Happy Friday! I nearly didn’t have this post for today. I forgot to write and schedule it, and unexpectedly ended up being out for much longer than I thought I would be!
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish discussion meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and Dini @DiniPandaReads. Each Friday, bloggers will write posts about a particular topic and share on their blog.
This week, it’s all about women in STEM.
Over the years, there have been an increasing number of books about women in STEM. What do you think of this trend? Do you like it or is it/can it be poorly done?
If you aren’t familiar with the term, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. These are all traditionally male-dominated fields and historically discoveries and contributions by women, even ground-breaking ones, have been overlooked.
As a woman in STEM myself, it’s probably no surprise that I love the trend. I’m in the Science bit, specifically ecology and horticulture and in recent years I have been surrounded by more and more women and it’s been wonderful.
As with any trend, I am sure that there are both amazing portrayals and some not-so-stellar ones around however I actually can’t really speak from experience here as I have read nearly no fiction with women in STEM characters. For what it is worth though, I am all for the representation as I think it is SO important for young girls and teens to see and to hopefully realise that yes, they can be rocket ship engineers, motor mechanics, physicists or whatever else they can dream of one day becoming.
What are your favourite books ft. women in STEM and what books are still on your TBR?
I haven’t read much fiction about women in STEM, but I have read a good amount of non-fiction by women in STEM. You’ll notice too that all the nonfiction below is from the nature writing sub-genre of nonfiction since as I said earlier that is my own area of work and interest.
My personal favourite book of all time is the beautiful Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a Potawatomi botanist who writes so beautifully about the natural world. If you only pick up one book by a woman in STEM, please let it be this one.
The below is a small selection of the books on my tbr either about or by women in STEM. I want to try and read a bit more fiction with women in STEM characters, though it all comes down to finding the time to fit them between the nonfiction!
Pages of Emma 
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