In Review

I have gone out of my novel reading comfort zone recently with two books which were passed on to me by friends.  One is John Sandford's Dead Watch, published in 2006. The author and the plot subject were both new for me.   This story is all about the behind-the-scenes political intrigues used by both left and right to gain and maintain political power.  The protagonist is a Democratic "fixer".  The plot was so devious and twisted that my head was spinning. 

The second book, published in 2011, is Andy Weir's The Martian, which was recently made into a motion picture.  This book is rather scientifically technical, and I find myself reading slowly and studying some of the chapters, but I do understand a lot of it.  The protagonist, Mark Watney, is an astronaut on a mission to set up a supply camp on Mars.  During a particularly dangerous dust storm, the team decides evacuate the planet.  An antenna shaft breaks loose, impales Mark and the wind sweeps him away.  With only a few minutes to leave the planet safely, the rest of the crew leave him for dead.  The rest of the story details how he figures out what he needs to survive, if possible, for 4 years until the next team arrives.  To help himself think and to keep himself from despair, Mark writes a journal describing his activities, filling it with technical science then restated in simpler terms, and with a healthy dose of humor.  I'm about halfway through, and have gained a lot more respect for astronauts.

Getting into a routine here in Fl.

Louise and Duane