Book #72 – The Martian by Andy Weir

Originally published in 2011, this book caught my notice when my younger sister listened to the audiobook about 2 years ago and told me “You have to read this someday”. Apparently, this was the sentiment of many a nerdy young engineer as it ended up in the Great American Read for most beloved novel. The story follows Mark Watney, trapped as he is on the Martian surface after a hasty evacuation of the rest of his crew. Some have critiqued the book, stating that it reads more like a nerd’s journal than an actual account of living on mars, to which I point out that Mark is supposed to be an engineer/botonist. He’s the very definition of a nerd. He’s not military, apparently, but rather an accomplished scientist that was selected for the mission. Which explains why his logs don’t read like Star Trek… unless they were written by Scotty.

There was also a movie made in 2015, starring Matt Damon as Mark, with other known names helping to boost the movie to a metascore of 80. Also, it should be noted, this is one of the few films were Sean Bean doesn’t die. (Seriously, Sean, you need to get a new agent.)

Book #288 – Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

When the book was originally published in 1986, it was on the heels of other young adult survival novels. It somehow managed to outshine it’s predecessors and became a classic. My husband remarked that he was astonished this was not on the required reading when I was in elementary school. Currently, the only similar books with the same number or ratings as Hatchet are Island of the Blue Dolphins and Call of the Wild. Both of which I read in elementary school, along with My Side of the Mountain, Julie of the Wolves, The Talking Earth, and Sign of the Beaver (which are along a similar vein of thought). Which makes it even more surprising that I never read Hatchet. You’d think it would have been right up the alley of my nature-studying child mind.

One of the reasons that I think Hatchet manages to still draw readers is because it doesn’t ever let the character forget that he is alone. There is no one to save him but himself, and as he realizes this, he grows because of it. This is something that would likely draw a teacher’s attention to young minds, and might draw a student’s attention for the adventure.