From the Bookshelf of EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club…

The Martian

Andy Weir

Start date: December 1, 2016

Finish date: December 31, 2016

Discussion: MODERN / POPULAR READS

Why we're reading this: Group Pick for Dec '16 - Modern Classic/Popular…more
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MODERN / POPULAR READS

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What Members Thought

Sep 11, 2017 Carrie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: beautifully-moving, humor, science-fiction

Most definitely one of the best books I've read this year!!!!! ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Jul 24, 2015 Jennifer Ozawa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mutiple-pov, 4-stars, ipad, 2015

This was one fun, quick read. I enjoyed it immensely, and that's saying a lot, because the novels that have been ridiculously hyped recently (Gone Girl, Girl on the Train) have done nothing for me. This was a pleasant breath of air. ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Jan 07, 2015 Jen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: former-bees, five-star-reads

Loved this! I avoided it despite a lot of recommendations for quite awhile. Space travel / sci-fi is really not my thing but this is not about any of that. Mark watney, the narrator is stranded on Mars. He has to survive to be rescued so he becomes a farmer, a repair man and uses his brain, wits and humor (dark as it sometimes is) to get by. I was on the edge of my seat for most of this and the last 20 pages made my heart beat fast and hold my breath. The science is not out of reach in this and ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 19, 2016 Laurel Bradshaw rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, daytimers-book-club, suspense, science-fiction

Robinson Crusoe in space. Set a few years into the future, when the U.S. is sending manned missions to Mars. Mark is a likeable character, and I found his ingenuity and inventiveness kept me interested - for about half of the book. Then it just got too predictable as it went from one event that should have killed him to another. It was very heavy on the science, which didn't go over too well with my women's bookclub. On the whole, it's a decent story, and an uplifting one as nations work togethe ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 29, 2015 Susannah rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: listened-to-audiobook

This audiobook was terrific, and, frankly, I don't think I could have kept with it if I were reading the printed book. The discussion of how Mark Watney and all the NASA folks keep him alive after he's marooned on Mars - the way Mark uses science to save himself and the procedures that he follows - is a little too first-I-did-this-then-I-did-that to have kept me fully engaged as a reader. As a listener, however, it was fine. Three stars for the story, four stars for the audiobook performance, th ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 12, 2015 Amy Ellis rated it it was amazing

I loved this book so much. The ending paragraph is probably one of the best paragraphs I have ever read. If you can suck it up and get over the technical-speak and the many F-words (the guy is stranded on Mars--I would swear, too), you will be greatly rewarded. I loved so much about this book, but what I loved most is that Watney, the stranded astronaut, remains positive and with a great sense of humor throughout. He gets right to work, and there is no "I'm isolated and starving" monologue. Also ...more

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Feb 14, 2018 Marla rated it it was amazing

Shelves: made-me-laugh, adult, award-winner, science-fiction, catholic, adventure, zz-2018, zz-2018-ammp-fairytales

Funny and very techie. What a wonderful read, but I realize that some people would find it dull since it's a lot of science and killing time.

Likes:
* Mark Watley's humor
* Mark not blaming Ares 3 crew
* Mark is botanist and mechanical engineer
(view spoiler) Funny and very techie. What a wonderful read, but I realize that some people would find it dull since it's a lot of science and killing time.

Likes:
* Mark Watley's humor
* Mark not blaming Ares 3 crew
* Mark is botanist and mechanical engineer
(view spoiler)

Dislikes:
* NASA politics
* Swearing of Annie Montrose, NASA director of media relations
(view spoiler)

With-reservations:
language, depression, grief, isolation ...more

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Jan 17, 2015 Kim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: finished-in-2015

If I didn't have a job and children, I probably would've read this book in one sitting. It was amazingly suspenseful and I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. Set in the not too distant future, an astronaut is left for dead on Mars with no way to communicate and no plan for another manned mission to Mars for another four years. How can he possibly survive? I was reading this in every spare moment I had. Phew, now that it's over I can finally relax! ...more

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Dec 18, 2019 Bryn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-read-in-2019, tv-movie-novelizations, space

Saw the movie years ago, first time reading the book. It was good, the movie ended up following the book pretty well so there wasn't much that had been changed, but there wasn't much in the book that I don't remember seeing in the movie. A lot of math that my brain just glazed over and kept going. ...more

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Mar 30, 2024 Cindy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, br-buddy-reads, 2024

Probably one of the best books I will read this year.

I went into this without knowing anything about the story. I haven't seen the movie and I've stayed away from any spoilers, so I was blind. About halfway through I needed to google the ending in case I needed to have a mental breakdown.

I've been listening to it non-stop today and am loving Wil Wheaton's narration. ...more

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