I think I'm in love with this book. It could just be that I'm emotionally touch-starved for a book where I actually care about the characters, but for whatever reason it may be, I spent a lot of time caring more about the world inside this book then the one all around me. I mean, this book deserves really, really high praise. I've seen the movie enough times to make it boring, but instead I felt like I was gonna die with the protagonist, Mark, every time something predictably failed. I will also say that the ook really shines in the science fiction genre just because of how approachable the actual "science" in it is. It's explained without being talked down to you, but at the same time its necessarily technical and checklist which I find is great because you can never really tell when the author is just foreshadowing or playing the part of a risk-conscious astronaut. I may also be no NASA astronaut, but I couldn't come up with any good plot holes which always end up tarnishing a book bound to be this good. I totally would have finished this book if being up in Kentucky a couple weeks ago was ever so slightly more boring. Fortunately, it wasn't and I had to wait a little to coax myself into reading. Now that it's just work eat sleep repeat with a healthy serving of outside time mixed in, the book was ripe. I'm honestly dreading forcing myself to go back into reading stuff less fun than this for a little while going forward, but I'm a serial book overrated, so I'm sure I'll be raving about something new sometime soon. To rant, I probably suffer from the amateur movie critic effect because a movie is never so bad that going and getting a drink and popcorn and sitting in comfy theater seats is ruined. Reading is peaceful and escapist and it makes you feel like you're doing something with your time that isn't working a shitty part-time job in Warminster while you do jack shit on your days off at home. For those of you who I struggle to keep up with, I can share other derek life updates as I see fit but always feel free to reach out. If y'all cared enough to read through this garbage review rant, than there's a nearly 100% chance I'll be happy to hear from you no matter who you are. I just turned nineteen. Say happy birthday if you haven't already damnit! I'm going to see Modest Mouse and the Pixies next week. I'll be in Myrtle Beach the following Sunday into Friday, and I may be up in Boston in the next month. Really though, please reach out if we haven't spoken recently. We can always grab breakfast or lunch or whatever or go outside together. ANYWAY, it's nearly four and I have a shitty shift at work tomorrow that I should have gone to bed to get up for hours ago, and I'm sure I sound loopy as hell, so goodnight. Run-on sentence, baby.