I was not expecting to love this as much as I did! It was a surprisingly cathartic reading experience—academic people pleasers will understand.
I feelI was not expecting to love this as much as I did! It was a surprisingly cathartic reading experience—academic people pleasers will understand.
I feel Hazelwood has hit her stride with “Love, Theoretically”. I see so much of myself reflected in Elsie, which was both jarring and validating. I especially loved how honest Hazelwood’s portrayal of STEM academia is with its exhausting interview process, interfaculty feuds, and bad faith mentors.
At the heart of this novel is the courage to step into your authentic self and let go of the need to reflect what others want of you. Elsie and Jack’s relationship is as heart-warming and feel good as it gets.
Thank you to @librofm for the audio review copy! Phenomenal narration by Thérèse Plummer, I loved it so much I needed to pick up a physical copy. ...more
“what is a game? […] It’s tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It’s the possibility of infinite rebirth, infinite redemption. The idea that if you ke“what is a game? […] It’s tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It’s the possibility of infinite rebirth, infinite redemption. The idea that if you keep playing, you could win. No loss is permanent, because nothing is permanent, ever.”
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is a love letter to gamers and the intimacy of the creative process. It’s about the unique love and rarity of strong creative partnerships, friendships, tragedy, and rebirth. It feels like the magnum opus of game creation, recounting the journey of 3 college students as they pioneer virtual worlds. Sadie's story highlights the difficulties of making it in a STEM field as a woman in the 90s. Through Sam’s story, we see how carrying childhood trauma throughout your life, for better or worse, shapes who you are and the work you create. Gabrielle Zevin has written a sweeping novel capturing the intricacies of the creative process and the relationships that help us through it.
cw: death of parent, death, depression, medical trauma, car crash, cancer, suicide, chronic illness, mass shooting, gun violence, grooming, abuse of power...more
This is my first Abby Jimenez and I absolutely loved it! Absolutely no spice, but I could feel the chemistry and tension between Daniel and Alexis. ThThis is my first Abby Jimenez and I absolutely loved it! Absolutely no spice, but I could feel the chemistry and tension between Daniel and Alexis. The audiobook narration was INCREDIBLE! highly recommend listening to this one.
As someone who has spent the majority of the last 5 years in a lab setting, this one hit hard for me. Being a perpetual student has is lows, and this As someone who has spent the majority of the last 5 years in a lab setting, this one hit hard for me. Being a perpetual student has is lows, and this book captures the lab politics and isolation perfectly. Wallace hides himself in his grad work , but deep down he knows he is lost. He continues to float aimlessly because it's easier to stick with the devil you know than enter the real world. Is grad school where optimism dies? How do you unpack years of folding in on yourself? This is the only book I've come across that unpacks racial prejudice in the biomedical research setting and for that reason alone this book feels so important to me. I personally did not like Miller's characters, but I was happy to read how his relationship with Wallace furthered his arc. Wallace's development was definitely the high point of this book for me. The writing is meticulous and precise, which can come off pretentious at times, but it fit perfectly with the cutthroat and demanding grad school setting. As far as I'm concerned, this should be required reading for all grad students.
I LOVED this book so much. It's like if Taylor Jenkin Reid wrote Mad Men but set it in a chemistry lab and on daytime TV. Bonnie Garmus's writing is sI LOVED this book so much. It's like if Taylor Jenkin Reid wrote Mad Men but set it in a chemistry lab and on daytime TV. Bonnie Garmus's writing is so smooth and accessible, just like TJR's, so if you enjoy TJR's work, I think Garmus will become a new favorite of yours :)
Elizabeth Zott is a chemist who refuses to minizer herself despite the world conspiring to keep her contained. Elizabeth is so inspiring, especially as a woman in science, I feel empowered by her voice and determination.
Lessons in Chemistry follows Zott through her career as she fights to pursue her research in abiogenesis during the 1950s but takes a slight detour into daytime TV where she hosts a cooking show based in food chemistry.
I believe it's best to go into this blind. Lovers of science, food chemistry especially, will find this fascinating. If you aren't a lover of science, don't worry, Garmus does a great job keeping the jargon to a minimum making the science bits feel digestible and accessible to all.
I also loved how Garmus wrote certain sections of the story from the perspective of Zotts dog, six-thirty. Animal lovers will find their relationship incredibly heartwarming.
TW: rape on page, death on page, suicide (mentioned)...more
A gothic fantasy romance featuring an FMC who desperately wants to be a surgeon? I mean if there was a ever a book i feel was written specifically forA gothic fantasy romance featuring an FMC who desperately wants to be a surgeon? I mean if there was a ever a book i feel was written specifically for me, here it is. Contrary to what I was expecting, this leans heavily towards mystery/historical fiction, and the fantasy element creeps up on you at the very end of the novel.
The story follows Hazel, an aspiring surgeon, and Jack, a grave robbing body snatcher, as they find themselves at the heart of a mysterious sickness and string of peculiar events plaguing Edinburgh in 1817. I loved the attention to detail when discussion anatomy and medical history of the time (it's clear Schwartz took heavy inspiration from Frankenstein, a personal fav of mine).
My main critique of this novel is the ending felt rushed and I would have preferred to see some more philosophical/nuanced discussion of race, class, priviledge, and medical ethics.
All in all, I know teenage Olivia would have absolutely loved this book, and considering this is a YA release, it's a book I know young STEM minds will devour.
Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC, all opinions are my own....more
I haven't been this excited about a thriller in a long time! Psych majors (or any STEM major tbh) will absolutely love this. Such an interesting look I haven't been this excited about a thriller in a long time! Psych majors (or any STEM major tbh) will absolutely love this. Such an interesting look into the mindset of a group of people who are largely misunderstood. I also love that this was written by a scientist.... this is going on the list of fiction books I think STEM women would love....more
I happened upon this book accidentally. I intended to pick up a couple fantasy books and somehow found myself in the poetry section. I know next to noI happened upon this book accidentally. I intended to pick up a couple fantasy books and somehow found myself in the poetry section. I know next to nothing about poetry, but this book called to me from the shelves. When I read that this was a series of poems and short essays dedicated to unravelling beauty through the lens of a physician in training, it felt like some kind of divine intervention put this book in my path.
I see myself coming back to this work throughout my life. Every read will breathe new life and create new meaning. I find comfort in the fact that there are people like Orang who have devoted their lives to being physicians, but refuse to sacrificed their artistic dispositions. It makes me feel empowered to do the same.
"to devote oneself to the study of beauty is to offer footnotes to the universe for all places and all the moments that one observes beauty. I can no longer grab beauty by her wrists and demand articulation or meaning. I can only take account of where things touch."...more
This is an enemies to lovers gothic romance with a science infused magic system set to the eerie beat of a murder mystery.
(+ one bed trope) (+ healer This is an enemies to lovers gothic romance with a science infused magic system set to the eerie beat of a murder mystery.
(+ one bed trope) (+ healer trope)
There's so much about this book that speaks to me on a cellular level, I'm going to need to up-regulate helicase to help me unpack this gem of story.
This book is a love letter to all the hopelessly romantic science nerds (essentially - me). Not only is the writing exquisite, but Allison Saft took such tremendous care to incorporate beautiful physiology related imagery and description. Not everyone will catch on to these details, but i cant even tell you how many passages left me in awe ( i tabbed nearly every page in this book).
one of my favourites:
"The world closed in around her like an embrace, and the last thing to vanish were his eyes. Two points of darkness on which everything bright and beautiful converged."
The characters are real, beautiful and flawed. Effortless balance of character development and plot. The magic system is unlike anything I've ever read. If you love a good healer story this one is for you. The dedication of this book reads "For all the girls who feel too much". At its core, this book is about embracing your emotions and feeling them proudly because to feel is to live.
My mind is going 100000 miles a minute, i can hardly process the love and admiration i have for this book. If anything ive said here makes sense or peaks your interest give this book a solid chance to impress you (~100 pages of exposition is well worth it i promise you)...more
I have a soft spot for books about women in STEM and I was really looking forward to this sapphic post-grad burnout romance, but reading thiDNF @ 50%
I have a soft spot for books about women in STEM and I was really looking forward to this sapphic post-grad burnout romance, but reading this right after Brandon Taylor's Real Life set it up for failure. Honey Girl doesn't succeed as a romance for me. The intriguing premise breaks down in the first couple chapters. There just wasn't enough insight into the events that unfolded in Vegas to make me feel invested in the relationship between Grace and Yuki. There's a lot of telling and not showing, and the prose comes off corny and overworked. The most heartwarming element of this story was the relationship between Grace and her mentor Dr. MacMillan, but even that wasn't enough to keep me reading. Had I picked this up before Real Life, I think I would have finished it; unfortunately, it just pales in comparison.
I want to be brave like Dr. Jillian Horton. Why do so many writers become doctors? I felt a connection with Dr. Jillian Horton from the beginning. SheI want to be brave like Dr. Jillian Horton. Why do so many writers become doctors? I felt a connection with Dr. Jillian Horton from the beginning. She is a fellow Canadian, a lover of literature, who decided to study medicine at McMaster after turning down a PhD in english at Oxford. I have a soft spot for doctors who balance literature and medicine, because I feel they are two sides of the same coin: a study of the human condition. It takes courage to write this honestly, especially in a field that discourages discourse around mental health. This memoir doesn't offer answers so much as it offers insight. The notion that mindfulness will fix all doctors problems isn't the focal point for me, what shines through is the fact that doctors are left to grapple with a system that doesn't work, one that actually erodes the people who work within it, so much so that they end up at burnout retreats, in some cases only a couple years out of residency, if they make it out at all. COVID-19 put this struggle into perspective, and I hope the spark of a cultural shift that Dr.Horton hints at in this memoir grows stronger, because if we can't fix a system that's there to hold our hand on the worst days of our lives, what are we even doing?...more
Although this did feel textbook-esque at times with all the info/stat dumbs, it presents a very captivating and eye-opening perspective on how virtua Although this did feel textbook-esque at times with all the info/stat dumbs, it presents a very captivating and eye-opening perspective on how virtually all facets of our world were not built with women in mind. Really appreciated the added chapters on COVID-19...more
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