[Dusty_Star]

I recommend this one, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Fun

[Keefelane66]

Have not read but started watching series on apple tv enjoying it so far

[2newyorkers]

I read it and enjoyed.

[Boomer]

I saw the author interviewed at an event, sponsored by an Ohio library. It was in a campus auditorium and it was SRO. Women of all ages were there.

Bonnie Garmus is 66 and this is her very first published book. Her career has been as a copywriter. She is a delightful interview, very funny and insightful.

She said her agent wanted her to leave out the dog. HAH! 6:30 is a wonderful character and integral to the storyline. (Her real-life dog’s name is 99.)

Garmus said she had to order a 1950s chemistry book on eBay to teach herself chemistry from the ‘50s, so she would not have any anachronisms in the 1950s setting of the book. (Don’t worry. You do not have to wade through a lot of chemistry in the book. She just makes sure that when she does write about it as part of the story, she gets it right.)

I recommended this one to my book club and everyone loved it — and some found good discussion when recommending it to their daughters and daughters-in-law. I call books like this “Women Trapped in Time” books. Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant chemist trapped in the 1950s world of men in science. After some very sad events, she ends up with a cooking show. Cooking is chemistry, after all. Her cooking show has a lot more to it than what was expected.

The AppleTV version seems to be changing some things. And 6:30 is a doodle. He is an excellent actor, but I don’t think there were doodles in the 1950s. Of course he could have been an an unplanned doodle, I guess.

Anyway, I loved the book.

Boomer

[Smalley]

I also loved the book. Very funny and gives a realistic history lesson of the sexism of the 50's and 60's without being "preachy"; just funny.

[Dusty_Star]

Originally Posted by Boomer

She said her agent wanted her to leave out the dog. HAH! 6:30 is a wonderful character and integral to the storyline. (Her real-life dog’s name is 99.)


Boomer

Thanks! I did not know that about her agent. What a mistake that would have been if 6:30 was removed. I agree with you, he was integral to the plot & also contributed to a lot of the laughs.

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by Dusty_Star

Thanks! I did not know that about her agent. What a mistake that would have been if 6:30 was removed. I agree with you, he was integral to the plot & also contributed to a lot of the laughs.

Yeah. She said her agent is a cat-person.

There is an exclusive edition now from B&N that includes endpapers with a chapter originally left out that has more about 6:30.

I just saw an article from the LA Times titled “Lessons in Chemistry: Five changes to the series from the book explained.” You can read it without subscribing — if it is your first article, I guess.

I wish they had not changed Harriet’s story. The original character is surviving an awful marriage and her story seemed to entwine better with the plot. The series’ Harriet’s story is an important one, historically, but I find it distracting from the original, closely knit storyline. But I guess we will see where this one goes.

It must be so hard for an author to relinquish control of the product of her brain, but I guess Apple bargained like they wanted to and, of course, this kind of success paid her well. Her name is on the credits as being part of the series input, but I don’t think she got everything she wanted………

Oh well, tough problem to have, huh.

Boomer