The Martian

The Martian Andy Weir 4/5	Published 2014 First Sentence "I'm pretty much fucked."
Publisher's Description: Apollo 13 meets Cast Away in this grippingly detailed, brilliantly ingenious man-vs-nature survival thriller, set on the surface of Mars. Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first men to walk on the surface of Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first man to die there. It started with the dust storm that holed his suit and nearly killed him, and that forced his crew to leave him behind, sure he was already dead. Now he's stranded millions of miles from the nearest human being, with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive--and even if he could get word out, his food would be gone years before a rescue mission could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to get him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills--and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit--he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. But will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?
Dear Reader, I have been reading this by flip flopping from hardcover to audiobook. I don't do that often but sometimes I like to see which one I prefer and if I get the book for free, that is also a huge help. This is the first book I've received from bloggingforbooks.org and it came in the mail promptly (after I had already purchased the audiobook through audible). I started reading it hardcover but quickly realized how good this book would be as an audiobook. After switching over, I never looked back... well, there was a night I picked up the book and started reading it the old fashioned way and found myself itching to put the book down and pick up the headphones. Despite my preference, this book is great and should be picked up (whether you read or listen to it). I knew I would like a book that has this thrilling techy side to it, but I was surprised to find out that this book is beloved by MANY readers who don't love that nerdy/techy thing. In case you haven't heard about this book, the basic premise is as follows: Mission to Mars goes wrong, man gets stranded after crew thinks him dead, man attempts to survive, NASA finds out and tries to help man stay alive until rescue can be done. So, based on that... does it sound like it would be widely loved by so many different people with varying taste in books? Yeah, didn't think so. What grips you about this book is that man, Mark, who has this amazingly faulty but comical personality that you just can't help but fall in love with. So you do... and then you start caring very deeply if this man will survive, giving you an attachment to this book you wouldn't have found yourself loving. Obviously, there is a little more to this book than the impressive main character. The Author brings up many questions that are terrifying to think about. How would you feel if you were left behind by your co-workers (basically to die)? Would you give up or face the situation head on and figure out ways to survive? How would you entertain yourself? Would you feel proud to have been the "first" to do things on Mars even though you will probably die anyways? I had a real hard time thinking about some of these and trying to be honest with myself. This situation is unthinkable and heartbreaking on so many levels. I don't want to give it all away but I think this is a book you should read this year, it flew under the radar at first but came to the forefront with a BANG. Don't let the subject scare you, I can almost guarantee you'll enjoy this one (if not love it). Happy Reading, AmberBug P.S. - I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. Here are a few resources about the book: The Martian Press Release A Conversation with Andy Weir More Info About the Author

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