The Martian by Andy Weir (+ the movie thoughts)

Everyone I know seemed to rave about The Martian and how it is the best book they ever read. I'm telling you this right now: it is not the best book I've ever read (I like something more close to home, when love is involved and I can cry my eyes out. Not that I didn't cry while reading The Martian - let's face it, it is me we are talking about). But it is pretty impressive. 

First off - I have a tremendous respect for authors who do their research. Andy Weir seems to be a ninja of the research. The book is so detailed and geeky - it brought my giggly side up together with the nerdy one. The humor is ridiculous (in all the right ways)! Every time I would read a couple of pages without laughing - the text would sneak up on me and hit me over the head with a bucket of fitting, well-placed humor. So raw and so sarcastic - I loved it. There wasn't a single joke in that book I didn't laugh at. 

Second of all - the characters. Mark Watney is such a well-made character. Granted, character development in the book is very subtle - I still enjoyed his determination in surviving admirably. The other characters in the book are quite small, which is the absolute perfect concept for this particular story. Most of them are as hilarious as Mark, so I enjoyed it. 

The Nashville Public Library only had the book in large print for me so I am assuming a regular addition is not that big. The book reads easily besides all the dorky science stuff it is filled with. It was a quick and pleasant read. I liked it. Read it too. Let's have a book club or something. 

The Martian: movie. 

SparkNotes.com. That's what the movie is. I liked it nonetheless,  but felt even closer to the book (as I usually do). Matt Damon gave a stellar performance and I didn't understand the purpose of a purely "Hollywood" scene they added at the end of the movie. I mean, come on. You got me - I am here already watching it. Is it really necessary to remind me that I am watching something Hollywood- produced? It was nice to see Matt Damon as a professor though.. I mean, I have a background in teaching - that's all. 

If you would like to read the book you can purchase it here. Or go support your local book store. But that requires you to get up so just use the link. I won't tell ^_^