Book Review: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow - this book was incredible and I'm still thinking about it several days after finishing it.  Definitely five stars!!  Elizabeth Zott is a chemist in a man's world in the 1950s and 1960s.  After being fired for being pregnant without being married, she stumbles upon a job hosting a cooking show on the local TV channel.  The show becomes wildly successful due to the way she approach cooking (like a chemistry experiment) and the support that she gives her audience of housewives.  She has a very precocious 4-year daughter and a dog named Six-Thirty (the time he followed her home from the market).  In my opinion, if you take Dr. Temperance Brennan from the Bones TV show, make her a chemist in the 1960s, and throw in Wes Anderson along with some quirky characters, and you've got Lessons in Chemistry.  This is the author's debut novel, and I didn't want it to end.  Looking forward to more from Bonnie Garmus in the future.  

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book!!

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Book Review: Gratitude by Oliver Sacks

Gratitude by Oliver Sacks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very quick read - just four short essays written towards the very end of his life.  However, it gave me a lot to think about.  The essays talk about aging, terminal illness, facing death, and embracing life.  Overall, very inspirational.  It was recommended in Julianna Margulies' memoir, Sunshine Girl, as an inspiration for her to practice gratitude. 

“My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved. I have been given much and I have given something in return. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.”
—Oliver Sacks

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Book Review: Sunshine Girl: An Unexpected Life by Julianna Margulies

Sunshine Girl: An Unexpected Life by Julianna Margulies
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Julianna Margulies had a very unstable childhood due to her parents' divorce when she was quite young.  She and her older sister had to become self-sufficient very early in life.  Her mother was quite a free spirit, whereas her father was more traditional and conventional.  The family lived in England while her father was still in the U.S., making it difficult to shuttle back and forth.  She always wanted to spend more time with her father and get to know him better.  She was very driven, always striving to do well in school, and starting to take jobs when she was just 14.  This helped to develop her incredible work ethic.  I'm a real fan of her work on both ER and The Good Wife.  I was anxious to read more backstory about her work on these two shows, but there were just two chapters devoted to this part of her life.  Overall, this was a very interesting story about her life. 

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Book Review: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Trisha McFarland is a nine year old girl who goes for a day hike on the Appalachian Trail with her mother and older brother.  Early on, she gets separated from them and spends days alone in the woods trying to find them, trying to find a trail, and trying to find civilization.  Trisha is an incredibly intelligent, self-reliant, and resourceful girl which is why she is able to survive for so long.  She has a Walkman and listens to Red Sox baseball games when she gets tired or sacred.  She idolizes Tom Gordon, their relief pitcher, and has imaginary conversations with him in the woods, making her feel safe.  It is her conversations with the pitcher that gives her hope and keeps her going.  This book was a real page-turner, but I literally had to set it aside each day about 5:00; I'm a big scaredy cat when it comes to reading thrillers, and this genre has the tendency to keep me awake at night.  

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Book Review: Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin

Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm a big fan of Gretchen Rubin -- both her podcast and her books.  I re-read this book (yet again) starting on January 1st of 2023...to become better than before...again.  It's packed full with ideas, suggestions, examples and motivations on how to change your personal habits.  As an Obliger (one of her four tendencies described in the book), I'm all about fulfilling obligations to others.  I gained a lot of great information on this second reading, and it reminded me of many things that I have read previously but forgotten.  All in all, a good start-of-the-year exercise in self-improvement.  More to follow.

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Book Review: Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn (Mitch Rapp #3)

Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another page-turning political thriller in the Mitch Rapp series of books.  A group of terrorists have accessed the interior of the White House, murdered many of those working there, and taken the rest as hostages.  The President, along some of his staff and secret service personnel made it safely to his White House bunker in the nick of time.  Mitch is state-side and is immediately summoned by the Joint Chief of Staff, along with the head of the CIA to stealthily infiltrate the White House.  I didn't want to put it down; the suspense kept me going until the end.  My only quibble with the book is a minor one -- the main character is Mitch; his side-kick in the White House is Milt; and there is also a Mick and Mike among the minor characters.  

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Book Review: My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan

My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Julia Whelan writes fantastic dialogue, plus creates an incredible sense of place (Oxford).  Ella Durran arrives in Oxford to spend a year as a Rhodes scholar studying English Literature from 1830-1914.  We immediately fall in love with her as she struggles with her luggage, tries to find her room, and locate something to eat - all while being very jet-lagged.  She immediately makes several friends who provide comedic fodder and support throughout the book.  She starts dating one of her professors who is extremely charming and good looking - a "friends with benefits" only situation.  Their relationship is going swimmingly until they encounter a serious challenge.  Together they work to overcome it but Ella has to decide whether she stays in England or returns to the States at the end of her Oxford year.  Julia Whelan may be best known for her audio narrations, and I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to listen to her narration of her own book.

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