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babbieabbi's review
Just not in the right mood for this book, I’m definitely interested but I’ll wait for a time it’s higher on my priorities
itsdeenlee's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness
jenmangler's review against another edition
3.0
Lab Girl is a highly readable love letter to science. The way Jahren writes about trees really moved me. I'm going to share these bits of the book with my tree-loving mother, who never passed up an opportunity to plant another tree in her yard (or mine). She's going to love it.
kitkat962's review
4.0
I slowly fell in love with this book somewhere in the middle, after I got used to her writing: a little bit of narrative, a speck of opinions, a lot of plants and the lessons they teach about life and living.
The ending chapter, and especially, the final paragraph gave me hope: "As a scientist, I am indeed only an ant, insufficient and anonymous but I am stronger than I look and part of something that is much bigger than I am. As a tiny, living part of the scientist collective, I've sat alone countless nights in the dark, burning my metal candle and watching a foreign world with an aching heart. Like anyone else who harbors precious secrets wrought from years of searching, I have longed for someone to tell"
It was truly inspiring for scientist-in-training, and encouraging for scientist-to-be. I highly recommend it: you won't see just a passionate researcher, but a person, as humane as possible, with flaws, love, and fearlessness.
The ending chapter, and especially, the final paragraph gave me hope: "As a scientist, I am indeed only an ant, insufficient and anonymous but I am stronger than I look and part of something that is much bigger than I am. As a tiny, living part of the scientist collective, I've sat alone countless nights in the dark, burning my metal candle and watching a foreign world with an aching heart. Like anyone else who harbors precious secrets wrought from years of searching, I have longed for someone to tell"
It was truly inspiring for scientist-in-training, and encouraging for scientist-to-be. I highly recommend it: you won't see just a passionate researcher, but a person, as humane as possible, with flaws, love, and fearlessness.
madjaz217's review against another edition
There's nothing extreme that made me want to stop reading, it just seems like a meandering narrative for a memoir. It's a bunch of vignettes of this scientist's life in the lab, and there's really nothing else going on. I don't see an overarching point that will make this more plot-like. If you want to know what it's like to dedicate your life to lab work, this is a great book to read. I've gotten what I wanted out of it at the 36% mark, and don't see the style or narrative changing enough from here to keep me engaged.
mdevlin923's review
3.0
Hope Jahren shares her life story and educational/professional journey as a scientist along with botanical and environmental science facts.