Lab Girl

'After a pause he closed his eyes and asked, "Am I a tiger yet?"

I looked him up and down slowly, and then answered, "No."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because it takes a long time," I answered.

"Why does it take a long time?" he pursued.

"Why? I don't know," I admitted, then added, "It takes a long time to turn into what you're supposed to be."'

Hope Jahren

Lab Girl

This book was so many things. It is a fantastic memoir of a woman who is so many things. It is a wonderful piece of writing on science and the way plants work and how we perceive them in our world. It is a magnificent examination of a relationship. It is funny, sometimes darkly hilarious and sometimes hopefully bright. If anyone only reads one book a year (which is a rather silly thing to do, books are awesome and everyone should read at least two) they should read this one. And I am sorry I am telling you about it now instead of in April when it comes out...so, pre-order your copies or reserve them at the library. Because this book is the bee's knees.

It is so hard to pin down exactly what I loved so much about this book. I don't know if it was finally reading a memoir of a woman who didn't stop doing what she loved cause she had a kid (why can't we have our cake and eat it too?), or the fact that she is so unapologetically passionate for science, and specifically plant science (if you missed kindergarten, trees are really important). I don't know if it was the honest critique of the way science funding is doled out in America, or the way Americans feel about curiosity driven research. "America may say that it values science, but it sure as hell doesn't want to pay for it." Maybe its how eloquently she writes, the grace with which she describes the natural world, and the humor she uses to explain how she feels about it. Maybe its the wonderful relationship she has with her lab partner that is so fantastically platonic, with no pressure to have something more, and how they see each other as they are. Maybe its the way she put word to how sexism has made me feel doing things that I love all my life, defining it as "the cumulative weight of constantly being told that you can't possibly be what you are." That thing that has often made me feel inadequate when I am more than qualified. Maybe its all of these things.

And for this book, I would like to thank her. This book meant so much to me. It made me feel that I am not alone in feeling the ways that I sometimes feel. It made me feel that its OK that I'm uncertain, OK that I'm not where I thought I'd be or that I don't have all the answers because things take time. 

And to everyone else: I highly recommend this book. It is truly on a different level.