by Audra H. Anders for The Aha! Connection
I read two books over the holidays and started another. I have to pace myself or I’ll find myself reading 24/7 and forgetting to eat or sleep!
The first one I read was Lessons in Chemistry. It is Bonnie Garmus’ debut novel and it is a hoot. I often find authors “firsts” are their best. I love that this is her first book published and she’s in her sixties. The story is set in the 1960’s, a time in which culture expected women to stay home, cook, clean and raise babies. The heroine of the story is Elizabeth Zott. She’s a chemist….or is she a cook? She’s quirky but lovely and one of my favorite parts of the book is her teaching her dog almost a thousand words! If you love to cook, enjoy and love story, are a dog person, and adore precocious smart kids you just may read this book in one sitting!
Next I read The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel. Mandel is obviously very gifted and I’m surprised I haven’t read any of her books before. However, I enjoyed her style so much that I’m currently reading another one of hers (Sea of Tranquility). Both are NYT Bestsellers and The Glass Hotel is an International Best Seller. I must admit it is certainly more dramatic and depressing than Lessons in Chemistry but so interesting how lives are interwoven in this fascinating story of Paul and Vincent half brother and sister and how their lives weave in and out from childhood to adulthood. It is mysterious, sad, captivating, and thought provoking. I think it would make for a fascinating book club discussion.
