LabLit on The Point: Novels with Scientists

This morning Melanie Lauwers (book editor of The Cape Cod Times), Jill Erickson (Head of Reference & Adult Services), and Heather Goldstone of Living Lab discussed lablit, novels that feature scientists. We ended up with far more titles than we had time to discuss, so you’ll find a list of titles below that we mentioned, and another list of titles for which we had no time! As always, we also include listener picks. If we didn’t mention your favorite novel that features a scientist, let us know! You can tweet us your suggestions at @falpublib, @WCAI_NPR, @hgoldstone, and @melaniebookscct or send us an e-mail at info@falmouthpubliclibrary.org, and we’ll add your suggestions to our list.

Melanie’s Picks

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday

Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman

The Wives of Los Alamos by Tarashea Nesbit

Strong Motion by Jonathan Franzen

The Best of Connie Willis by Connie Willis

Not mentioned but worthy:

Lucy by Laurence Gonzales

Ship Fever by Andrea Barrett

Forty Signs of Rain by Kim Stanley Robinson

Intuition by Allegra Goodman

Jill’s Picks

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux

Orfeo by Richard Powers

The Gold Bug Variations by Richard Powers

The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch

No Time For:

Archangel by Andrea Barrett

Passage by Connie Willis

Intuition by Allegra Goodman

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Listener Picks

Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis

The Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle This actually became a quintet of novels which also includes A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time.

Links to more about LabLit:

The webzine Lablit list of novels with scientists, run by Jennifer Rohn.

“The Day After Today: interview with novelist Kim Stanley Robinson”

“Art That Transfigures Science” by Alan Lightman