is a brilliant chemist but isn’t naive, socially awkward, and clueless? Except when she’s not, usually in time to deliver another monologue.

The 87-year-old, who remains Bestway’s chair, had left his native Pakistan seven years earlier for Britain, where he had taken on a variety of jobs including a period spent as a bus conductor in Bradford. Pervez’s convenience store business took off, putting 10 shops in London under his management. I found this mostly boring, to be honest. The book zips from really dark subjects like rape and abuse to light somewhat farcical subjects like teaching a dog English or Elizabeth becoming an amazing rower by studying physics (women can smart their way into being better than six foot athletic men at everything because saying they can't is sexist, yo)... and I struggled to find any of it compelling.I never felt like I was in a man’s world. My organic chemistry classes were grueling- but that wasn’t because I was a woman. I'm a staunch feminist and I agreed and/or recognised most issues, still, I just found this novel annoying, heavy-handed, and way too on the nose. I couldn’t help but laugh and cry with Elizabeth as she struggled to be the best mother and chemist she could possibly be. I’m pretty sure that this eccentric character will be one of my favorites in 2022.

this was a buddy read with Marialyce and another book to throw on top of the 2022 disappointing reads category. Also working at Hastings is Calvin Evans, a brilliant Noble prize nominee who has his very own massive lab where he can do who knows what and win more accolades. No one likes him either. Neither Calvin or Elizabeth care if anyone likes them, they just want to be left alone to do their jobs. But one day Elizabeth needs beakers and she knows Calvin has beakers so she barges into his lab and takes some. It's not love at first sight but it's pretty close and soon Elizabeth and Calvin are a very happy couple to the disdain of everyone who wishes them misery and failure. In my experience— I never had a problem. I wasn’t sexually harassed — nobody put their hand up my skirt unless I wanted them to . I was never patted on the head or belittle for being less than. Another point I'd like to bring up as a chemist, Elizabeth Zott apparently has several PhDs worth of knowledge, on degrees that she didn't even do. Her passion apparently is abiogenesis, to which actual scientists dedicate their entire academic careers solely, yet she also knows food science (an entirely different course of study) and can also teach herself how to row solely by reading physics textbooks (another entirely different course of study). It must be where her ridiculous daughter got her ridiculous genes from - she enthusiastically reads Norman Mailer and Vladimir Nabokov at age 4. I mean, didn't we all? She also debates religion with a reverend, who converts to atheism. Again, relatable pre-school experiences we all experienced.Also, we are given information at the end that suggests there was a valid reason Elizabeth wasn’t accepted in the doctoral program, that had nothing to do with her gender or an incident that happened early in the book. This confused me?! What was the message? 🤷🏻‍♀️ I don’t think anything I can say will do this book justice. I love it from beginning to end and it will most certainly be in my top five reads of 2021.

With the help of her “wise beyond her years” child, her overachieving dog, and a community of wonderful supporting characters, Elizabeth Zott-may just “change the world” one “thirty minute lesson at a time”! Elizabeth is VERY SEXY. She neither knows nor cares that she is sexy, puts no effort into her appearance, but the author makes sure we know that she is The Hot One. bc she is smart AND sexy. Or something. So far this book is really amazing at about 40% of the way in. I'm really really loving it -- but then I also felt that way about Tomorrow, Tomorrow & Tomorrow so we shall see. Elizabeth was difficult to warm to --not because of her abrasive personality-- because she felt like a mouthpiece for 21st Century feminist monologues. This is supposed to be the 1950s? I just didn't buy it. All her rants are straight out of a modern day Smash the Patriarchy podcast. Lessons in Chemistry tells the story of a brilliant scientific mind in the 1960s. Only problem is that the mind is in the body of the woman. Not just any woman, but an atypical one who has no interest in marriage or the other traditional trappings of domestic life. Still, one thing leads to another, and she finds herself with a daughter living in the suburbs. Because of the gender roles of that era, her passions and talents for chemistry are going to waste until she ends up with a nightly television show teaching other women how to cook. “Suppers at Six” finally gives home-bound, invisible moms a platform to ask questions, dream big, and prioritize themselves. It also puts items like “acetic acid” on their shopping lists. (That’s vinegar for all you non-sciency types like me.)Her blunt and honest comments about marriage, religion, and society's norms will be considered rebellious and unconventional. I'd recommend reading Jan's review ( https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), because it gets at a lot of the stuff I had an issue with in this book.)

There's lots of self-conscious quirk, some of which fits the period more plausibly than others, and much of it is based on stereotypes played for laughs, rather than realism. Like Elizabeth, my 20-something is a scientist at heart, with a passion for cooking. They've extended their skills beyond anything I've taught them by structured research and experimentation around the chemical reactions involved. But even they wouldn't call salt “sodium chloride” (except perhaps as a one-off joke), let alone vinegar by... whatever the chemical name was Elizabeth used on her TV show. the message is a worthy one. A woman ahead of her time in STEM who must fight the status quo in a male dominated world. But I think the message would have been stronger and more authentic if it had been realistic. There’s a lot of exaggeration and preposterous situations to drive a point home, which is not my favorite storytelling technique. What an absolute delight this was, from the very first moment to the last. It possesses all the hallmarks of the very best stories. It made me laugh, feel, think, and wonder. It filled me with joy and buoyed my spirits. It gave me everything I wanted and everything I didn't even know to ask for. Like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later, Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America's most beloved cooking show, Supper at Six. Elizabeth's unusual approach to cooking ('combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride') proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn't just teaching women to cook. She's daring them to change the status quo.Elizabeth Zott has a brilliant mind, so she believes but not a view shared by many men, except Calvin Evans. A man who has created his own rule book and because of his prized work is revered. Yet a man who shares Elizabeth’s passion for chemistry, igniting a romance and a discovery of soul mates that was not destined to last, when Calvin’s life was cut short prematurely. stars rounded up to 5. Book club recommended. Thanks to #NetGalley and Doubleday Books for my advanced reader copy. The expected publication date is April 5, 2022. Image: A mixed pair of rowers: students Jodie Cameron and Ryan Glymond at the 2021 British Championships ( Source) An insightful, part tear-jerker, truly hilarious at times work with more than enough charisma to make you want to be the best version of yourself? That is Bonnie Garmus’s masterpiece: Lessons In Chemistry. An 'unfortunate event' happened and Elizabeth actions were determined to be the cause. She knows that getting her PhD is no longer possible but she'll never give up her dream. Her only regret is not having more No. 2 pencils to use when the 'unfortunate event' took place!