Let's chat about: The Martian by Andy Weir

I am hesitant to call this a review, because to be perfectly honest, what qualifies me to review anything? I guess no one really needs any sort of qualification to post a product or restaurant review on the internet but still, to label this post as a "review" seems so official, and significantly more boring. 

So I've decided to call this a chat. Granted, it's more of a one-sided chat, and the topic will be about a book- but nonetheless, this is a chat, not a review. Let's get into it!

If you read my last post (which you totally should btw,) you would know that I watched Interstellar a few days ago. And it totally blew my mind. Now I don't want to spoil anything so I won't go into details but let's just say that I will never look at the space time continuum the same way again. Not that I did too much looking in the first place, but still. Wow. 

Anyway, I guess I was in a 'space-y' mood , and needed a book to read whilst stuck inside so I happened upon the Martian in my kindle library. 

It had been so long since I started and finished an entire book, just for fun, and when I was a kid I used to read all the time. I mean I didn't even know what Disney Channel was until I was probably 7 or 8. TV just never interested me, and I went through tons of books. I used to devour any book I could get my hands on.  

And I didn't realize how much I had missed it until now.

The Martian in a word was: awesome.

It was a little science-y for me as someone who hated Chemistry, but other than that it was an easy read, appeared to me to be quite plausible, (anyone who knows any better feel free to call me out on that) and I loved it. It became a little redundant towards the end, I mean I get it; he has a life-threatening problem, and miraculously solves it using science and old tools. But still, overall a fantastic read. It only took me a day to finish it, and the science of it didn't steer me away. I was able to understand most of it, and when I didn't it didn't stop me from understanding the situation as a whole, or what was going on. It really pulled me in, and is an easy read for anyone looking for a quick fix because you won't be able to put it down.
And to be honest even though I don't usually like super science-y science fiction novels, I felt like the exact science in the book added rather than took away from its quality. The only thing I thought was missing in the movie was the science; without exact proof the film felt a bit far-fetched. So while it may be a bit daunting, it really made the whole thing believable, and even more compelling to read.

I think the main problem people have with science fiction is that you are forced to suspend all beliefs and just think, "Okay, so he can do ____. Got it." and just assume that in some hypothetical future, it could be possible. But with The Martian, you didn't need to do that, because everything is actually possible.
Another aspect of the book that I felt the author did an amazing job of was developing each character. In many science fiction books, the characters and their personalities remain untouched. Weir did an amazing job of covering all his bases about how a man being stranded on Mars would affect everyone else involved, like the crew and the higher-ups in NASA on earth. The additional conflicts between the people on earth in their attempts to save Mark Watney added to the suspension of the novel and hooked you in even deeper.

Overall: 9/10
Would definitely recommend!

xoxo, LC

UK Trip- The Second Installment

School is in less than two weeks and I am less than pleased about it. I have had the most amazing summer and am so grateful for all of the experiences I've been fortunate to have. I just don't want it to end. I genuinely feel as though this summer has changed my life for the better. Oh well, I knew I would have to go back to reality eventually. On a better note, welcome to my second (long overdue) trip recap!

We only had one day in Scotland :( which we spent in a city called Edinburgh (pronounced Ed-in-bore-oe by the English, and Ed-in-bra by the locals!) I fell absolutely in love with Edinburgh, so much so that I dragged my parents over to the visitor's center for Edinburgh University and grabbed a pamphlet or two because the school is incredible. It's a city campus similar to NYU, however these buildings are already significantly older than the entire city of New York. It was incredible and  Edinburgh stole my entire heart. Anyway, we visited the castle and did a ton of Scottish shopping around the city, purchasing three scarves and more, because when in Scotland amiright?? Overall we had an amazing day, despite the cold, darkness, and rain.
WARNING: photo overload ahead

We slept over in Edinburgh and then headed over to Ireland super early in the morning via ferry. We arrived in Belfast, a port city of Ireland where we visited the Titanic museum. The Titanic was built in Belfast and departed from their port, so the museum was built pretty much on top of the dock and primarily focused on what went into building the ship and how it affected the Irish people. Not my favorite part of the trip but still interesting nonetheless. If you follow me on Instagram (which you totally should) you'll know that I posted the same photo as below of the Titanic Museum and ironically it looked to me as thought the museum was underwater. I thought that to be a bit odd. After the museum we continued onward to Dublin, which I'll talk about in my next post!

To be continued... xx