Remarkably Bright Creatures served with Mussels in white wine

 Remarkable Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and served with mussels in white wine. 

I LOVED this book!  I listed on audio after hearing the narrator was outstanding.   They are!  

This is the story of Tova who's child and husband have both died and she is working nights at the Sowell Bay Aquarium mopping floors.  She doesn't have to work but wants to keep busy.  There she befriends the giant pacific Octopus, Marcellus.  She talks to him and helps him when he gets out of his tanks at night. 

This is also the story of Cameron, a 30 year old who is hoping to find his father.  Cameron is one of those guys who can't keep a job or a girlfriend  and blames everyone else for his problems.   He thinks he knows who is father is so he heads up to Sowell Bay to try to extort him for all of the missed child payments.   He's a hot mess and it takes a while to warm up to him. 

This is also the story of Marcellus, the giant octopus.  He has been in captivity for 4 years and is at the end of his life.  He misses his ocean and knows his time is limited.  

At first I thought Cameron was going to ruin the story for me.  He is kind of a loser and it was hard to feel sorry for him.  But eventually you start to root for the kid.  Tova is so great and your heart hurts for her as she struggles to understand how her son died.     
This is the story of friendship and love.  It is beautifully told and I couldn't stop listening!   The narrators are Marin Ireland and Michael Urie.   They are incredible.   Michael's voice is just so perfect for Marcellus.  

This is a 5 star read for me ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ .  I couldn't stop thinking about these characters. 

Marcellus escapes from his tank and often eats the sea cucumbers .    His diet of mackerels gets old after a while and he longs for crab and mussels.   I decided to make mussels in a white wine sauce and some fresh crab dipped in butter. 

I sauteed some onions and garlic in heavy butter.  I added a little bit of dried chillie flakes, and all seasoning.  Once they were nice and soft, i poured in 2 cups of a dry white wine.   I let that boil and then added the mussels.  I put a lid on the pot and let it cook for 8-10 minutes.  Any mussel what didn't open was discarded.  the rest were delicious!  Plus, I made garlic bread which is dipped in the broth and it was yummy!   Marcellus would approve.    

Lessons in Chemistry served with Brownies

 Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus and served with Brownies 

This book has been everywhere!   I mean when it came out in April, i think most of the book community read it within the first 2 months.  BUT...  I waited for the library book and just finally checked it out.  

This is the story of Chemist, Elizabeth Zott.  It's the early 60's and women weren't scientist or at least not many women were.  Her male colleagues cannot get past the fact that she is a woman and an attractive woman.  She faces ridicule and even assault.  But, she isn't going to give up.  Along comes Calvin Evans, a brilliant Chemist who falls in love with her .  He recognizes her genius and the struggles she will face.  

Jump ahead (don't want to spoil this for you) and Elizabeth is now a single mother and is once again trying to be taken seriously in the science world.  She gets offered a cooking show and decides to use as as a platform to teach chemistry.  Her cooking show is about the science of food.   

It is hard not to love Elizabeth.  She is stubborn and determined and you are rooting for her.   The side characters are what really make the story.   Six Thirty , the dog is my favorite.  Of course he is super smart and we get to hear his inner thoughts.  You also have Mad, the daughter, Harriet, the neighbor, Walter, her TV producer and Mr. Mason who rows with her.   I hear the movie rights have been sold and I can completely see this coming to life on the large screen. 

Several times I did get frustrated with the amount of discrimination she faced.  I had to remind myself that this was the 60's but also wondered if women in science still feel this.   There is a pretty violent scene in the beginning with a college professor that I felt was slightly brushed over.  

Overall, this was a great read.  I would give it 4.5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2  

There is a scene where she makes brownies when she  is stressed.   There is a lot of food in the book but for some reason this one stuck with me.  I decided to make brownies but I have to confess that i don't

make brownies from scratch.  I have made them but to be honest the box brownies are just as good.   I'm all for making things from scratch when they are dramatically better but this...  nope.   

So I made box brownies and took them to work.   Everyone was happy!  the End.