Myths & Legends: January Theme Talk

This month we’re reading and chatting about Zoology! In this episode Mags and Jen chat about animal fiction and non-fiction they love or want to read, and we get some info on future themes and past podcast launches. 

Books Mentioned:

• Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
• The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
• The Cat Who Saved Books by Sôsuke Natsukawa
• Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
• Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Caroll
• The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame
• His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
• The Soul Of An Octopus by Sy Montomery
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelly Van Pelt
• Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life by Peter Godfrey-Smith
• In The Shadow Of Man by Jane Goodall
• The Rise And Fall Of The Dinosaurs by Stephen Brusatte
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• Room by Emma Donoghue
• The Bees by Laline Paul

 References:

• What is the plural of octopus? 

Join us for our March book club book Below The Edge Of Darkness by Dr Edith Widder!

Where to find us:

• Join the Scientists Who Read book club & community
• Follow Scientists Who Read on Instagram & TikTok
• Follow Jen on Instagram
• Find all of our other links, such as our merch shop here
• Support us & get exclusive bonus content on Patreon

In our first Scientist Who Reads guest episode we are joined by Dr Alice Hesse who speaks about her journey in STEM, becoming a mum while doing a PhD and being a working mum in STEM. She tells us about her favourite books of the past year, how the book club and allowing herself to read the books she wanted to read re-ignited her love for reading, and how books can help us realise things about ourselves.

You can find Alice’s Instagram here  

Books Mentioned:

• The Perfect Wife by J P Delaney
• The Keeper Of Lost Things
• The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
• Kim Jiyoung, Born 19
• Legends And Lattes by Travis Baldree
• Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex by Oksana Zabuzhko
• Your Ad Could Go Here by Oksana Zabuzhko
• Life Goes On Anyway by Oleg Sentsov
• Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
• Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
• Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

References:

• Alice’s thesis on STEM Teacher Beliefs and Inquiry-Based Teaching Practices 
• NICHT im Fachraum essen (German science education podcast) 
• Let's talk SCIENCE! episodes where Alice was a guest to talk about being a mum in science and doing a PhD, and the importance of science education (episode 1 & episode 2)
• Helena’s Instagram for your romance recommendations 

Join us for our March book club book Below The Edge Of Darkness by Dr Edith Widder!

Where to find us:

• Join the Scientists Who Read book club & community
• Follow Scientists Who Read on Instagram & TikTok
• Follow Jen on Instagram
• Find all of our other links, such as our merch shop here
• Support us & get exclusive bonus content on Patreon

In our first book episode of 2024 we chat about our Myths & Legends January book Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes. We discuss how awful and useless gods and heroes can be, who the real monsters of mythology are, and our newfound love for jellyfish.

Books Mentioned:

• Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald
• The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

References:

• Find out more about Medusa, including all the scientific names 
• The picture of Discomedusae we’re looking at 
• Picture of the Gorgoncephalus caputmedusae starfish 
• Image of a Coronamedusae 

Join us for our March book club book Below The Edge Of Darkness by Dr Edith Widder!

Where to find us:

• Join the Scientists Who Read book club & community
• Follow Scientists Who Read on Instagram & TikTok
• Follow Jen on Instagram
• Find all of our other links, such as our merch shop here
• Support us & get exclusive bonus content on Patreon

We’re back with another Theme Talk to chat about our February birthday month theme Books Squared, all the books about books we can think of and want to read, or think you might want to.

Books Mentioned:

• Babel by R F Kuang
• The Dictionary Of Lost Words by Pip Williams
• The Bookbinder Of Jericho by Pip Williams
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt
• The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
• A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness
• Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
• Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
• Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
• Yellowface by R F Kuang
• The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
• Days At The Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
• Welcome To The Hyanam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum
• Rutherford and Fry’s Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything by Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry
• The Bookseller At The End Of The World by Ruth Shaw
• The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
• The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa

Join us for our March book club book Below The Edge Of Darkness by Dr Edith Widder!

Where to find us:

• Join the Scientists Who Read book club & community
• Follow Scientists Who Read on Instagram & TikTok
• Follow Jen on Instagram
• Find all of our other links, such as our merch shop here
• Support us & get exclusive bonus content on Patreon

Our January book club theme is Myths & Legends, and with this new episode format we bring you additional book recommendations as well as personal anecdotes related to our theme. Prepare yourselves for talks of legendary past book club reads, stories of our mythology origin stories, and delve into the depths of our TBRs.

Books Mentioned:

• The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller
• Circe by Madeline Miller
• Percy Jackson & The Olympians by Rick Riordan
• Priory Of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
• Children Of Blood And Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
• Daughter Of The Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
• Heart Of The Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan
• Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
• The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
• Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald
• Elektra by Jennifer Saint
• Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
• A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness
• Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
• Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes
• The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
• The Silence Of The Girls by Pat Barker
• A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
• House Of Names by Colm Tóibín
• To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

 References:

• Mythen - Michael Köhlmeier erzählt Sagen des klassischen Altertums (podcast episodes on various Greek myths in German) 

Join us for our March book club book Below The Edge Of Darkness by Dr Edith Widder!

Where to find us:

• Join the Scientists Who Read book club & community
• Follow Scientists Who Read on Instagram & TikTok
• Follow Jen on Instagram
• Find all of our other links, such as our merch shop here
• Support us & get exclusive bonus content on Patreon

In our final book episode of the 2023 Scientists Who Read season we chat about the ultimate cosy fantasy Legends & Lattes by Travils Baldree.We discuss how we feel about low stakes fantasy, decide we’d definitely visit Viv’s cafe if possible, and learn about our first experiences with coffee. We also wrap up a year of book club books and podcasting, telling you about our favourites and some fun podcast stats.

Books Mentioned:

• Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
• To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt
• Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
• The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
• Love On The Brain by Ali Hazelwood
• Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
• Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka

Join us for our March book club book Below The Edge Of Darkness by Dr Edith Widder!

Where to find us:

• Join the Scientists Who Read book club & community
• Follow Scientists Who Read on Instagram & TikTok
• Follow Jen on Instagram
• Find all of our other links, such as our merch shop here
• Support us & get exclusive bonus content on Patreon

In this episode we talk about our November book club book Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer. We discuss our love for audiobooks, recommend some of our favourites and learn more facts about mosses.

Books Mentioned:

• The Soul Of An Octopus by Sy Montgomery
• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• Game Of Thrones
• The Stormlight Archives Series by Brandon Sanderson
• Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
• Explaining Humans by Dr Camilla Pang
• Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt
• The Lord Of The Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
• Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen
• The Gender Games by Juno Dawson
• Pageboy by Elliot Page
• Spare by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex
• Becoming by Michelle Obama
• A Promised Land by Barack Obama 

References:

• Deliciously Ella Podcast with Matthew Walker 
• Ologies episode with Robin Wall Kimmerer 

Join us for our March book club book Below The Edge Of Darkness by Dr Edith Widder!

Where to find us:

• Join the Scientists Who Read book club & community
• Follow Scientists Who Read on Instagram & TikTok
• Follow Jen on Instagram
• Find all of our other links, such as our merch shop here
• Support us & get exclusive bonus content on Patreon

In this episode we talk about our October translated tale Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo and translated by Jamie Chang. We chat about translated books and what they can teach us about different cultures as well as our own, and Jen and Mags finally get to discuss a book they have different opinions on.

Books Mentioned:

• Blindness by José Saramago
• Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates 
• Fix The System, Not The Women by Laura Bates 
• Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
• I Want To Die But I Want To Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee

References:

• Breaking Down Patriarchy podcast episode with Jamie Chang 
• Gender pay gap in South Korea 
• Article about Molka, the spy cam problem in South Korea 
• Kpop Bookshelf podcast episodes about Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982: Part 1 & Part 2 

Join us for our March book club book Below The Edge Of Darkness by Dr Edith Widder!

Where to find us:

• Join the Scientists Who Read book club & community
• Follow Scientists Who Read on Instagram & TikTok
• Follow Jen on Instagram
• Find all of our other links, such as our merch shop here
• Support us & get exclusive bonus content on Patreon

In this episode we talk about The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, our September book. We talk about the life of Henrietta Lacks, her immortal cells and how they have impacted all of our lives. Whether you’re a scientist or not, we’d love for you to listen to Henrietta’s story.

References:

• Henrietta Lacks’ Story
• A video on DNA extraction from strawberries 
• The Role of Telomeres in Stem Cells and Cancer
• Scientific advancements enabled by the use of HeLa cells 
• A timeline of some of the major scientific discoveries thanks to HeLa cells 
• Paper about Listeria monocytogenes invasion of epithelial cells 
• Difference in US regulations now 
• An overview of the Alder Hey organs scandal and a newspaper article
• Use of human tissue in research in the UK https://www.hra.nhs.uk/planning-and-improving-research/policies-standards-legislation/use-tissue-research/ 
• Nature article from 2020 commemorating Henrietta's centennial year 
• The HeLa100 Initiative 
• Helen Wilson-Roe’s statue of Henrietta Lacks 
• The Henrietta Lacks Foundation 
• Submit your book to our 500 Scientists Who Read Books list  

Join us for our March book club book Below The Edge Of Darkness by Dr Edith Widder!

Where to find us:

• Join the Scientists Who Read book club & community
• Follow Scientists Who Read on Instagram & TikTok
• Follow Jen on Instagram
• Find all of our other links, such as our merch shop here
• Support us & get exclusive bonus content on Patreon

In this episode we discuss our August thrilling summer book We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz. Mags can finally talk about her favourite genre. We learn about the difference between thrillers and mysteries,  what definitely not to do in a friendship and discuss how dark and twisty we like our thrillers.

Books Mentioned:

• The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
• This Summer’s Secret by Emily Barr
• The Survivors by Jane Harper
• Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh
• Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh
• The It Girl by Ruth Ware
• The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware 

References:

• The difference between thrillers and mysteries
• Plot summary 

Join us for our March book club book Below The Edge Of Darkness by Dr Edith Widder!

Where to find us:

• Join the Scientists Who Read book club & community
• Follow Scientists Who Read on Instagram & TikTok
• Follow Jen on Instagram
• Find all of our other links, such as our merch shop here
• Support us & get exclusive bonus content on Patreon