The Reading Room

Each month a member of the team reviews a book of their choosing, irrelevant of genre or publishing date.

Lessons in Chemistry

Bonnie Garmus

Published: 2022, Doubleday; Penguin.

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. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Forced to resign, she reluctantly signs on as the host of a cooking show, Supper at Six....

A Book of Simple Living

Ruskin Bond

Published: 2015, Speaking Tiger Publishing Private Limited

This personal diary records the many small moments that constitute a life of harmony-with the self, the natural world, and friends, family and passersby. ‘A Book of Simple Living’ is a gift of beauty and wisdom from India’s most loved, and most understated, writer.    

The Practicing Mind

Thomas M. Sterner

Published: 2006, New World Library

We’ve all learned many skills through practice; we’ve just forgotten how. Everything we learn and master in life, from walking and tying our shoes to saving money and raising a child, is accomplished through a form of practice. This book shows readers that when they reside in the present moment, practice becomes effortless and enjoyable, and often the practice becomes...