Reading
I finished such a good book this week. So good, I could not put it down. I took it with me everywhere I went just in case I could squeeze in a couple of minutes of reading. The book? Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.
From the back of the book (because I couldn’t have made it sound any more appealing than Penguin do here):
“Your ability to change everything – including yourself – starts here.
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. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take 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.
But 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.
Meet the unconventional, uncompromising Elizabeth Zott.”
I can’t even begin to tell you how good this book is. Fascinating and brutal of women’s place in society in equal measures, Lessons in Chemistry makes you fall in love with the story’s protagonist. She is everything I admire in a person – intelligent, a desire to do the very best and make the very best of every situation and to do it by being unapologetically themselves…always. Elizabeth Zott is the woman I would have liked to be back in the 1960s. Heck, she is a woman I would be proud to be today in the 2020s.
There were times in this book that I cried, short moments of aghast when I could not believe what I was reading, other moments of increduality of shaking my head and times when I laughed out loud. Throughout it all I was Elizabeth Zott’s biggest cheer leader, willing her to find happiness and a sense of peace in her life.
An amazing wonder-filled book!
Watching
It is with great sadness that I can report I have finished The Great British Bake Off...all thirteen series of it! I miss it already and am in no way ready to start watching anything else. Instead, as Gary watches something, I update a post on my blog or listen to my latest audible book. Happy sigh. I love Audibles 💕
That said, I do sneak in a few short YouTube videos when I have a moment. I’ve posted a few of my favourite YouTubers in my past posts. but I have a new one today. Bindi Marc is someone I’ve followed back when she had only a few followers. Bindi is an unapologetically Christian woman who gives it to us straight. She reads books and shares her opinion on them, always referring back to the Bible when she does so. She also runs a modesty shop selling modest clothing which she sources herself. I like her no nonsense approach to teaching and the fact that she goes places others are too intimidated to go!
And then there’s Max Miller. This man’s channel is a somewhat odd channel for me to be recommending perhaps, but remember how much I love history and you’ll understand. Tasting History with Max Miller is a fascinating walk down the edible lane of past cuisines. He is funny, fast talking and not always successful in his attempts to recreate well known meals throughout history.
Listening
I am currently listening to three Audible books. Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie, which I am reading in order to see if it might a fun read along for my Mesopotamia unit study…if not for the children then perhaps for the homeschool parent! I’ve seen the film but I must say, considering how much I usually enjoy Christie as a writer, I am struggling to get into this one. The second book is Menopausing by Davina McCall. I bought it based on a recommendation. I’m not a huge fan of McCall but I must say I am not hating the book. I’m not sure I can say I’m enjoying it, but I can see its appeal at least.
The third book I am in the middle of is called Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Devin. This is an unusual book which I am very much enjoying. It was, again, recommended and I can honestly see why. I’m only four hours in but I’m really enjoying it so far.
Please do share any recommendations of books or shows you enjoy. I always add a recommendation to my ever growing books to read list so I will get to them eventually!