Have you read the reader reviews for December's daring read, The Martian? Does it sound like a book that might tempt you?

 

•  A book that makes me willingly turn my chronically sleep-deprived state into the acutely sleep-deprived one as I battle somnolence at 4 a.m. so that I can read just one more chapter (we all know how that one chapter somehow turns into a dozen as the sunrise starts lurking outside the window).

 

• A book with the sense of humour that is a perfect match for my own (the one that occasionally causes some serious eyebrow-raising from my colleagues).

 

•   The writing can be a bit irritating. Don't misunderstand me, I loved the science bits, and the multiple perspectives, but Mark's narration really got on my nerves sometimes! Like how he talks! Like this! All of the time! However, as the book progressed, I realised that there wasn't enough of this to make me fully dislike Mark's portions, so all was well.

 

 

• Extreme cases of literary franken-science carry the risk of full-blown ocular gymnastics on the part of the reader. As a result, serious injury has been reported, to include corneal abrasions, iritis, and sprains of the lateral and medial rectus muscles. Luckily, there is a cure. The Martian.

 

 

• There isn’t anything inherently wrong with this book – but it does have a LOT of maths!

 

 

Request your copy now... #ReadingDaringly #DarllenBeiddgar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December's Daring Read - Are you ready for it?

December's daring read has been announced, will The Martian be a title to tempt you?

The Martian

Andy Weir

Synopsis

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars' surface, completely alone, with no way to signal Earth that he’s alive. And even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, Mark won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark's not ready to quit. Armed with nothing but his ingenuity and his engineering skills—and a gallows sense of humor that proves to be his greatest source of strength–he embarks on a dogged quest to stay alive, using his botany expertise to grow food and even hatching a mad plan to contact NASA back on Earth.

As he overcomes one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next, Mark begins to let himself believe he might make it off the planet alive.

But Mars has plenty of surprises in store for him yet.