0 ratings | 0 reviews | avg rating:0.0

Bonnie Garmus’s Followers (14,489)

Bonnie’s Bookshelves

to-read (0)
currently-reading (0)
read (0)
did-not-finish (0)
new-releases (0)

Bonnie’s Friends (1)

Doubleday Books

655 books | 5,104 friends

Bonnie Garmus

Goodreads Author

Born

Riverside, CA, The United States

Website

https://www.bonniegarmus.com/

Twitter

bonniegarmus

Genre

Fiction, Humor and Comedy

Member Since

February 2014

edit data

Bonnie Garmus is a copywriter and creative director who’s worked widely in the fields of technology, medicine, and education. She’s an open-water swimmer, a rower, and mother to two pretty amazing daughters. Born in California and most recently from Seattle, she currently lives in London with her husband and her dog, 99.

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Bonnie Garmus questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

I loved Lessons in Chemistry. Any chance you will be writing more books? I am anxiously awaiting anything you will publish (or not publish)!

Bonnie Garmus That's really nice--thanks so much, Jennifer! I'm writing another book. I'll try to go faster!…moreThat's really nice--thanks so much, Jennifer! I'm writing another book. I'll try to go faster!(less)

flag

313 likes · like
3 comments

Yay, love this! Your book is one of the best I've read this year -- and I'm nearly 70 titles in. I'd love to hear about your inspiration for the novel. How did you settle on the storyline and characters, and what inspired you to make Six-Thirty an occassional narrator? (Which, of course, was an awesome decision!)

Bonnie Garmus Thanks, Margot! The story was inspired by a bad day at work. I'd been in a meeting and had endured some standard sexism. Furious, I felt like I needed…moreThanks, Margot! The story was inspired by a bad day at work. I'd been in a meeting and had endured some standard sexism. Furious, I felt like I needed some reassurance that things for women had improved since the 60s--and they have, but not enough. But I also picked that era because that's when my mom was a mom and the book gave me a chance to look back and see what kind of societal limits she'd endured. (A lot!) As for the storyline, I wrote the first chapter of Lessons in Chemistry that day at work, and I also knew how I wanted it to end. But the rest was a blank. I don't write from an outline; I let characters walk on and guide me. As for Six-Thirty, I didn't know he was going to have a voice. The first time he offered his POV, I wasn't sure I was going to keep it. But he had so much to say! So he stayed. I'm really glad you liked him.(less)

flag

219 likes · like
8 comments

See all 103 answers from Bonnie Garmus…

Combine Editions
Bonnie Garmus’s books

Average rating: 4.28 · 1,773,812 ratings · 155,945 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	Lessons in Chemistry 4.28 avg rating — 1,771,072 ratings — published 2022 — 145 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Listen In: A Conversation with Bonnie Garmus: An Exclusive Interview by The Audible Editors, Bonnie Garmus (Goodreads Author) 3.50 avg rating — 4 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

It's time once again, gentle readers, for our end-of-year status check on the annual Goodreads Reading Challenge, in which dedicated bookworms...

rss
Bonnie’s Recent Updates

Bonnie answered Bee's question: I read this book last year, and it was definitely my book of the year - an absolutely brilliant debut! I decided to use this book in an interview for a PGCE course - and I got in! (So thank you very much!) I've read from other questions that you're working on a new novel; are you able to give us any nuggets as to what it will be about? How have you found writing this new one compared to your debut? Thanks, Bee! And congratulations on getting into the course! My new book is called Peck & Peck and will be out in the fall of 2026 (at least that's the German pub date). It's about a young guy in the eighties, just out of college, who moves to NYC an See Full Answer
Nov 10, 2025 09:54PM · 14 likes · like
Bonnie answered Wm Raff's question: Another scam? https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/193789608-bonnie-garmus I was friended by you (flattered by the way) so I did a little research... Just an FYI. Sadly I'll be ending our relationship, well, you know what I mean. Cheers! Yes it is! Thanks for reporting this. For the record, I don't endorse, review or list any books I've read on Goodreads (this is but one of the reasons why). Nor can I help with someone's ms. or marketing or any of the things these imposters love to p See Full Answer
Sep 15, 2025 03:38PM · 1 like · like

More of Bonnie's books…

Quotes by Bonnie Garmus (?)

“Whenever you feel afraid, just remember. Courage is the root of change - and change is what we're chemically designed to do. So when you wake up tomorrow, make this pledge. No more holding yourself back. No more subscribing to others' opinions of what you can and cannot achieve. And no more allowing anyone to pigeonhole you into useless categories of sex, race, economic status, and religion. Do not allow your talents to lie dormant, ladies. Design your own future. When you go home today, ask yourself what YOU will change. And then get started.”
― Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry

tags: inspirational

510 likes

“(On religion) "I think it lets us off the hook. I think it teaches us that nothing is really our fault; that something or someone else is pulling the strings; the ultimately, we're not to blame for the way things are; that to improve things, we should pray. But the truth is, we are very much responsible for the badness in the world. And we have the power to fix it.”
― Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry

tags: religion

255 likes

“Sometimes I think," she said slowly, "that if a man were to spend a day being a woman in America, he wouldn't make it past noon.”
― Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry

tags: feminism

241 likes

See all Bonnie Garmus's quotes »

Polls

Which of the following has your vote for the September 2023 Ladies' Choice Group Read?

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

5 votes, 45.5%

Talulah's Back in Town by Brenda Novak

2 votes, 18.2%

The Lobster Trap by Heidi McLaughlin

2 votes, 18.2%

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

1 vote, 9.1%

You Look Beautiful Tonight by L.R. Jones

1 vote, 9.1%

The Bones of the Story by Carol Goodman

0 votes, 0.0%

The Searcher by Tana French

0 votes, 0.0%

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

0 votes, 0.0%

11 total votes

comments and details

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Second Chance Cha...: HUMPHREY BOGART SPELL CHALLENGE	75	48	Nov 11, 2020 08:20AM
Second Chance Cha...: KATHARINE HEPBURN SPELL CHALLENGE	56	35	Jan 01, 2021 06:45AM
Crazy Challenge C...: Oscars Through the Years	832	140	Mar 22, 2021 08:45PM
Around the Year i...: dalex 2022 challenge	9	143	Oct 18, 2021 08:52AM
On The Same Page : Carolyn's Motley Challenge 2022 - COMPLETED	1	8	Dec 07, 2021 04:59PM
Goodreads Choice ...: Theresa's 2022 Yearly Challenges	4	203	Jan 02, 2022 11:06AM