What Am I Reading Wednesday (3/23/16)

Greetings everyone! It's time for a round of "What Am I Reading Wednesday"!

Why Wednesday? Because there are no days of the week that start with "R".

How amazing would that be though? Readsday!

Wow, someone needs more coffee. Moving on.

Some brief stats on today's book: 

Title: The Martian

Author: Andy Weir

First Reading: Nope, second time around.

Initial Impression: I'd forgotten how much I liked Disco music.

Oh yeah ;)

For those who don't already know this about me, I am a fast reader. I possess the kind of literary processing speed that would allow me to breeze through novels in school, frustrating teachers (Who came up with the "don't read ahead!" rule anyway? Madness, I tell you.) and my schoolmates alike. 

This is not to say that I haven't taken my sweet time getting through some books, it depends heavily on the subject matter and how quickly the author is able to grab my attention. Then, there are simply the occasional works that I haven't been able to get through, not too many, but I'm a firm believer in putting a book down and moving on to the next one if necessary. 

The first time I read The Martian, I was hooked from the very first line! (Don't worry, I'll keep this as spoiler-free as possible.) I blazed through the entire thing in under a week. Then, just a few months later, the movie came out and I was pleased overall with the job Matt Damon did with the lead character Mark Watney. (We won't get into any other elements of the movie itself, or the science behind the premise, those comparisons have already been done to death.) 

A few weeks ago I decided to watch the movie again, and from the very beginning I was itching to read the book a second time. This is a HUGE sign to me that I love a particular novel: if I'm willing to, or have in fact already, read it more than once. By the end of the movie, I was ready to pull my Kindle out and dive back in to Mark Watney's experience  surviving on the Red Planet.

As the final credits of the film were rolling, it hit me: Andy Weir chose the perfect soundtrack for his novel!

Let me explain. Mark Watney becomes the only person ever to be stranded on an uninhabited, inhospitable planet, with only his knowledge as a botanist and his ingenuity to keep himself alive until (or IF) someone can rescue him. That would be a massive blow to anyone's psychological state, no matter what training they've had. Of course it helps tremendously that Mark has a naturally outgoing, comical personality. He's able to channel that into his personal logs and even into his communications with Earth once they made contact. 

Then there's the added fact that he is stuck on a desolate planet with nothing to listen to but: Disco. DISCO! A decade-defining branch of music that Watney proclaims to hate the entire time he's on Mars. But, the way I see it, Disco is likely one of the things that kept him going. It is literally one of the peppiest, bounciest, at times cheesiest, musical genres on record, and that upbeat soundtrack is what he's stuck with, thanks to his Commander. 

I don't think Andy Weir could have chosen a better soundtrack to contrast with the inherent bleakness of his protagonist's situation. That plot element, combined with Watney's personality, thoroughly balanced out what could have been a potentially depressing novel. 

So boogie on down, you funky readers, embrace the disco!

Tell me, what are you reading on this fine Wednesday?

"Burn, baby, burn!"

**Disclaimer: The "What Am I Reading Wednesday" posts are my personal opinion and not to be taken as "professional" literary reviews. I just love to share books I've enjoyed!**