The Martian

by Andy Weir

This may be a rare case when the movie is better, but I still really enjoyed the book. It’s the only survival story I’ve read where the main character has a sense of humor, with lines like, “I’m the best botanist on the planet.” The Martian has all the elements of a classic survival story, dealing with starvation, environment, loneliness, the unexpected, and some new twists like how to breathe without oxygen. Fair warning: the infinite calculus of calculations (amount of soil, solar panels, oxygen, hydrogen, water, etc.) he needs for survival gets a bit tedious, but I couldn’t help but root for the guy.