It is just a coincidence that the last three books I've read in a row have been about space travel. I am not a space nerd! And yet maybe I am becoming one because after reading this book I want as much of this centripetal gravity, atmospheric pressure regulating bullshit as I can get. 
 Weir's book is about a Mars reconnaissance mission gone wrong, a mission for which a two-month visit could turn into two years for crewmember Mark Watney. Watney is inadvertently abandoned by his team during a dust storm that forces them to abort their mission early. Survival skills come into play here, as well as science and engineering--MacGyver on Mars! And the science is great. It is a reminder that there is more to it than undatable dudes in orthodontic headgear blowing shit up in erlenmeyer flasks (though it certainly can be that if that's your thing). There is a logistical nature to the science that just warms my cockles: how to recreate a growing environment for crop sustainability, how to manipulate atmospheric gases for water reclamation. AND MUCH, MUCH MORE. 
 Andy Weir is a scientist. Actually I don't know what he does, nor do I know a single thing about him, but he has to be. It is impossible for someone to have written this book and not be a scientist. The only thing I know about him is that he self-published this book two years ago and on account of some great success he had on Amazon, his book was picked up earlier this year by a subsidiary of Random House, the biggest publisher on Earth. So that's cool. 
 And it's also understandable. This book combines all of the technical details needed to explain Watney's attempts to survive on Mars until rescue with the kind of humor that somehow grounds it all, allowing us to relate to Watney--irrespective of our never having had to fight for our lives on an abandoned planet--with a huggable sense of humanity. Because yes, I often did want to hug Watney. At one point, after NASA tells him he can begin drilling (in an attempt to modify a rover for long-range transport), he replies: "That's what she said." Seriously, who says something like that to NASA? You can picture them all back at Ground Control tapping their pens against their orthodontic headgear in nervousness, completely at a loss as to how to respond. If I am ever facing a situation I have little chance of surviving, I hope that I too would have enough perspective to whip out an LGM joke here and there. Because why not? 
 I learned recently that Ridley Scott of Blade Runner fame will be directing a movie adaptation of this book starring Matt Damon, scheduled for release next year. This is a good thing because if done right, a film of The Martian could very well be out of this world. 
 (Sorry.)