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If you plan to read one book this summer, please let it be ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ by Bonnie Garmus. It’s such a delight. You will laugh. You will cry. You will jump with joy. You will vow to live life on your own terms and be you, unabashedly so. I absolutely loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. A couple of times, I even hugged it while going to bed. It just made me feel so good and positive about life.

Studded with a dazzling cast, ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ is set in the early 1960s when women scientists were unheard of. Elizabeth Zott is a chemist but she’s not your ‘average woman’. In fact, Elizabeth believes there is no such thing as an average woman.

But the place she works at—the Hastings Research Institute—doesn’t believe in equality. Her boss makes life extremely difficult for her. However, hope comes in the form of the brilliant Nobel-Prize-nominated scientist Calvin Evans who, like her, doesn’t think gender has anything to do with how smart you are. The two fall in love and their relationship isn’t your ‘average’ relationship. It’s a coming together of two great minds.

But life is unpredictable and Elizabeth ends up as a single mother and a reluctant star of a cooking show, Supper at Six. She doesn’t just tell you to put salt and vinegar. It’s sodium chloride and acetic acid, much to the chagrin of the producers who tell her she must be more ladylike. Her viewers think otherwise. They love the show and feel empowered by the way Elizabeth tells them to take charge of their lives while teaching them to cook delicious dishes. This infuriates men and even certain women who believe women have a dutiful place in society and shouldn’t challenge the norms.

‘Lessons in Chemistry’, which is about an exceptional woman struggling to make her place in a man’s world, is basically an exploration of gender discrimination. But it’s also about the essence of love and how your passion—towards work and life—can save you from the depths of despair.

Fiction

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57684325-lessons-in-chemistry 

Lessons in Chemistry

Bonnie Garmus

Published: 2022

Publisher: Penguin Random House

Pages: 390, Paperback

A couple of years ago, I read ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ by Iain Reid despite having watched its movie adaptation and not liking it very much. A story about an unnamed woman dating a dullish man called Jake for about six weeks when the two decide to go visit Jake’s parents, it was dark and creepy. I had bought the book because I had fallen in love with the cover but I actually ended up enjoying it quite a bit. 

So, I was excited to stumble upon another book by the author. ‘We Spread’ is a recent release—it came out last year. I’m Thinking of Ending Things was dialogue driven, ‘We Spread’  a lot less so. But despite the different writing styles, Reid knows how to captivate his readers. 

‘We Spread’  is a story of a widow who finds herself at a strange care home where time seems to pass quickly. At the beginning of the story, Penny lives alone in an apartment that she shared with her husband for many years. But she falls and injures herself when trying to change a lightbulb and finds herself being taken to a private care facility, Six Cedars, when she regains consciousness. Apparently, her husband had made the arrangements for her years ago. Her memory is failing her, so she can’t remember agreeing to it. 

Initially, she’s skeptical and wants to move back into her apartment. She thinks she’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But she slowly starts to adjust to life at the facility—she has people her own age to talk to and isn’t lonely anymore. The facility’s manager, Shelly, claims she has a background in science that makes it possible for her to provide top-notch care for older people. She seems to really care about Six Cedar’s six residents. But something feels off to Penny and she starts wondering if Shelly’s motives are actually driven by something sinister. 

‘We Spread’  is a quick read. The chapters are short, some just a page long. But its message about identity and aging makes you want to slow down and take your time. I have to admit it’s not an easy book. There were times when I had to pause and ponder over what I had just read or go back a couple of pages to make sense of things. The book is dedicated to Reid’s grandmother, who died in a care facility when she was 101, after having lived there for two years. Despite its horror backdrop, ‘We Spread’  is an important story that looks at how society marginalizes older people, and how aging is viewed with disdain and distrust.

Three-and-a-half stars

Fiction

We Spread

Iain Reid

Published: 2022

Publisher: Scribner

Pages: 287, Paperback

I had been looking for ‘In My Dreams I Hold a Knife’ ever since I first heard about it but I only recently got my hands on a copy. The book, I believe, lives up to the hype it received on Good Reads and BookTube—it has a 3.91 rating on Good Reads and so many BookTubers rave about it, calling it one of their best reads of 2021. It has suspense, intrigue, and drama, and the story unfolds beautifully, creating a tense environment you can’t (or don’t want to) escape. About six friends who meet during a college reunion 10 years after graduation, the narrative of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife alternates between the past and the present, which makes the story even more compelling. Winstead’s debut novel is an engrossing tale of love, lust, obsession, and murder, set against a fascinating backdrop of an elite university. 10 years ago, Jessica Miller and her friends, a group known as the ‘East House Seven’, suffered a horrific tragedy when one of their own was brutally murdered in her dorm room. Heather Shelby was stabbed to death while she was sleeping. The incident brought some of them closer but also tore others apart. Now, Jessica is returning to Duquette University and she wants to prove to her classmates that despite what happened, she has managed to do well in life. But Heather’s brother is determined to figure out what happened to his sister and has plans of his own for Jessica and her friends. I found the characters to be interesting, albeit a bit whiny and thus unlikable. Jessica feels like a central character but the others don’t seem like side characters either. Everyone seems integral to the story. It’s also interesting to see the story unfold from different perspectives. For a while, you walk in someone else’s shoes, and see things through someone else’s eyes and it’s fascinating. The good thing about the plot is that you can’t make up your mind about what might have happened. Just when you think things must have gone a certain way, something happens to make you doubt your thoughts. You will either love or hate ‘In My Dreams I Hold a Knife’ depending on what you are looking for or want from a story. If you are just looking for some suspense-filled time, you are in for a treat. But if a relatable story is what you want when you pick up a book, this might not be for you. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/50485649 Three and a half stars In My Dreams I Hold a Knife Ashley Winstead Published: 2021 Publisher: Source Books Pages: 326, Paperback

It’s hot, and that’s an understatement. I have been oscillating between wanting to take a long nap or perpetually immerse myself in a pool. But I must work to survive so that hasn’t been possible. So, I’m looking forward to the weekend when I can lounge around in a kaftan, sip on some cold coffee, the glass clinking with ice, and perhaps read a book uninterrupted. I want distraction and I have some good books in mind. Here are three summer reads that will take your mind off the scorching heat. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry The first time Poppy meets Alex she never wants to see him again. But as all great love stories go, they soon become friends and develop feelings for each other. Fast forward more than a decade later and Poppy is a travel journalist in New York and Alex is a teacher in their Ohio hometown. Despite being in separate places, the two have managed to reunite every summer for 10 years for a grand vacation. But they haven’t done so in two years, since their trip to Croatia when something happened. Poppy misses Alex and convinces him to join her for one more trip to save their friendship. ‘People We Meet on Vacation’ has the cliché friends-to-lovers trope but it’s a fun read because of Henry’s witty writing style.  The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren Olive has never liked Ethan, the brother of her sister’s fiancé. So, when everyone, except her and Ethan, gets food poisoning at her sister’s wedding, she finds herself with quite the dilemma – pose as her twin sister and go on the all-expenses-paid honeymoon to Hawaii with Ethan or let her archenemy go on his own. Ethan and Olive agree to act like a newlywed couple to avoid charges of fraud, but it doesn’t take long for them to actually start having feelings for each other. ‘The Unhoneymooners’ is a cute rom-com that will often have you in splits. The banter between Olive and Ethan is hilarious and endearing at the same time.  The Duke & I by Julia Quinn ‘The Duke and I’ is the first book in the Bridgerton series. Daphne Bridgerton is the eldest daughter of the Viscount, but the fourth of her eight siblings. Despite knowing most of the young eligible gentlemen in London, she is unable to get in a relationship with anyone. Her eldest brother’s best friend, Simon Bassett, the Duke of Hastings, has no interest in marriage or what the society has to say. The duo decides to fake a courtship. This way Daphne can be viewed as desirable, and Simon can avoid all the mothers who are pushing their daughters at him. It sounds like a great plan, but what they never factor in is that they might fall in love. Read the book for the fun banter and superb historical references and scenes.    

‘The Housemaid’ by Frieda McFadden follows a struggling young woman who makes a fresh start by working as a housemaid to a wealthy, upscale couple. But little does she know that the family isn’t as perfect as it seems. But Millie too has secrets of her own. The premise of the book is simple but gripping. Pristine and prim Nina Winchester hires Millie to cook and clean for them. Millie couldn’t be more grateful. She has been living in her car and would like nothing more than to ‘stretch her legs’ while sleeping. Even though she is given a tiny room on the top floor of the sprawling house, it’s a lot better than sleeping curled up in the backseat. So, she is determined to keep the job, which is basically cooking and cleaning for the Winchesters. But no matter how hard she works, Nina finds a way to create problems for her. Millie is also given a lot more chores than she was told she would have to do when she was being hired. Also, Nina makes a mess just so she can watch Millie clean it. She claims her daughter is allergic to peanut butter when she’s not. She tells Millie to make an appointment for a certain day and then claims she got the time wrong. Her husband Andrew is supportive of Nina and lets her do as she pleases but Millie can sense that he’s increasingly becoming weary of his wife. Worse, the couple’s young daughter seems to hate Millie and is hostile towards her. I couldn’t put the book down and finished it the day I started. I was desperate to know what happens next as well as how it ends. Though I did guess the twist, I didn’t expect it to unravel the way it did. The Housemaid was so good that I immediately bought another book by the same author (The Locked Door) and started reading it. My husband who, in our eight years of marriage, has never seen me read the same author back-to-back was shocked. The Housemaid is on his reading list now, and that’s saying a lot because he prefers non-fiction to fiction. McFadden is #1 Amazon, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author who works as a physician specializing in brain surgery. Her novels have been translated into more than 30 languages. Two-time Emmy nominee Rebecca Sonnenshine (The Boys) is set to make a feature adaptation of The Housemaid for Lionsgate. I’m so excited about that. The book felt like it was written for the screen. I can’t wait to watch it come to life. Four stars https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60556912-the-housemaid Fiction The Housemaid Frieda McFadden Published: 2022 Publisher: Penguin Books Pages: 306, Paperback  

Some books are the literary equivalent of a warm, comforting hug. With reassuring, fun storylines, interesting, relatable characters, or immense wit and humor, here are five books that can pull me up from the depths of despair. I hope they work their magic on you too.  Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan This book is just the right mix of romance, comedy and drama. Nick and Rachel, professors at the prestigious NYU, are in love. Rachel is the daughter of a Chinese immigrant and Nick is a Singaporean. Nick wants to take Rachel home for his best friend’s wedding. But Rachel has no idea that Nick is the heir apparent to one of Asia’s richest financial kingdoms, aka ‘crazy rich Asian’. He is also Singapore’s most eligible bachelor. With jealous spinsters, scheming mothers, and rich men trying to get to the top, ‘Crazy Rich Asian’ is a laugh-riot with some heartwarming moments in between. You can’t read this book and not be in a happy mood. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll This is a classic children’s book that adults must read as well. A story about a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole only to land into a fantasy world full of weird and wonderful people and animals, the book is fun and insightful. ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ is basically a series of curious and strange events that you will never see coming. You will meet some interesting characters who will teach you a thing or two about life. Alice’s conversations with the Cheshire cat and the caterpillar were my favorite bits of the story. I’m sure every reader will resonate with different parts of the story.   The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion Australian IT consultant Graeme Simsion’s first novel, ‘The Rosie Project’, is about a brilliant but socially inept scientist, Don Tillman, who is determined to find a suitable wife. He designs a questionnaire for it—a 16-page survey to filter out the smokers, the drinkers and the late-arrivers. Rosie Jarman is perhaps the most unsuitable woman for Don but he is intrigued by her quest to find her biological father. He becomes increasingly involved with Rosie and the two soon develop an unlikely relationship. The Rosie Project is light-hearted and funny. It’s also an extremely nuanced portrayal of living with the autism spectrum disorder.   What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty Alice, the protagonist, knocks herself out during a spinning class.  When she regains consciousness, she thinks she is a 29-year-old pregnant woman who is happily married to Nick. But she’s actually 40, has three children, and is going through a nasty divorce battle with Nick. Alice struggles to make sense of it all. She also can’t understand how and why she’s estranged from her sister, and how she became a super skinny mom with expensive clothes. She tries to piece together her life and, in the process, put it back together as well. ‘What Alice Forgot’ will make you giggle and it will make you ponder about what’s valuable in life. It’s also about the concept of aging gracefully and why that’s important. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman ‘A Man Called Ove’ is my favorite book ever. I must have included this book in almost every list possible. It’s the book I go back to when I want a pick-me-up. It’s what I recommend to everyone, at every possible chance. The Swedish novel by Fredrik Backman was published in 2012 and adapted into a movie in 2015. It’s a heartwarming story about the importance of community and finding your purpose in life. It also deals with themes of grief and moving on. About a grumpy old man called Ove who dislikes people, the story alternates between the present day and the past.

Neil Gaiman is the bestselling author of books, graphic novels, short stories, and film and television for all ages. His notable works include ‘American God’, ‘Neverwhere’, ‘Coraline’, ‘The Graveyard Book’, and ‘Norse Mythology’ among many others. He wrote the script for ‘Doctor Who’. Many people know him for the famous ‘Sandman’ series.  George R.R. Martin, the author of the wildly popular ‘Game of Thrones’ series once said, “There’s no one quite like Neil Gaiman.” I had only read a few of his works and while I had liked them, I hadn’t been crazy about any one in particular. A BookTuber I follow, Christy Anne Jones, raves about Gaiman’s book in almost every other video she makes. She mostly mentions The Graveyard Book, Norse Mythology, and ‘The Ocean at the End of the Lane’. I hadn’t come across these books in bookstores around town but I did get ‘Neverwhere’ and it was okay. I found ‘The Ocean at the End of the Lane’ at the recently opened bookstore, Bookverse, in Civil Mall in Kathmandu. It had the exact same cover Christy used to show in her videos. The copy also felt nice in my hand. It felt like the book and I had gotten off to a good start. And indeed, I loved it. The story is simple, the characters are so lovable, and the plot keeps you hooked. The story follows an unnamed man who goes back to his hometown to attend a funeral and recalls events that happened 40 years ago. He remembers a girl named Lettie Hempstock who had claimed the pond behind her house was an ocean. He stops by the house where the Hempstocks lived and meets a member of the family. In doing so, he starts to recall things he had long forgotten. The theme of the novel is basically our search for identity and the disconnect between childhood and adulthood. It starts off with a man reminiscing about his childhood and evolves into magical realism. The illustrations by Melbourne-based Elise Hurst who specializes in children’s books make the story come to life. They are a bit dark and surreal but the book wouldn’t have been as captivating as it is without them. There’s not much I can say about the book without giving the story away but The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a fantastic book that you should read if you haven’t already. Despite the horror element, it’s oddly comforting. It will also make you question how much of what you remember about your childhood is true, and how much of it is just your imagination. Four stars https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15783514-the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane The Ocean at the End of the Lane Neil Gaiman Illustrated by Elise Hurst Published: 2013 Publisher: Headline Publishing Group Pages: 327, Paperback  

I have never read a book and been on the fence about it. I have either liked what I’ve read or hated it. Or I’ve thought of it as an okay read, one that was good while it lasted but I wouldn’t really recommend it to people. But ‘Really Good, Actually’ by Monica Heisey has me in two minds. I liked it. I hated it. I found it interesting. But it was boring too, and it dragged on. I wanted to DNF it and end the misery right there, but I also wanted to find out how the main character fared in the end. It was such a confusing time. Was the book Really Good, Actually actually really good or was it not that good? That is the question I have been asking myself for the past couple of days. The story takes us into the chaotic world of Maggie, a 29-year-old Ph.D. student who recently got divorced and doesn’t know how to handle it. She’s unable to move on and she’s struggling financially as well. Life’s not that good. But it must go on. And so, Maggie finds herself dating random men, unable to commit to the one who meets all her expectations, spending money that she doesn’t have (and not checking her credit card bills), and ordering burgers at four in the morning, pretending they are for her (non-existent) dog. There is a lot to unpack in this novel. Maggie is going through a lot and she’s unable to deal with it. You get to see how that can impact one’s mental health. The protagonist comes across as pitiful and you want to slap her. Does she have the right to disturb others just because she isn’t feeling okay? Then, you see her trying to fix her life and want to give her a big hug (and maybe some money too). But the self-deprecating way in which Maggie speaks of herself, even if it is to distance herself from the pain, makes her come across as whiny and a bit narcissistic. Heisey, who was a screenwriter for the sitcom ‘Schitt’s Creek, is witty but the subject she’s chosen clashes with her style of writing. While trying to craft Maggie as a hopeless character, Heisey goes haywire and the protagonist comes off as annoying. The story, as real as it feels, gets a bit repetitive when the same thing happens over and over again—Maggie buying clothes she doesn’t need, spending time with friends to forget about her ex-husband, or going on dates just for the sake of it. It feels like an endless loop, without the story going anywhere. But then I wouldn’t really call it a bad book. Marian Keyes, an Irish author I really like, described it as ‘wildly funny and almost alarmingly relatable’. I can see where the appeal lies—the writing is funny and Maggie could easily be you or one of your friends. Some people might actually enjoy it. For me, I guess the book would have been better had it been shorter. Two and half stars Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60877616 Really Good, Actually Monica Heisey Published: 2023 Publisher: 4th Estate Pages: 376, Paperback