Lessons in Chemistry, Week 3

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of Lessons in Chemistry. 

Did you enjoy the reading this week? I was so relieved when Harriet Sloane entered the picture. She definitely made everything possible for Elizabeth. I was so glad that Elizabeth finally had another person in her corner. Weren't you so glad that they found each other? I was sorry to read about what a creep Harriet's husband is. He was just the worst. I don't know how she stomached spending any time with him. 

I could  not believe that Elizabeth accidentally named the baby, Mad. What a wacky name! Of course Six-Thirty would be the one to figure out a way to make Mad work. What do you think of Madeline? I think she is exactly the kind of daughter I would expect Elizabeth to have. She's brilliant and self-reliant and curious. I really enjoyed reading about her. Didn't you wish her teacher at school had been a bit more kind and understanding towards Madeline? I just felt so frustrated that the teacher seemed set on making things hard for her students! I also knew that her family tree project would not go over well. I'm sure there were a lot of students who would have trouble filling out all of their family details. It was good that the family tree project made Madeline dig a little bit into Calvin's past. I think that will end up being a good thing. 

Did you expect things to go well for Elizabeth when she went back to work at Hastings? Do you have any more of an idea of who the donor might be? Do you think the person is trying to help Elizabeth specifically? I wasn't surprised when we found out that Donatti and Boryweitz stole Elizabeth's research and wrote their own article. That is exactly the type of people they are. It was nice that Elizabeth got another ally at work after she bonded with Miss. Frask. Don't you wish they had been able to connect with each other a long time ago? 

What do you think of Walter Pine? Are you surprised that he was interested in working with Elizabeth after she lectured him about school lunch? I think I might be intimidated by Elizabeth, so I don't know if I could work with her after hearing her yell at me. I thought it was interesting how Elizabeth was set on having it be a scientific cooking show, but the network was set on it being a typical cooking show for housewives. They really should have anticipated that Elizabeth was not going to be a typical cooking presenter. She always stayed true to her personality regardless of who she was talking to, so they should not have expected her to act differently in front of the camera. I thought it was really funny that she wanted to wear a lab coat and needed to have so many scientific supplies around her. Can you imagine any other women at home making food with a Bunsen burner? Are you surprised that women were interested in watching Elizabeth on TV? What did you think of the fact that some of the kids in Madeline's school end up bringing in the same leftovers that she has? Does it surprise you that so many people close to them watch and cook along? What did you think of the part where Elizabeth talks to the audience and tells that woman to go to medical school? I thought that was really special. I loved how Elizabeth helped women to believe in themselves. 

I was very surprised when Madeline met the minister who had written to Calvin. It was pretty heartbreaking when Madeline showed her family photo but it was just a picture of Elizabeth and Six-Thirty at Calvin's grave. That was so sad. But, Madeline doesn't seem to have a bad attitude about it. 

How sick did you feel when  you read about Lebensmal's attack against Elizabeth? I couldn't believe it. I figured he was a creep since everyone made a big deal about her seeing him along, but I didn't expect him to come on to her so violently. That was disgusting. I was so relieved when she pulled out that huge knife. He deserved to be so scared that he fainted! What a jerk. 

Are you excited to finish up the book? Do you think you have any idea what is going to happen next? Do you have any idea how the story is going to wrap up? 

Before you go, check out this cooking video with the cast of Lessons in Chemistry. Doesn't that lasagna look so delicious? Are you tempted to try the recipe? 

Thanks so much for following along this week! Don't forget to leave a comment to let me know what you thought of this section! Make sure to finish the book before checking back next week!