I suspect that people would be surprised by the amount of peer pressuring that happens at the public library amongst the librarians. “You should come to Zumba”. “Come on, Whip and Nae Nae with us”, “Try this cheese” (bad idea…it was salted caramel and NASTY) and most frequently “You have to read this book”.
Now I won’t name any names but it’s possible that declining to read a suggested book by certain librarians would be hazardous to ones health. In fact we have a book in the children’s section about librarians who turn into dragons and well we all know dragons breath fire and since I’m flammable…. And so it came to be that I went home with our copy of The Martian by Andy Weir in my bag which lacking dragons actually puts it outside my typical genre. Also, I’m terrified of space. But fearing incineration I committed to reading this book about an astronaut accidentally abandoned on Mars. I didn’t hold out very high hopes, especially when I discovered most of the book was written in scientific data logs. Initially I thought “Seriously?!? Dumbest idea ever.”
But somehow, even though I just knew this book would be terrible, I found myself completely unable to put the bookmark in my spot and close the book….even at 3am. Yes folks, this book was THAT good. So captivating. Also, it was hilarious. Weir crafted a story that blended horror (uhh stuck on Mars!) with science (albeit fictional science), survival and humor. I’m most impressed that this book was very funny. Even after I finished the book I found myself wanting more of the story and to know what happened after the booked ended. Actually I suffered the worst book hangover I’ve had in a while with my clamoring for more details. So despite its lack of dragons and the fact that this book takes place in space I found it to be a most enjoyable and engaging read. I highly recommend it.
***Disclaimer*** There is a slight possibility that I made up a few of the details of this review….
