Ashamed in my Membrane: I'll Never Be That Smart! - The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian by Andy Weir

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I hear that movie rights have already been sold and that Matt Damon is our Mark Watney. Finding out that he's hot ticks the final box on the Total Package checklist. Mark is our astronaut, trapped on Mars, so it's not surprising that he's totally brilliant. His determination against all odds makes him a great hero to root for. And his quick, dark wit makes him an absolute joy to spend 369 pages with. He's a fantastic character, and I thoroughly enjoyed his story.

It's hard to say too much about The Martian without giving away a lot of key plot points. It's got enough adventure and sci-fi to thrill fans of those genres, but has such a great way of making the narrative seem accessible and believable (that feels weird to write) that it could be enjoyed as a bestseller by those who aren't traditional sci-fi readers. According to the bestseller charts, that's what's happening!

There were a few passages so heavily steeped in technical details that I caught myself skimming, but more often I found myself gasping and laughing at Watney's incredible ingenuity. Recommended for everyone!



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They caught this crab! - The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is yet another wonderful example of why I am glad to be in a book club. I would never have chosen this book for myself. In fact, I approached it with a rather dour "Well, I'd better get this over with!" attitude. Nonfiction in winter? Strike one. I'd rather read a thriller or epic to sweep me away from the gray days. A SPORTS story?! Strike TWO! I have some weird unidentified genetic deficiency that makes me completely uninterested in sports competitions--and the irony of my current strike system is not lost on me. And what I perceived to be the endless paragraphs dedicated to the mechanics and the who's in-who's out of the rowing nearly had me calling strike three.

And then the Washington rowing team traveled to Poughkeepsie in the hopes of reaching the Olympic trials, and I realized I couldn't put the book down. I was deeply invested in a nonfiction SPORTS story!

Brown's extensive research and narrative style are certainly to blame for what is now my rave review. Story arcs were complete, characters very well-defined, and settings vividly described. I hung onto every passage about Germany's propaganda ramp-up for the Olympics, eager for the next installment. Joe Rantz's life and struggles could have been a whole book in itself. And I eventually understood all the focus on the mechanics of the rowing contests.

The stand-out for me was really Brown's epilogue. If I needed one more thing to fully win me over, it was his flawless concluding remarks regarding the importance, significance, and emotion of the story of the boys in the boat. I even got a little choked up. 4+ stars.



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