Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memories of how he got there or even what his name is.  As he pieces everything back together, he realizes he is on a desperate mission from earth to solve the mystery of how to kill a lifeform that is taking energy from the sun at a rate that will soon destroy all life on earth.

The story is told in first person. The narrative is in the present and then flashes back to the past as Ryland remembers his past.  I really enjoyed this narrative style, and the story was action packed.  The style of the book reminded me of The Martian.  A plucky narrator who is forced to use his own ingenuity to try to save himself and humanity.  I love the humor and the science.  I really don’t want to ruin the plot of this one, but I greatly enjoyed it.  I really want to see this as a movie.

 Favorite Quotes:

“These kids were going to grow up in an idyllic world and be thrown into an apocalyptic nightmare.”

 “It’s a weird feeling, scientific breakthroughs.  There’s no Eureka moment.  Just a slow, steady progression toward a goal.  But man, when you get to the goal it feels good.”

 Overall, Project Hail Mary is the perfect combination of an action-packed story, science, and humor.

Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com

Laura’s Top Fourteen Books of 2019

I am behind on my top books list for 2019, but better late than never, right? I read a lot of outstanding books this past year and had a hard time narrowing my list down to only the top ten, so instead I am doing a top 14 books of the year.  I also noticed most are historical fiction or historical non-fiction books, you can definitely tell my favorite genre. These books were not necessarily books published in 2019, but they were books I read in 2019.  I did not include books that I was rereading, but only books that I’ve read for the first time. They are only in the order of when I read them through the year of 2019.  Click on the titles for the full review of the book.  And now without further ado, my top ten books of 2019.

The Gown by Jennifer Robson – The Gown was one of the first books I read in 2019 and it was one of the best.  It told the riveting story of the women who made Elizabeth II’s wedding gown and was a great look at the bleakness of life in post WWII era England.  

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – I read The Hate U Give as part of the Kewaunee Library book club and I don’t know if any other book has every prompted so much discussion on race and current news topics.  It was an eye-opening novel that gives you a different perspective.

The Huntress by Kate Quinn – The Huntress was set during and after WWII and told the story of three different women.  One is a daring aviatrix flying bombing raids for Russia, the other is a young girl in post WWII America with suspicions about her Step Mom, and the third is the Step Mom who may be more than she lets on with a secret cruel past in Nazi Germany.

Courting Mr. Lincoln by Louis Bayard – I still keep thinking about this novel.  It was a wonderful book about the relationship between Mary Todd Lincoln, Lincoln, and his best friend, Joshua Speed.  I couldn’t put this book down. I loved that the story framed Lincoln as the enigmatic lead that both Mary and Joshua loved.  The story was told through their point of view.  It reminded me again why Louis Bayard is one of my favorite historical fiction authors.

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom – This non-fiction book was written in the 1970’s and tells Corrie Ten Boom’s story of her family, faith, and survival after being persecuted by the Nazis for helping Jewish people escape.  It was an inspiring read.

 

Refugee by Alan Gratz – This middle grade fiction read should not be missed by adults.  It is set in three different time frames and tells the story of a Jewish boy trying to flee German on a boat to America, a Cuban girl trying to flee Cuba to America, and a boy trying to flee Syria to Germany.  It gives a great understanding to the plight of a refugee and connects the stories wonderfully at the end.  This is a must read.

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See – The Island of Sea Women told a part of history that I sadly knew nothing about.  The Island of JeJu is off the coast of Korea and is a matriarchal society run with its main industry being deep sea diving for fish by the women of the island.  As WWII looms, both Japan and Korea force atrocities on the island that will change their lives forever.  This is an unforgettable story.

 

The Summer Country by Lauren Willig – The Summer Country was another wonderful historical fiction novel that explores race and love.  This was another book I couldn’t put down once I started reading it.  It was a multi-layered Victorian story with a mystery involved.  Set on Barbados, the story dug into what it meant to be a slave and to own slaves in the society.  This novel was a Jane Austen manners novel, mixed with Charlotte Bronte gothic, with a modern look at race relations.  It also includes a Cholera epidemic, which is fitting for this year’s reading.

Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham – Midnight in Chernobyl is a fascinating look at what lead up to the incident in Chernobyl and the aftermath.  It is non-fiction, but reads like fiction.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – I loved the mystery, nature, and romance of this novel.  I felt like it was a grown-up version of A Girl of the Limberlost.

The Martian by Andy Weir – Quite simply, The Martian is one of the best science fiction novels I’ve ever read.  The story itself was a fast-paced adventure, and I loved the real science involved.

The Only Plane in the Sky:  An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M.  Graff – The Only Plane in the Sky was the best audiobook I have ever listened to.  It was another book I just couldn’t stop listening to.  It used first person narration to tell the story of 9/11 in real time.  I think this is another must read for all Americans.

They Called Us Enemy byGeorge Takei – My 11-year-old son Daniel and I read this graphic novel together.  I have been a lifelong fan of George Takei loving him in Star Trek and now loving him on social media.  I love that he took the story of his life and has been telling it in person, with a play, and with this graphic novel so that we can take an honest look at our past and see that we did not always treat our citizens right.  Takei’s look at his childhood in the Japanese internment camps is both heartbreaking and eye opening.

The Testaments byMargaret Atwood – I was amazed that Margaret Atwood was able to follow up the unforgettable The Handmaid’s Tale with the Testaments, a novel that continues the story in the world of The Handmaid’s Tale and turns everything you thought you knew upside down.  This was another book that kept me up too late at night.

Other books I loved this year, but didn’t quite make my top 14 included:

• With this Pledge by Tamera Alexander
• Never Caught: The Story of Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
• Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
• The Doll Factory by Elizabeth MacNeal
• Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• White Elephant by Trish Harnetiaux
• Best. Movie.  Year.  Ever: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen by Brian Raferty

For more top reads from the past, check out my lists from 2018, 2017 & 2016, 2015, 2014, 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2007.

What were your favorite books of 2019?

The Martian by Andy Weir

Mark Watney is part of the Ares 3 crew on Mars when a dust storm causes havoc with their mission.  With the winds threatening to blow over their ride back, the crew evacuates the planet.  Unfortunately, Mark is blown away and injured in the attempt.  His crew leaves him thinking he is dead.  Mark awakens to discover himself injured and alone on Mars.  He doesn’t have enough food to last until the next manned mission to Mars and he has no way to communicate with NASA.  Can he survive?

 I loved this book.  It’s real science, science fiction.  I love that Mark had a great sense of humor and would work through all of his problems.  He may despair, but then he would do the math and work on how to solve the problem.  As things kept going wrong and Mark worked to survive, it made a great adventure story.  The story also showed NASA and the crew’s point of view as well.  Mark does like to swear a lot - you have been warned if you are not a fan of profanity.

 As an engineer and a fan of science fiction, I really really enjoyed this novel. I liked that Andy Weir had a section in the back to talk about how he put the novel together basically because of his obsession with space and going to mars.  He worked through what could go wrong and realized it could be a great novel.  I love that he actually put together a software program for the projection of the ship.   His details made the novel a step above pretty much all other sci fi I read.

I read The Martian as a “book set in space” for my summer library reading challenge, but I had it on my nightstand “to read” pile after The Martian placed last year’s PBS Great American Read.  I would love to read more novels like this one.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  I have read Artemis by Andy Weir.  It was good, but not excellent as The Martian is.   The version I read had a reader’s guide and book club questions in it.  I need to fit this into one of my book clubs!

I watched the movie this past weekend with my family.  The kids were warned there would be swearing and a scary part at the beginning (ages 8 to 13).  They were entranced by the movie and really into Mark Watney’s journey.  My 13-year old son Kile is obsessed with NASA and the new mission to Mars that is being worked on.  He really enjoyed the movie and I am going to pass the book on to him.

Favorite Quotes:

 “But there’s a difference between knowing it and really experiencing it.”

“I mostly ignore them.  I don’t want to come off as arrogant here, but I’m the best botanist on this planet.”  - This made me laugh out loud!

“Love of science is universal across all cultures.”

“But really, they did it because every human being has a basic instinct to help each other out.  It might not seem that way sometimes, but it’s true.”

Overall, The Martian is an excellent adventure novel with a great sense of humor.  I loved how it is actual “science” science fiction and all of the geeky details. A fast-paced survival story, The Martian is the best true science fiction that I’ve read in years.  Are there any other books out there that truly go through the science the way that The Martian does?

Book Source:  I think I bought this book for my husband for a present years ago and I’ve finally gotten around to reading it.