Lessons in Chemistry
2 journalers for this copy...
One of 20 titles recommended to me by a Facebook friend when I posted a "read 12 recommendations in 12 months" challenge for 2023. I've pledged to read all of them this year.
One of the 22 books I’ve been challenged by Facebook friends to read in 2023, I’ve read a variety of disparate reviews on this, and wasn’t sure what to expect. Elizabeth Zott is a chemist, completely out of her element in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when a woman’s role in business and society was very tightly defined in our culture. Rejected by the male-dominated academic and professional scientific community, Zott finds herself in front of a TV camera – the star of an afternoon cooking show. She makes it her own, weaving foundations of chemistry into every episode and encouraging a generation of American housewives to consider not just “who we are or what we’re made of, but rather, what we’re capable of becoming.”
I found this book both entertaining and thought provoking. Bonnie Garmus has a *wicked* sense of humor, which she sprinkles like seasoning throughout the story. My mother would have been about the same age as Elizabeth Zott, and I know she faced some of the very same challenges. I’m glad I read this – it gave me a new appreciation for the women who opened doors for the generations to follow. Overall a fun read.
Some fun quotes:
“While we may be born into families, it doesn’t necessarily mean we belong to them.”
“One thing I’ve learned, Calvin: people will always yearn for a simple solution to their complicated problems. It’s a lot easier to have faith in something you can’t see, can’t touch, can’t explain, and can’t change, rather than to have faith in something you actually can.”
“They were the kind of people who make up the majority of every company — normal people who do normal work, and who occasionally get promoted into management with uninspiring results. People who weren’t going to change the world, but neither were they accidentally going to blow it up.”
“Idiots made it into every company. They tended to interview well.”
“Failures, by their very nature, had a way of being unforgettable.”
“In short, the reduction of women to something less than men, and the elevation of men to something more than women, is not biological; it’s cultural.”
I found this book both entertaining and thought provoking. Bonnie Garmus has a *wicked* sense of humor, which she sprinkles like seasoning throughout the story. My mother would have been about the same age as Elizabeth Zott, and I know she faced some of the very same challenges. I’m glad I read this – it gave me a new appreciation for the women who opened doors for the generations to follow. Overall a fun read.
Some fun quotes:
“While we may be born into families, it doesn’t necessarily mean we belong to them.”
“One thing I’ve learned, Calvin: people will always yearn for a simple solution to their complicated problems. It’s a lot easier to have faith in something you can’t see, can’t touch, can’t explain, and can’t change, rather than to have faith in something you actually can.”
“They were the kind of people who make up the majority of every company — normal people who do normal work, and who occasionally get promoted into management with uninspiring results. People who weren’t going to change the world, but neither were they accidentally going to blow it up.”
“Idiots made it into every company. They tended to interview well.”
“Failures, by their very nature, had a way of being unforgettable.”
“In short, the reduction of women to something less than men, and the elevation of men to something more than women, is not biological; it’s cultural.”
Journal Entry 3 by 
djf1968
at A fellow BookCrosser, A RABCK -- Controlled Releases on Saturday, November 18, 2023
djf1968 at A fellow BookCrosser, A RABCK -- Controlled Releases on Saturday, November 18, 2023
Released 2 wks ago (11/17/2023 UTC) at A fellow BookCrosser, A RABCK -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
It's in the mail to the bamaforever, the random winner of my Fall into Autumn RABCK. Enjoy!
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You've found the book I released!
Please take a minute to make a journal entry to let me (and all who may have read it before me) know the book is safe and has found a new reader. You don't need to join BookCrossing and you can remain completely anonymous. If you do decide to join, you can follow this book's future travels, as you’ll receive an email anytime someone makes a journal entry. It's fun, free, and confidential.
When you’ve finished reading the book, please make another journal entry to let us know what you thought of it. It's now yours, and you can keep it if you choose or share it for others to enjoy. If you do pass it along, please make a release note to let others know where you left it or who you shared it with.
----------
You've found the book I released!
Please take a minute to make a journal entry to let me (and all who may have read it before me) know the book is safe and has found a new reader. You don't need to join BookCrossing and you can remain completely anonymous. If you do decide to join, you can follow this book's future travels, as you’ll receive an email anytime someone makes a journal entry. It's fun, free, and confidential.
When you’ve finished reading the book, please make another journal entry to let us know what you thought of it. It's now yours, and you can keep it if you choose or share it for others to enjoy. If you do pass it along, please make a release note to let others know where you left it or who you shared it with.
Thank you so much for this book, the delicious sourdough bread, and the teas. Such a fun and lovely package!
