If I ever go to Mars I'm bringing this book with me, and duck tape 
 One of NASA's first human Mars mission is abandoned and crew evacuated during a dust storm. But a freak accident has left Mark Watney behind with everyone thinking he's dead. No one knows he's still alive, the next mission is in four years, he only has one year of food and much of the machinery is broken. Told in a series of humourous & blunt personal logs this is a story of one man's struggle to survive literally alone on an hostile alien world. Fortunately he has been trained in mechanic, botany and has duck tape. 
 This is a very hard sci-fi book, about 80-90% is technical talk but it is presented in an entertaining way. The author did his research as everything from Mars climax to equipment a mission would need to the type of screws NASA would use. All of this has been researched and presented in a realistic and thrilling manner. 
 There is no Deus Ex or author shortcuts. Practically everything that could go wrong does. 
 The only downside is sometimes it can get overly technical and you learn that once things start going good, something bad will happen. 
 What I learnt: Potatoes is an excellent source of calories, Duck tape is magical and we can pee rocket fuel (add electricity). 
 If you like realistic science fiction, read this book.