The Martian - Andy Weir

I loved, loved, loved this book! I'm recommending it to everyone I know. I think it's the best book I've read in 2015. It's smart. It made me WANT to read about growing potatoes for 30 pages. It made me WANT to hear about velocity, atmospheric pressure, etc.

I can see why the actual NASA astronauts have all read it. It's funny and well researched. I can't think of anything Weir did not include in his piece by piece structure of the novel.

If you've never heard of the book, that is probably about to end, as it is being released on October 2, 2015 in the theaters in movie form starring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley Scott (Gladiator) (you can watch the trailer here). And oh, I'm so deliriously excited to see this movie.

The story follows Mark Watney, an astronaut on a mission to Mars. Watney is lost during a massive storm on Mars and believed dead. But, he's not. Because, as you'll see when you read it (seriously go read it), Watney is AWESOME! This is a guy you can go have a beer with, watch a ball game with, talk about plants with. He's a mechanical engineer/botanist and he's hilarious. Following him around Mars is some of the best moments I've spent in a fictional world.

Most importantly, the book captures some of the magic of space exploration that I felt as a kid watching shuttle launches on TV. I'm not sure how Weir does it, but he does. And I followed along like a person reading news accounts of the effort to bring Watney home. I so hope the movie lives up to the book, because I want to like it and I want to spend more time with Watney, even if it is on screen as Matt Damon (don't screw this up for me Matt!).

Love, love, love this book.

5/5 Stars.