***Now Available***Bonnie Garmus has done a wonderful job in presenting an unorthodox protagonist with her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry. Meet Elizabeth Zott, a 1960s woman who loves being a chemist during a time when women were expected to be housewives.After being forced out of college early, she takes an underpaying job at Hastings Research Laboratories. There she meets and falls in love with the brilliant and famous chemist, Calvin Evans. When Calvin is out of the picture, Elizabeth gets...

After seeing endless 5 star reviews of “Lessons in Chemistry, a book I hadn’t considered reading…. — I thought- “Well, Wow…..it must be extraordinary—some secret I should find out?/!” My enjoyment value was simply ‘so-so’. I didn’t come away with the enthusiasm for this book like many other readers did. In my own life in ‘California’ - during the 50’s, 60’s….I was a Kinesiology major at UC Berkeley. I never felt like I was in a man’s world. My organic chemistry classes were grueling- but that wa...

This is a Historical Fiction book. I had so many different feelings about this book. I really did not like Elizabeth's character in this book. I did not like that Elizabeth was so smart, but she was so dumb at the same time. I hate that she did not see people walking all over her. I also did not think she really put a fight for women rights. I just felt she did everything to make things hard on herself. I really wanted to love this book, but I just did not. I hated the first half of this book, a...

Imagine if all men took women seriously . . . When you come across that perfect read, at what point do you realize? For me, it was from the very first page of Lessons in Chemistry.Honestly, who does Bonnie Garmus think she is, coming in here and writing a book that completely speaks to me? And on top of that, it's her debut. Well, just knock me over with a feather too while you're at it, why don't you!Elizabeth Zott is a chemist in the 1960s. The problem is, she is the only one who views hers

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie GarmusIt's the early 60s and chemist Elizabeth Zott is causing her usual ruckus at Hastings Research Institute. For one thing, she can't be a real chemist for the simple fact that she's a woman. Also, she won't make copies, get coffee, or do any of the other woman's work at the institute, and she's so cold and prickly she doesn't want to be touched or groped and isn't willing to provide "favors". Those are the reasons the men don't like Elizabeth. The women don't l...

1.5 stars The synopsis describes this book as “laugh out loud funny”, recommended for fans of Where’d You Go Bernadette and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. A female chemist in the ‘50s? Great! Count me in.BUT….I obviously read a different book. - this book should be shelved in the fantasy section. Seriously. It’s fantasy. Which is fine, but if I had known I would have skipped it. The switch between fantastical elements and serious ones gave me whiplash. - Funny? Within a few pages a woman is called a...

***HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY***This is one of the most unusual books I’ve read this year. Thanks to my friend CeeCee for pointing it out to me with her five star review.Elizabeth Zott is not your average person. She’s a brilliant, highly trained scientist who hasn’t gotten farther along in the world of chemistry simply because she’s a woman. She is working at the Hastings Institute performing a job that she is completely over qualified for! Through some crazy, at times hilarious encounter, she meet

WITTY and WONDERFUL -this is a MUST READ, laugh out loud DEBUT! Meet Elizabeth Zott.She is a brilliant Chemist, a staunch Atheist, and a determined Feminist. Most probably “on the spectrum” ( though this wasn’t recognized as such in the 1960’s) and most DEFINITELY ahead of her time, refusing to accept the status quo. In need of beakers for her Lab, she dares to take some from the Lab of Hasting Research Institute’s Nobel-prize nominated star-Calvin Evans-a loner who holds a grudge, but the resul...

"HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY 4/5/22!" "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus is a delightful debut novel! Elizabeth Zott, a research chemist at Hastings Research Institute, believes in equality, not a popular opinion in 1952. The all male research team she works with talks down to her rather than appreciating her as the driving force behind their projects. She's weary of males talking over her when she presents her findings and taking credit for her work. The one exception to this is Calvin Evans, a

Elizabeth Zott is my kind of person. And this is some very fine storytelling.To be back in the world, without EZ and her matter-of-factness – her gumption – Real Humanness – her solid system of belief – and yes, her chemistry monomania – to be back in the world, without all of this, is honestly terrible. Absolutely terrible. Let me walk you through this. Though it is one emotionally-charged story, and only reading it can make things right in this fairly horrible world we live in. Also, there is

Set in the 1950s and 1960s, Bonnie Garmus's offbeat comedic historical debut is a joyous and vibrant delight that will wrap its tentacles around your heart with its central protagonist, single mother and research scientist, the smart and beautiful Elizabeth Zott, whose passion for science has her seeing the world and people through the lens of Chemistry. Unfortunately for her, she lives in a time where it is believed that women have no place in science, it's a world where men dominate, control,

Five big stars I love books with quirky, intelligent characters. So, I was immediately drawn to Lessons in Chemistry. Elizabeth Zott is a chemist in the early 1960s, back when women were a rarity in the field. Headstrong and independent, she refuses to tow the line expected. I came more than a decade later, but men’s attitudes hadn’t changed much in the 70s. So, I totally related to her, especially her relationship with Six Thirty. The book follows her as she becomes a single mother and then the...

Everything I love in a book—smart women, great dog, found family. Excellent read.I adored chemist Elizabeth Zott. She's trying to exist in the "good old boys" world of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Where the woman's place is in the home, remaining silent, and following along with what the men say. Yet Elizabeth isn't wired that way, and the journey of this book shows her humor, warmth, and intelligence in a way that baffles the status quo. This novel is uplifting, at times infuriating, and sti...

This is possibly the very definition of a perfect read. My goodness. Love, love, love.

I wish I could give this so many more than 5 stars. I loved this so, so much. I can’t remember the last time a book made me laugh out loud all throughout, even though I was equally outraged at the horrific sexism Elizabeth faced. Set in the 1950s to early ‘60s, Elizabeth is far a more brilliant chemist than most of her male colleagues, except for one . . . who also recognizes her brilliance even though she possesses ovaries and refuses to fetch the coffee. They fall in love, and though Elizabet...