perFICTIONists

For All Kindred Spirit SoulCollagers
Who Love Meaningful,
Thought-Provoking Fiction

No commitment necessary…
Come to one, all or just a few of our Zoom sessions. This is different from ordinary book club discussions!

Our Zoom gatherings will include screen sharing, large group discussion, writing or creativity prompts, and possible breakout-room sharing. We’ll also utilize SoulCollage® references and processes that will enable us to reflect on the personal meaning that each novel has for us.

 Explorations led by Anne Marie Bennett & Guest Facilitators.
Join us if you feel so led! 
Zoom links will be in your member weekly issues of Soul Treasures.

The perFICTIONists gatherings are for KaleidoSoul Kindred Spirits members only.  If you’re already a member, you’ll see the Zoom info in your weekly issues of Soul Treasures.  If you’re NOT a member yet, you can join Kindred Spirits here.

Our Next perFICTIONists Gathering

Tuesday May 6, 2025
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Eastern
Live in a different time zone? Check your start time here.

Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. 

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.  

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

Find It On Bookshop.org (supporting independent bookstores)

Find it on Amazon

Find it on Goodreads

How to Prepare

1. What to Bring

• Journal and pen
• Any favorite quotes from the book
• Any SoulCollage cards or images that pertain to the themes in the book, or to how the book made you feel

2.  Discussion points and questions

This page has some questions for you to think about as you read (or after you read!). Also this page.

A short video interview with the author about this book. 

A longer, more in-depth interview with her.

Group Norms

• Sessions will start on time, so please do plan to Zoom in 5 minutes early so you don’t miss out!
• Sessions will run between 60-90 minutes, depending on the book.
• There will be no formal breaks, but feel free to step away on your own as needed
• Come ready to share and listen.
• Make your best effort to complete the book, but know that it’s okay to join us even if you haven’t.
• Sessions won’t be recorded and will not be available after the live event.

Discussion Etiquette

• Direct your comments to the group, not just the moderators; back-and-forth exchanges with each other are encouraged.
  

  

• Differences of opinion can be healthy and are to be expected.
• We can agree to disagree and respect each other’s opinions.
• Oprah, who knows a bit about book clubs, emphasizes that such gatherings are not therapy. While life experiences influence your interpretation of what you read and what you share, our purpose is to examine the novel, not your psyche.

Please do:

• Aim to have a good time!
• Use “I” language when sharing.
• Sharing is voluntary but encouraged.
• Pay attention to suggested response times when sharing.
• Support your opinions with reasons why or details from the book.
• Respect others’ opinions.
• Feel safe to disagree, but politely and tactfully.
• Debate points in nonjudgmental ways.
• Stay on topic.
• Aim to have a good time!

  Please don’t:

• Interrupt or talk over others.
• Monopolize the conversation or ramble on.
• Criticize or make wrong the opinions of others

The perFICTIONists gatherings are for KaleidoSoul Kindred Spirits members only. If you’re already a member, you’ll see the Zoom info in your weekly issues of Soul Treasures. If you’re NOT a member yet, you can join Kindred Spirits here.

Upcoming 2025 perFICTIONist Discussions

January- The Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali
April- Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
September-
November-

 

Looking for Something ELSE to Read?
Here’s what we discussed in previous years…

2021

The Ten Thousand Doors of January, by Alix Harrow
The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey, by Rachel Joyce
Calling Me Home, by Julie Kibler
Illuminations, by Mary Sharratt

 

2022

Wish You Were Here, by Jodi Picoult
Brave Girl, Quiet Girl, by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens
We Are Not Like Them, by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza

 

2023

Bernice Runs Away, by Talya Tate Boerner
The Measure, by Nikki Erlick
Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
The Book of Longings, by Sue Monk Kidd

 

2024

When Women Were Dragons, by Kelly Barnhill
The Collected Regrets of Clover, by Mikki Brammer
The Matchmaker’s Gift, by Lynda Cohen Loigman
The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune

2025

The Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali
Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus