Written by The Martian by Andy Weir
This one has been really popular the past couple years since it was released and due to all the hype of the movie. When I saw that they were making the movie I decided it was time to jump on the bandwagon and pick up a copy before the movie came out. That was one of my better decisions.
The book was really unique to me. Being the nerd I am, I really loved how techinical all of the details were. The sense of humor thrown in really made this story stand out. I remember actually cracking up at times to the wise-ass remarks. I could see myself being good friends with Mark Watney (the main character). The problem solving was really well written and I enjoyed watching Watney figure out how to survive on Mars. With the technical details mixed in with the problem solving, it really helped show that Andy Weir actually has a clue to what he is talking about. (He does) i enjoyed that the story was written as a journal of the sols (Mars days). It keeps the story moving at a steady pace.
I liked the book so much, and being a Matt Damon fan as well, I may have made the mistake of having super high expectations for the movie. The movie was great in its own way, but it was lacking everything that I loved from the book. I missed seeing the complex math solved many times, and especially the humor. They still tried to keep the character as true to the book as possible, but it didn’t feel the same to me. I wanted to see more of the character I had made up. This could be my own problem though. There is a reason why everyone says the books are always better than the movies though.
If you are looking for a quick read and you enjoy sci-fi I would definitely pick this up. If you haven’t read it yet either then what year is it?! The humor and excellent story will keep you entertained the whole ride.
Life of Chaz 
Yes! This about the movie vs. the book is exactly how I felt! I get that the movie obviously had to be less technical (When I finished the book, I said it was the most entertaining technical manual I’d ever read; no good for Hollywood.), and there was way less room for stuff, but I felt let down anyway.
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I’ve had this book on my wishlist for so long and I liked the movie a lot!! Nice to see that it is actually that good!
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I loved this book, it was so fantastic and way out of my normal genre choices. I really enjoyed the technical details and witty humor of Mark, as well as the attention to detail that Weir included. The movie was a big letdown for me. I agree with you that it lacked all the good things this book had, but I feel like that is the case with most books that are predominantly internal dialogue/log entries. I watched the movie with my husband and then promptly told him they botched it and that he needed to read the book asap! (He’s an engineer, so this sort of nerdy thing is right up his alley.) He did and agreed with me on all accounts.
Great review.
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I totally agree on the movie disappointment. I loved both the book AND the movie on their own, but when compared, the movie just doesn’t match up to the character development in the book.
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Books always better!! haha I definitely felt that way with this one because you get to know the character better through the book and feel more attached to him and you can see the way he thinks and feels better than the movie can show.
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I enjoyed the book a lot too–and for the same reasons you did. It was really fun to see how he solved the problems that came up. I enjoyed the visual aspects of the movie, but yeah, it didn’t delve into the math, etc. that made the book so compelling.
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