Category: Reading

Science Book Club: State of Wonder

We are WAY overdue for our  fourth installment of the STS Science Book Club! This time, it’s a novel with not one but TWO women scientists. Perfect for reading on those sunny but COLD days. Don’t forget your warm beverage of choice. You can check out the other books we have reviewed here!

Part of living that sweet, sweet post-comps life has been the return of leisure reading. I hadn’t made any reading goals the last few years because, honestly, I couldn’t handle the extra ‘work’ and often opted for a solid Netflix session instead. Now that my days are free from classes and teaching (this year only), I’ve brought reading back as part of my routine.

The Kindle and Audiobook apps on my phoneor tablet are my go-to for finding new books to read, but I do adore a good (re)gifted book that comes with a friend’s recommendation. I received State of Wonder as birthday present from Rachel, and it was great to read in warm, sunny GA. Rachel was recommended this book from another lady scientist, National Geographic Young Explorer (and also her badass labmate), Jordan!

The author, Ann Patchett, has penned several other novels and a children’s book. She often writes about relationships between women with all of the humanity and tragedy life brings. You can check out all her titles at her Goodread’s page (Editor’s Note: Find us on Goodreads if you want to see all the science, YA, and fantasy titles we are reading).The Magician’s Assistant and The Patron Saint of Liars are both available on Kindle Unlimited ($10/month) and I will definitely be checking them out.

Continue reading “Science Book Club: State of Wonder” →
Advertisement

Sweet Links ParTEA (March 2019)

Change and spring are in the air! March may be heading out like a hectic little lamb, but what a wild ride it was. We know that this time of the year is a busy time for folks but we hope you also carve out some time for yourself while being productivity pros. Both Meridith and Rachel have exciting new additions to their work loads. With this in mind, Sweet Tea, Science will swap posting days from Thursdays to the weekends (likely Saturday…but y’all understand how Weekend Time may vary). Meridith will be taking the reins on writing while Rachel will do her best to edit and help out whenever she has time. If y’all have any post request we’d love to hear them!

A late STS links post perhaps should always have an article on procrastination. Why not start with a nice bout of self reflection?….

OR! Alternatively you put that off by checking out this wonderful example of how plant care is self care for these veterans volunteering at the Chicago Botanical Gardens.

Continue reading “Sweet Links ParTEA (March 2019)” →

Carving Out Time: Spring Semester

Academic “spring” may begin at the start of the semester in January, but March is always an exciting time as true spring is just around the corner (spring equinox, holla). This period of time can get very busy for graduate students. It’s tempting to get ALL THE THINGS done before summer hits: comprehensive exams, getting out that manuscript, and that other manuscript, securing summer field work or internships, and a whole slew of other goals. Keeping track of everything we hope to get done means a litany of lists. Both of us love to make lists, lists for groceries, packing, what needs to be done around the house, around the office, lists of code to run when it finally works, lists of things that could be wrong with our R code, all the lists. One of our favorite lists has got to be the List of Fun Way to Relax After Finishing a Thing. It’s very tempting to put off a lot of things while you’re hyper focused on an academic goal, but we think it’s important to carve out time for at least some of the fun things along the way. We also always love hearing how others deal with the constant work-life compromise struggle and warding off burnout.

Continue reading “Carving Out Time: Spring Semester” →