From the Corner of the Library
Book Reviews ~ By Londa Brown

Welcome to a brand new offering from Washburn Memorial Library, “From the Corner of the Library.” Since we are celebrating “National Library Week,” this seemed like a good time to begin this post.  Every couple of weeks, I will give a book review of one of the books in our library.  Sometimes, word of mouth or a suggestion from a post will prompt you to check out a book to read.  My hope is that you may discover some books to add to your list.  For many years, every library book contained a pocket which was glued inside the back cover, and inside the pocket was a card containing the names of everyone who had already checked out the book.  It was fun to pick up a new book and discover the name of someone on the card who liked the same type of book you did.  You knew without a doubt that you were going to enjoy this new book.  Privacy laws no longer allow those cards, but today, everything is computerized and there are hundreds of sites informing us of the new best seller and the books we must read.  So yes, this is just one more offering to add to the list, but remember that each book can be checked out right here in Washburn.  I will try to offer hints on how to find just the right book for you through our library tools and will attempt to whet your appetite if you haven’t read a book in a while. 

This week’s selection I am going to recommend is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.  Hitting the shelves exactly one year ago, the book was an instant success.  The main character, Elizabeth Zott, exclaimed that chemistry is life.  That certainly did not sound like a book I would enjoy so I ignored it for an entire year.  And then, I picked it up and discovered the most amazing, unusual, self-driven woman making her path in the early 1960’s in a male-controlled world.  You will find yourself laughing and crying as you turn the pages of this story.  Here are a couple of things Elizabeth shares: “Sometimes I think," she said slowly, "that if a man were to spend a day being a woman in America, he wouldn't make it past noon.”  And certainly, her motto for her life, “Courage is the root of change—and change is what we’re chemically designed to do.”  You will find yourself cheering for this woman who is determined to make her mark in the scientific world.   Check this out!  You will not be disappointed.

 

From the Corner of the Library, Londa Brown