We’re kicking off the start of our winter book club with an online meetup on December 6. Sign up on Team Snap to join us.

We’ll discuss Lessons in Chemistry, a highly acclaimed new read by Bonnie Garmus.

Discussion questions

• What is your overall impression of Elizabeth as a protagonist? Why was chemistry the right career choice for her?
• Elizabeth enters a male-dominated field, and it’s a constant uphill battle. Have you ever worked in a field like that or been in a similar situation? Could you relate to what Elizabeth went through?
• How did Elizabeth’s unusual upbringing and volatile relationship with her parents impact how she approached relationships as an adult?
• What did you think about the eventual romance between Elizabeth and Calvin? Why were they a good fit and full of chemistry?
• Calvin proposes, but Elizabeth says no. What do you think was behind her reasoning for turning down the proposal?
• Why do you suspect the author decided to include the viewpoint of their dog, Six-Thirty?
• How did Calvin’s death change everything for Elizabeth?
• When Elizabeth finds out she’s pregnant, she’s less than thrilled. She never planned to become a mother, and with Calvin’s death, she’s now all alone to raise their child. In what ways did motherhood surprise Elizabeth?
• Why did Elizabeth agree to host the cooking show? Why did the show resonate with women across the country?
• Why did Elizabeth eventually leave the cooking show?
• What are your thoughts about the reveal that Calvin’s mother was behind the funds for Elizabeth’s scientific research?
• What did you think about the ending overall? What happens next for Elizabeth?
• Did you feel like you learned any lessons from reading the novel?
• Do you have any favorite passages or scenes you would like to discuss?

Summary

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.