Image Credit: Penguin Random House, Http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/248239/lab-girl-by-hope-jahren/9781101874936/#
Image credit: Penguin Random House, http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/248239/lab-girl-by-hope-jahren/9781101874936/#
Marita here with a super-long review of a book I’m super passionate about. This book isn’t out until spring, but I am counting the minutes because I am going to tell everyone and their mother to read it.
I like my biology on the cellular level or smaller. I like thinking about viruses and bacteria and antibodies. Plants, geology, and ecology are not my cup of tea at all. I’ll admit that a part of that bias is that the more controlled, rigorous, replicable sciences are seen as more “pure” or “hard.” I’m into molecular biology, and molecular biology believes itself more scientific than botany and ecology. You can’t even do your experiments indoors in a controlled environment! You have to rely largely on unpredictable natural events to supply data! Freakin’ hippies. As such, I was a very skeptical when this botanist’s memoir came to my attention.
Oh boy, was I ever blown away.
Hope Jahren is a rare find. She is a scientist who has managed to write a memoir that is humble and grateful. In my experience, intellectual types tend to backhandedly brag about the burden of being a genius at least a little bit in their memoirs. Our author doesn’t fall into that rut. Oh, she describes in great detail the hours, weeks, and months that get swallowed up by lab work. But not once does she imply that it is her natural brilliance that fuels her--she runs on nothing but curiosity and perseverance. Any success she’s experienced is the result of hard work, not natural talent.
And even better--Jahren is an exquisite writer. She speaks of running the shell of a Hawthorne tree’s seed through a mass spectrometer (normally a very dry, incredibly boring procedure), and her description of the incident brought tears to my eyes.
This is a mass spec readout. Hope Jahren makes this seem like a thing of transcendent beauty. Image credit: IB Chemistry, http://www.ibchem.com/IB/ibnotes/full/ato_htm/12.1.2.htm
Jahren speaks of science the way I think about it, but have never found the right words for. I look at DNA and I see magic and beauty, but when I try to explain my experience to non-science people, their eyes glaze over. Jahren, on the other hand, speaks of the natural world with affection and wonder and joy. She captures that awe in the face of life’s mysteries. In her hands, science becomes a lens through which we can properly appreciate the glory of existence.
This is a book by a female scientist, so I imagine a lot of people will be expecting lots of commentary on how academia is a sexist boys’ club. Well, there isn’t. She’s been underestimated because of her gender; that’s an unavoidable fact for any woman in STEM fields. What I love about this memoir is that she acknowledges this fact and then moves on with her life. She doesn’t give those chauvinists any more of her attention than they deserve, which is none. She’s not a female scientist, she’s a scientist who happens to be female. She’s there to do a job, and that job is not to be offended. It’s to do science.
She does something special in this book, and I’ll love her forever for it: She gives us a peek behind the curtain. Her subject is the nitty-gritty of the scientific process--the undignified, inglorious, ridiculous mishaps and struggles that will never be published in a neat six-page Nature article. We live in a society where scientists present themselves as infallible and enlightened and progressive. If “science” says something, it takes precedent over any other form of knowledge. Jahren shines a light on just how dogmatic and backwards and resistant to change the world of science can be--a lesson we’d all do well to remember the next time a headline screams “Study Reveals Chocolate Helps Fight Cancer.”
Alternating chapters offer a peek into the inner lives of plants (and they are far more alive than we think). It’s a wonderful examination of these organisms we depend on, but often take for granted. Here’s how much these chapters got under my skin: Recently, while watching the Mythbusters episode where they strip a tree of its branches of its branches to make a catapult, I felt outraged at their mutilation of a living thing for entertainment.
And, of course, it would be unforgivable if I didn’t mention Bill. Oh, Bill. Partner-in-crime, best friend, collaborator, Bill is Jahren’s platonic soul mate. He’s the longtime lab partner that has been carted along with her since grad school, through three separate laboratories. He’s also quite possibly the most fun part of this book--or at least his interactions with Jahren are. What otherwise would have been a gorgeous examination of life in research is infused with humor and adventure and the best kind of weirdness thanks to him.
I love this book. It’s one of those books that feels tailor-made for me. But I want the rest of the world to read it, too. I want them to know the sacrifice and toil that went in to every line of those textbooks they fell asleep reading in high school. I want them to know that science isn’t perfect--it’s a conversation between a scientist and her data, and like all conversations, it can have awkward silences and may go in a direction you’re not comfortable with. I want them to know that life, the biological concept of life, is astounding and intrepid and precious. I want them to know that curiosity is a vital resource that should be cherished and nurtured. And I want them to know that fantastic people like Hope Jahren and Bill exist in the world.
Image credit: The Science Mom, http://the-science-mom.com/1020/growing-plants-seed-germination/
TL;DR Science! Please, please, please read this book.
More Posts from Thebookwenches-blog and Others
Hello from your friendly neighborhood Book Wench!
Since I’m the first of us slackers to actually post something on here, I figured I’d go ahead and introduce myself and our blog and what we’re about!
So, About Us:
The Book Wenches are a collective of fantastic booksellers, former coworkers, and eternal friends Alia, Claire, Jo Ann, Marita, Melissa, and Tori. Life has drawn several of us away from our beloved bookstore to distant and varied lands of the book industry. Thus out of a desire to keep in touch and to keep each other updated on the books we love, this blog was created!
While you will certainly encounter a wide range of genres, age levels, and interests here, we are all deeply invested in reading and promoting diversity in literature and are huge fans and supporters our faves @weneeddiversebooks.
We’ll be here to talk with you about what we’re reading–what’s new, what’s classic, what’s yet to be…and what’s good.
About Me:
Oh hey, I’m Tori! I’m 25, biracial, and coming to you live from the coffee shop I work in when I’m not out peddling books.
I primarily read Young/New Adult, but you can also expect a good deal of Middle Grade, some picture books, and occasionally an adult book or two (my attention span isn’t really capable of handling anything over 300 pages). The vast majority of what I read is Fantasy and Science Fiction (I am a sucker for a good fairy tale retelling), with a little Romance thrown in. I’m also a big fan of comics and graphic novels.
My favorite book of all time is The Two Princesses of Bamarre. The best book I read this year was Welcome to Night Vale (@welcometonightvalebook). The book I’m most excited about in 2016 is Catherine Egan’s Julia Vanishes (seriously guys, it is so good–I plan to read it at least twice more before it comes out in June)
Let's be friends
A Diverse Reading List For The Holidays: Because representation matters. We’ve gathered some of our favorite authors and characters from 2015 who speak from just a few of the myriad perspectives humanity has to offer. (Don’t see what you’re looking for here? Send us a chat!)
Taking Flight by Michaela DePrince
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehesi Coates
Negroland by Margo Jefferson
City of Clowns by Daniel Alarcón & Sheila Alvarado
Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older (@danieljose)
The Book of Phoenix by @nnedi Okorafor
Speak Now: Marriage Equality on Trial by Kenji Yoshino
Everything, Everything by @nicolayoon
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh (@rahdieh)
The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak
The Girl at the Center of the World by Austin Aslan
Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt
Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin
A Strangeness in My Mind by Orhan Pamuk
All Our Names by Dinaw Mengestu
The Moor’s Account by Laila Lalami
Peruse all of our holiday lists here!
whhhhhhhaaaaatttttt!!
I have no idea how this is going to turn out, but I am sUPER EXCITED FOR IT
Neil Patrick Harris To Star In Netflix’s A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
Hello!
So--me in a nutshell. I’m Marita. I’m 24 years old, I have a degree in biology that I’m going to do something with eventually, I’m fluent in French, I’m a vegetarian, and I ride a scooter. I love theater, traveling, music, and boating.
In terms of fiction, I gravitate towards science fiction and fantasy, especially in a modern-day setting. I love the books that make me feel like there’s still magic in the world, that the near future is full of limitless possibilities, and that I could walk out my front door on any given day and get swept up in an adventure.
I prefer to find weird, unrecognized books no one’s ever heard of as opposed to reading whatever’s getting a ton of attention at the moment. And yes, I know this makes me a huge hypocrite because I love telling other people what to read.
When it comes to nonfiction, I read my fair share of science writing--especially in the hard sciences--but I also like to read a lot of philosophy and theology because while science is an extremely powerful tool, there are a lot of big questions that it will never be able to answer.
My all-time favorite fiction books include John Dies at the End, Breakfast of Champions, Uprooted, Strangers and Sojourners, The Blue Castle, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Sandman, The Raw Shark Texts, Society of S, Good Omens, and Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal.
Favorite non-fiction books include Guns, Germs, & Steel, A Beautiful Question, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Something Other Than God, The Violinist’s Thumb, Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension, Christianity for the Modern Pagan, and Lab Girl.
It would take a long time to list my all-time favorite YA books, but I’ll inhale anything by Scott Westerfeld, Neal Shusterman, Garth Nix, Holly Black, Marissa Meyer, Rosamund Hodge, and William Sleator.
The other book wenches already know this because I mention it at any given opportunity, but my favorite series of all time is Animorphs. If you need me to explain why it is a masterpiece of the English language, give me a few hours and I’ll set you straight.
On a Chris Haughton kick today. Cannot wait for his new book, Goodnight Everyone, in the fall. <3
Chris Haughton’s beautiful storybook Shh! We Have A Plan was recently transformed into a live theatre production by Cahoots NI. We were lucky enough to make the backdrop animations, including these little fellows.
[Publishing] is a world where writers of color are damned if they do and damned if they don’t—we often find ourselves either being asked to “emphasize” (read: exoticize) our identities (“I love your writing about race,” one editor told me. “Do you have anything else like that?”) or pretend our difference doesn’t exist, to pretend our trauma doesn’t exist, to pretend that the audience we’re looking back at isn’t 90 percent made of white men. We’re pulled in so many directions, it’s a wonder we still have the energy to produce creative work. “Indict us!” the white audience shouts. “Comfort us! Teach us!” It’s an enormous amount of pressure. Sometimes, it can be embarrassing. In the words of Jay Z, “Can I live?”
Morgan Parker in Equity in Publishing: What Should Editors Be Doing? (via richincolor)
Guinea pigs are just the cutest little creatures.
Exciting news yesterday from Andrea Beaty, David Roberts and Abrams Kids! The newest book in the fabulous Rosie Revere, Engineer and Iggy Peck, Architect series has been revealed. :) She’s ADA TWIST, SCIENTIST!
Woo Hoo! for science and Woo Hoo! for two African American kids!
Hello! :) Bookwench #2 reporting in. Here’s a little about me...I’m Alia, I’m 27 years old and I love books, cake and Korean food. I used to be an elementary school teacher in Daegu, South Korea for about four years. Daegu is famous for being hot (it’s in a valley), has lots of great food and people there have the best Korean accent ( it’s like a tough southern accent). With a background in teaching and experience in children’s bookselling, my contributions to The Bookwenches will mostly be children’s literature related. I specialize in Picture Books. You have questions? I have answers. Need a suggestion? You got it. You like looking at pretty pictures?...WELL ME TOO! I also read quite a bit of middle grade and some YA. I like a little bit of everything; fantasy, historical fiction, sci-fi, fairy tale, realistic fiction, romance, coming of age novels, graphic novels etc. One of my favorite books of all time is Zel by Donna Jo Napoli. Like Tori, I like that medieval, princessy but AWESOME story stuff! In 2016, I’m looking forward to Sherman Alexie and Yuyi Morales’ new book Thunder Boy Jr. It’ll be Alexie’s first picture book!! If you don’t know him, just check out The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. You won’t regret it. I’m also looking forward to Pugs of the Frozen North by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre! You can also check me out at my blog readitrealgood.com and I have a twitter @readitrealgood. On my blog I share diverse and excellent reads. It’s intended to be a resource for people looking for great kids books, especially ones focusing on diversity. I also discuss diversity in literature and publishing and share my thoughts from time to time.
Nice to meet you...만나서 반갑습니다! 촣은 하루 되세요! ^_^
(lol sorry for the weird ass pic. This coffee place is super crowded and I can’t smile at my computer without people looking at me like I have the plague)
Heyoo! I’m Melissa and I’m Book Wench number… four? I am 24, live in good ol’ New York City, and I used to work with these lovely ladies in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Well, I’m def no stranger to the book industry. Former English major, former production editor at Pearson, former Cincinnati bookseller, current freelance editor (Mosaic Editing holler at me, this is a shameless plug for your editing services), current bookseller at Books of Wonder. I’m currently working on procuring a full-time job in publishing (aren’t we all HA HA HA).
A little about myself: I love Beyoncé with every fiber of my being. More than is really healthy probs. I listen to a lot of Christmas music. I’m really into astrology currently even though I’m very skeptical of it (it doesn’t make sense to me either). My favorite author is Hemingway, but not as a person. My favorite person is Libba Bray, but not necessarily as an author. I read primarily YA and middle grade (Books of Wonder is a children’s book store), and the occasional feminist adult fic. My reviews and recommendations will primarily be YA, holler.
I’ll post a normal pic of myself, idk, when one exists.
(That’s my cat, Casper. Casper the Friendly Cat. He’s probably the most important thing about me tbh)
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Meet the Book Wenches: Alia, Brett, Claire, Jo Ann, Marita, Melissa, and Tori. We're booksellers and friends, staying in touch through our love of books. We'll let you know what's good.
40 posts