"The Martian", Chapters 6-21.

Nice day on the beach yesterday, so I read a lot. Several new characters as we switch POV back to Earth. Some more Science, some joy as communications are established, plans are hatched, foreign intrigues are schemed, and CNN reports. And the inevitable mistakes are made. But so far our plucky hero, who now has a last name as well as a first, is still alive and really getting tired of disco.

"The Martian", Chapters 3-5.

In chapters 3, 4, and 5, we do science. All with the goal of surviving until some sort of rescue. There's botany, as the Martian (whom we learn is named Mark) figures out how to grow food, and chemistry, as Mark figures out how to water the plants he's growing. A few harrowing moments as we remember he's living in a closed system.

Preview of chapter 6: a new character shows up!

"The Martian", Chapters 1-2.

I've read the first two chapters now, in which our so far unnamed protagonist finds himself stuck on Mars without a way to get home. No spoiler alert because that's really pretty much what the book's about - you knew that, right?

In the beginning Weir is mostly focused on giving us the background about the Mars program, plus some technical details about the equipment he has available. Then there's some info about what he needs to survive - food, water, air, shelter, etc. That's pretty much the story of the first two chapters. Onward!

Blogging "The Martian".

I got an email from Blogging for Books asking if I wanted to receive free books. Of course I said yes! The only catch is that I have to review them. So what I plan to do is to review the books they send me right here on my blog. Inspired a bit by David Plotz's Blogging the Bible, I'm going to blog as I read.

The first book is The Martian by Andy Weir. I'm starting tonight.