What I'm Reading: The Martian by Andy Weir

"Yes, there are assholes who just don't care, but they're massively outnumbered by the people who do. And because of that, I had billions of people on my side." - Andy Weir

I had not even finished the ebook rental of this book when I went out and purchased a copy for myself. I absolutely loved this book.

Astronaut Mark Watney gets left behind on Mars when the rest of his team of scientists evacuate the planet after a severe dust storm. It's a delightful 300+ pages of pure science. The majority of the book takes the form of Watney's logs as he, the first person to inhabit a planet alone, "sciences" his way out of problems.

The truly amazing thing that Weir does with this book is that, despite the astronomical (see what I did there?) use of scientific and mathematical jargon, the book is still just about human beings and optimism. The character of Watney, who's sarcasm, wit, and self-deprication carry the book through, is so relatable despite the fact that I could never hope to be as smart or ingenious as he is. I would love to meet Andy Weir and pick his brain.

I really highly recommend this read. Read. It.

#book #scifi #nerd