5 Star Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

I’m very picky with my ratings, so I’m happy to say that Project Hail Mary was amazing and my first 5 star review of 2021.  When it starts, the narrator wakes up alone with no idea who he is, where he is, or why.  As he explores and his memories start to come back, with the book unfolding both in the present and his flashback returning memories, both he and the reader discover that he is alone on a spaceship on a very important mission.  There is SO much more to it than that, but because of the nature of the book, pretty much everything about it is a spoiler and it’s so much better to see it unfold yourself.  Just know that it is absolutely terrific.

For the vibe, think of the best of intellectual science fiction - books like The Sparrow and Children of Time, movies like Interstellar and Arrival, and of course both the book and movie of The Martian, Andy Weir’s first book.   Iit is both a little more science-y (which even though I couldn’t understand it, was interesting), and more science fiction-y than The Martian, but it’s funny and emotional as well. It was a long book but I read it quickly because I couldn’t put it down.  I was thrilled to get an advanced copy from Netgalley (it’s out 5/4), and I highly recommend reading it as soon as possible both because it is great, and to avoid spoilers.

Science Fiction

I recently received a request for my recommendations for science fiction books. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I actually love science fiction.  It was pretty much the bulk of what I read as a teenager, but now science fiction represents a relatively small fraction of the books I read.  But I am always on the hunt for good new science fiction, and I definitely have some good ones to recommend!  

2018, The Best of the Rest, Part 2

I've already shared my Top 10 books of 2018, and, if you missed it, part 1 of my "best of the rest" covering realistic contemporary and historical fiction. Since I still have yet more books to recommend, today's post covers other genres, including mysteries and thrillers, science fiction and fantasy, and memoirs.  These are not necessarily books published in 2018, but books I read in 2018.

Thrillers

Thrillers are a genre I enjoy and often get asked to recommend.  And I can promise you this - I won't call any of these books the next "Gone Girl"!  "Gone Girl" definitely started a craze for a certain kind of thriller - the psychological thriller hinging in part on the question of whether the narrator(s) are reliable, and that is definitely one kind of thriller I'll discuss here - but there are also a number of other categories of thrillers as well.  (Though I'm not going to include legal thrillers, since it's not a sub-genre I usually read.)  As I usually do in my genre posts, I'll focus on books I've really enjoyed and would recommend.  I've read a lot of mediocre and even somewhat crappy thrillers, and while I sometimes enjoy them even when their quality is not fantastic, I'm not going to include them here.  And apparently I really like this genre because I had trouble narrowing this one down.  So if you enjoy this genre, be prepared to add a lot of books to your to-read list!

What I Read on Vacation

I returned home last night from a great week in Mexico with my husband and kids.  I've written before about recommended vacation reading, so I thought this time I'd tell you all about what I read on my vacation!

Yup, that's me reading on the beach!

Contemporary fiction with a sci fi edge

Today's blog was inspired by Sarah, who e-mailed asking for recommendations for books for her husband to read on vacation.  She mentioned that he loved "The Martian" and "The Passage," which anyone who reads this blog knows are two of my most favorite books of the last few years.  It's funny, other than recommending books to my husband and my father, it's pretty much always women who I am giving recommendations to, and I do definitely read a lot of stuff that is probably more appealing to women.  So it definitely was different to focus my mind on books a guy would like!

I gave slightly broader recommendations than those I present here, including some from my dystopian fiction post but the bulk of my recommendations fell into a category inspired by "The Martian" and "The Passage"- contemporary literary fiction, but with a science fiction edge.  These are books that might even be found in the plain old fiction section of your local library or bookstore rather than the science fiction section, books that would appeal not just to avowed readers of science fiction like myself but also to others who might think they don't like science fiction even if they loved "The Martian" too.  So here are 5 books that fit that bill from the last few years.