Lab Girl is a book about work, love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. LAB GIRL is the memoir of a brilliant and passionate geobiologist whose love for science is infectious, in a good way. Interspersed into the autobiographical chapters are short essays on trees and the ways they survive, grow, and interact with each other and their environments. A review likened it to "what Oliver Sacks did for neuroscience," which of course got me excited. "Lab Girl" is made up of short and seemingly only loosely connected narratives. Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2018. Disabling it will result in some disabled or missing features. There is no biblical nonsense about the planet being only six-thousand years old. The one thing that I wonder, even after experiencing it two times, is that she keeps details of her upbringing somewhat private and alludes to not having been shown a lot of love; however, that didn't change the fact that I loved the book. Lab Girl is her engaging new memoir, which tells the story of her fight to establish and fund her own research laboratory. However, it also helped that she has a very engaging writing style with all the personal details that makes me wonder how the *heck* she remembered every tiny detail. I loved that readers learn that she suffers from a mental illness (this isn't a spoiler, the book is ranked #1 in bipolar disorder). In Lab Girl the reader gets to experience the stressful, competitive world of a research scientist trying to survive in academia while also navigating becoming a wife and eventually a mother, all while managing what is often a debilitating mental illness.… HuffPost is part of Verizon Media. The constant internal struggle to figure out who we're supposed to be, and how we're supposed to get from here to there, is the story that Hope tells in her memoir - complete with laughter, tears, stress, love, and everything in between. When someone in my book club chose LAB GIRL for our next discussion, I didn’t rejoice. Every other chapter is a short piece about plant properties and they are all very interesting. There's a problem loading this menu right now. The first time I experienced this book, it was the audio version performed by the author. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Jahren is a beautiful writer. And I love that she provides tons of interesting information about plants. I found myself also looking up additional information about plants the author mentioned such as cholla cactus, the hackberry tree, the monkeypod tree, and horsetails. Discussion Questions - PLG_CONTENT_PAGEBREAK_PAGE_NUM - LitLovers If this book were fiction, I’d have said the protagonist is an unreliable narrator, who’s not a very relatable person. You can still see all customer reviews for the product. Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2018. I'm the author of the upcoming memoir Operation Cure Boredom (available 10.18.16). The book traces the history of Hope Jahren and her lab manager, Bill, who is her science nerd clone, as they endeavor to establish and … The book traces the history of Hope Jahren and her lab manager, Bill, who is her science nerd clone, as they endeavor to establish and … Yet this book, which might better be considered a platonic love story to Bill, her long time lab partner, rather than a book about the life of a scientist, was tainted by the gleeful disdain that Jahren and Bill show for many other people. Lab Girl is a memoir of a life dedicated to science. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Part autobiography of a female scientist and part pop science book on the life of trees--well-written on both sides, Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2017, This book is in part the autobiography of a female scientist with a career in a field that is both male-dominated and in which basic science is the meat and potatoes—by which I mean a discipline with few of the commercial applications at which companies, foundations, venture capitalists, and governments are willing to throw millions. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. I would give the book five stars if she'd just stuck to the plants and Bill. This is not a simple "I was born, grew up and lived" story. I started and could not finish this book 2 years ago, so yesterday I decided to read it. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. Hope Jahren's story is the proof of the old adage "do what you love, and the rest will follow". But her stories about her lab, and her eccentric yet lovable lab partner Bill are truly what gives this book its heart. Here is an eloquent demonstration of what can happen when you find the stamina, passion, and sense of sacrifice needed to make a life out of what you truly love, as you discover along the way the person you were meant to be. Barbara M. Thiers, Ph.D., is the Patricia K. Holmgren Director of the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium and Vice President for Science Administration at The New York Botanical Garden. However, the reader quickly finds out that the short chapters are connected in so many different ways. Jahren’s story begins in rural Minnesota in her father’s lab at a community college, where he taught physics and earth science for 42 years. I was wrong. When Hope Jahren was a young girl, she regularly visited her father's science lab at a community college in a small town in Minnesota. My friend pointed out that she does some unethical things (and she does) but that didn't sway me. It's completely wonderful, I will be returning to this book again and again for sure. It’s also a meditation on nature’s majesty, a tale of spiritual awakening, and a guide to living in harmony with your purpose and your environment. Lab Girl is her warm, witty recounting of the near half century of adventures, setbacks, and detours that brought her from there to here. LAB GIRL is the memoir of a brilliant and passionate geobiologist whose love for science is infectious, in a good way. “Lab Girl” is the story of a girl who becomes a scientist. It reads like a novel, with plot twists, heroes, villains and a relatively happy ending. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, absolutely excellent plant biologist autobiographist, Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2017. Some people want a more detailed memoir, but I like her dry sense of humor and irony, and I am glad she is not giving me every little detail of her life. In these pages, Hope takes us back to her Minnesota childhood, where she spent hours in unfettered play in her father’s college laboratory. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. In her engrossing new memoir, Lab Girl, Jahren is alternately funny and moving, whether she’s writing about deciduous trees, her marriage, her lab partner or her childhood. Her passion for science started as a little girl spending hours in her father's lab. News, author interviews, critics' picks and more. Geochemist Hope Jahren writes with such flair that a reviewer is tempted to just move out of the way and quote her. Lab Girl is a book about work, love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. I am sincerely disappointed. In Love with the Lab: A Review of “Lab Girl” Posted inBooks: Past and Present, Personalities in Science onApril 26, 2016 by Barbara Thiers. Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2016. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “Lab Girl” by Hope Jahren. Anyone who has ever held an attachment to a space of their own can relate to her emotions toward sterile equipment and concrete surfaces, where lessons are learned, wounds are mended, and things just make sense. Ms. Jahren covers such areas as bacteria, seeds, the importance of sterilization during lab research, fungus, soil, vines and weeds, communication between plants, how trees manage seasons, plant sex, and plant memory. Like Lab Girl by Hope Jahren 60 Second Book Review I Girl About Library HI ALL! Lab Girl shares Keller’s joy in discovering kinship with the world. This is a terrific read. Reads like a great novel, but it's a real life. Lab Girl NPR coverage of Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. LAB GIRL. Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. There are also no photos or sketches in the nonfiction work. Present throughout is her lab partner, a disaffected genius named Bill, whom she recruited when she was a graduate student at Berkeley and with whom she’s worked ever since. Brimming with love for science and disdain for students, Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2016. In fact, there is very little that I don't love about this book. This page works best with JavaScript. I love that she has such a great relationship with her lab partner, Bill. I loved it, so I bought it, and read it through a second time. United States and Canada: Alfred A. Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2016. My name is Dan Martin. Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address, Browsing and search activity while using Verizon Media websites and apps. Lab Girl does have one flaw: Jahren feels perpetually dissed by male scientists, but she offers little empirical evidence of gender bias. The book traces the history of Hope Jahren and her lab manager, Bill, who is her science nerd clone, as they endeavor to establish and fund their research. Our Reading Guide for Lab Girl by Hope Jahren includes Book Club Discussion Questions, Book Reviews, Plot Summary-Synopsis and Author Bio. Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2016. Far from boring, the segments on plant life are engaging and interesting, even for people (like myself) with very little understanding of plant biology. Lab Girl Summary and Study Guide. 'Lab Girl' is more memoir than a book full of science trivia about plants. Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2016 Jahren is a beautiful writer. With Lab Girl, Jahren has taken the form of the memoir and done something remarkable with it. 3 distinct works • Similar authors Lab Girl 3.99 avg rating — 54,585 ratings — published 2016 — 53 editions To enable Verizon Media and our partners to process your personal data select 'I agree', or select 'Manage settings' for more information and to manage your choices. She is a good scientist and a good writer. Lab Girl is her revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also a celebration of the lifelong curiosity, humility, and passion that drive every scientist. Lab Girl by Hope Jahren 54,574 ratings, 3.99 average rating, 7,450 reviews Open Preview Lab Girl Quotes Showing 1-30 of 339 “Science has taught me that everything is more complicated than we first assume, and that being able to derive happiness from discovery is a recipe for a beautiful life.” ... ― Hope Jahren, Lab Girl. Her chapters on soil and trees and plants were gripping and eye opening--even for this scientist reader. We and our partners will store and/or access information on your device through the use of cookies and similar technologies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. With what is happening in the world these days, all I want to do in my spare time is eat Snickers bars and watch The Office re-runs. Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2017. It is told through Jahren’s stories: about her childhood in rural Acclaimed scientist Hope Jahren has built three laboratories in which she’s studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Lab Girl opens your eyes to the beautiful, sophisticated mechanisms within every leaf, blade of grass, and flower petal. I was sucked into this memoir probably because I'm about the same age, from roughly the same places in Dr. Jahren's life and I'm also a scientist. She imparts on her readers life lessons learned both from her own perspective, as well as from the perspective of the plants that her life revolves around. Although oftentimes when I discuss a book with friends I come to like it a little bit less or more, in the case of this book, that was not the case. Yet this book, which might better be considered a platonic love story to Bill, her long time lab partner, rather than a book about the life of a scientist, was tainted by the gleeful disdain that Jahren and Bill show for many other people. Instead, I appreciated the fact that she has become such a successful person in spite of the fact that like all of us, she IS flawed and she is not afraid to share that fact. Lab Girl is a 2016 memoir by American geochemist, geobiologist, and professor Hope Jahren, published by Alfred A. Knopf.It is the recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography, a New York Times notable book, winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science prize for Excellence in Science Books, a finalist for the PEN/E.O. It’s also the story of a career and the endless struggles over funding, recognition and politics that get in the way. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls. Hi! Plants are not like us, yet we share a place to live with them. A fantastic and timely read. I strongly wanted to love this book, because my friends have recommended it to me as a triumph of female scientists. 9 likes. But the book is …