Contemporary fiction · Similar reads
Books like Lessons in Chemistry
The best books like Lessons in Chemistry are The Bell Jar, Educated: A Memoir, and The Feminine Mystique. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus is about gender and ambition, grief and resilience, science and rationalism. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- The Bell Jar
01
Sylvia Plath · Memoir
The Bell Jar is Sylvia Plath's only novel, published in January 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas, one month before Plath's death.
A kindred contemporary fiction read.
Read the summary → - Educated: A Memoir
02
Tara Westover · Memoir
Educated is Tara Westover's memoir about growing up in a survivalist family in rural Idaho and eventually earning a PhD in history from Cambridge University.
A kindred contemporary fiction read.
Read the summary → - The Feminine Mystique
03
Betty Friedan · History
The Feminine Mystique is Betty Friedan's 1963 diagnosis of a cultural crisis she called "the problem that has no name" — the pervasive unhappiness of educated American women who had, by all social measures, everything they were supposed to want: a house in the suburbs, a devoted husband, healthy children, and freedom from paid work.
A kindred contemporary fiction read.
Read the summary → - Big Little Lies
04
Liane Moriarty · Thriller
Big Little Lies begins with a death at a school trivia night and then spends its entire length working backward to explain how it happened.
Both dig into motherhood and identity.
Read the summary → - The Man Who Died Twice
05
Richard Osman · Mystery
The Man Who Died Twice is the second Thursday Murder Club novel, picking up the Coopers Chase quartet — Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron — shortly after the events of the first book.
Both dig into grief and resilience.
Read the summary → - A Man Called Ove
06
Fredrik Backman · Contemporary fiction
A Man Called Ove opens in a Swedish suburb where a fifty-nine-year-old man named Ove has just been forced into early retirement.
A kindred contemporary fiction read.
Read the summary → - Anxious People
07
Fredrik Backman · Contemporary fiction
Anxious People begins with a failed bank robbery.
A kindred contemporary fiction read.
Read the summary → - Beach Read
08
Emily Henry · Contemporary fiction
January Andrews is a romance novelist who has completely lost faith in love after discovering her late father had a secret mistress for years.
A kindred contemporary fiction read.
Read the summary → - Beartown
09
Fredrik Backman · Contemporary fiction
Beartown is a dying town in rural Sweden whose only remaining source of identity and pride is its youth hockey program.
A kindred contemporary fiction read.
Read the summary → - Book Lovers
10
Emily Henry · Contemporary fiction
Nora Stephens is a literary agent in New York who is professionally excellent and personally guarded.
A kindred contemporary fiction read.
Read the summary → - Carrie Soto Is Back
11
Taylor Jenkins Reid · Contemporary fiction
Carrie Soto is a retired tennis legend with twenty Grand Slam titles, the most in history — until a young player named Nicki Chan wins her twenty-first and breaks Carrie's record.
A kindred contemporary fiction read.
Read the summary → - Daisy Jones & The Six
12
Taylor Jenkins Reid · Contemporary fiction
Daisy Jones & The Six is structured as an oral history — a transcript of interviews with the members of a fictional 1970s rock band, reconstructing how they rose, created their defining album, and then spectacularly fell apart in a single night in 1979.
A kindred contemporary fiction read.
Read the summary →
Books like Lessons in Chemistry: quick answers
What are the best books like Lessons in Chemistry?
The best books like Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus are The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with Lessons in Chemistry, such as gender and ambition, grief and resilience, science and rationalism.
What should I read after Lessons in Chemistry?
A natural next read after Lessons in Chemistry is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. A kindred contemporary fiction read. Other strong choices are Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.
What books are similar to Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus?
Lessons in Chemistry centers on gender and ambition, grief and resilience, science and rationalism. Books with a similar feel include The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
