Brenda Chapman's 3 favorite reads in 2023

I thoroughly enjoyed the quirky main character, Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist fighting to be a scientist in the male-dominated workplace in the sixties.

Being ousted from her lab position, Zott eventually hosts a cooking show on television and uses chemistry to teach women the scientific ins and outs of meal preparation. The story is one of triumph over a great deal of adversity, an inspirational tale for all of us who have experienced the glass ceiling because of our gender, or who don’t fit the mold of what is considered proper.

Having once been told by a group of women that I’d never find a man if I didn’t dumb down my intelligence, Zott’s uncompromising brilliance is a beacon of light.

I enjoyed the twists in the story and found the ending full circle and satisfying. Lessons in Chemistry is a delight to read.

Yellowface is a multifaceted, satirical story about two young female writers in New York, one mediocre and struggling to be known; the other immensely talented and instantly famous.

The story is told first person through the eyes of June Hayword, the not-very likable, struggling author who takes her dead Asian friend’s (although June secretly envies and despises her) unpublished manuscript and makes it her own.

The publisher then transforms June into an ambiguously Asian woman, giving her the name Juniper Song, and helping to propel her into a best-selling author and famedom. The narrative raises the issues of appropriation and who has the right to tell what story, the line between “taking inspiration from” and stealing another’s work, and the way publishers and publicists manipulate readers by creating author personas.

The story is witty, cringe-worthy at times, cutting, and ultimately unforgettable.

One of the strengths of the book is Kuang’s ability to refrain from giving definitive answers or offering her own opinions on some divisive and topical issues — my book club had a great discussion as a result!

Scotch Mist is the first book that I read in Catriona’s hilarious series, featuring Scottish-born therapist Lexy Campbell.

This is also the first book I’ve read set during the beginning of the pandemic, and it captures the general chaos and trepidation that we all experienced in a gently humorous way.

Lexy and several select people move into the California Last Ditch Motel to isolate for what they believe will be a few weeks — funny in hindsight — with the motel owner being a full-blown germaphobe, a condition of paranoia we all experienced during those first weeks when we were ordered to isolate in place. One of the motel guests disappears, leaving behind her two young children and a trail of blood, and the mystery is underway.

The writing is witty and laugh-out-loud funny with a twisty whodunit at its core. It’s also a tale of friendship and loyalty during a time of great stress. An enjoyable, heart-warming book written with a deft and compassionate hand.