I read a book…

Amazing. After a great year of Pulitzers, I’ve really laid off the reading. I got a couple of history books in, and thought that would be the theme of the year, but I lost interest. Still, I’ve got that itch. Gotta read something. Gotta keep the imagination active.

I was in the library just a few days back looking over a few prospects. How about something classic? I found both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days (saw War and Peace too, but I’m not that desperate. But I didn’t really have a taste for either when I was standing in the stacks. I started wandering, and saw Andy Weir’s The Martian just down the row from Verne. I picked it up just as an old friend called. “I’m in the library…I’ll call you back.” So it was only by chance that I ended up reading The Martian. It was the book in my hand when the call came, so I took it to the desk, checked it out and was on my way.

Of course I’ve seen the movie, starring Matt Damon. It was a good movie, and I heard the book was even better. And even after having seen the movie, I still thought so. The science of it all was fascinating, and Weir made it so riveting. I recommend it.

It also gives me the idea to maybe do a bit more science fiction this year. Any recommendations? I’ve already read The Sparrow and Children of God by Mary Doria Russell — really recommended by the way — so they’re out. I’ve read much of the John Carter series by Burroughs, and two of Lewis’s Space Trilogy. And of course, The Expanse series, which I liked just as much in its serial adaptation on Amazon Prime.

So I’m looking. Until then, I’ve got a few others to read, but I need something that’ll keep me turning the pages. Especially after The Martian.