“When a dust storm forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, astronaut Mark Watney finds himself stranded on Mars’s surface, completely alone. Armed with nothing but his ingenuity, his engineering skills–and a gallows sense of humor that proves to be his greatest source of strength–Mark embarks on a dogged quest to stay alive, but will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?”

The Martian is incredible. Andy Weir is a genius (seriously, I think he graduated from college with a computer engineering degree at 15). His writing is often called “real science fiction” where it is science fiction based on plausible facts. He goes into detail about why things happen and how they work, which is why I think so many people like this book.  The story is also an awesome stranded-in-space survival story. They turned it into a movie a few years ago starting Matt Damon and they did a great job bringing the character of Mark Whatney onto the screen as well as all the other characters. Of course, I recommend reading the book first if you haven’t watched the movie already.

Interested in this book? Look for it at your local library. If you’re affiliated with Lindenwood, you can request this book from the Lindenwood Library.

“Rick Deckard is an officially sanctioned bounty hunter tasked to find six rogue androids. They are machines, but look, sound and think just like humans–clever and most of all dangerous humans.”

What I like about most of Philip K. Dick’s stories is the way he uses science fiction elements to make you think about human existence and behaviors. This book is one that can do just that. In this book, the ability to feel empathy for other living things is supposed to be the main distinction between androids and humans. This is also what creates the title. People pride themselves for having live animals as pets because living animals are rare and are seen as a prize possession that improves ones ability to feel empathetic. Rick can’t afford a real sheep, so he owns a fake one (that looks and acts real) to stay in good standing with the neighborhood, and so he and his wife don’t look suspicious for not having an animal.

This book was the inspiration for the movie Blade Runner. I must admit I enjoyed the book much more than the movie because the movie misses much of what is important to the characters in the book. For example, Deckard’s concern about the “electric sheep” is missed in the movie, but it is a core theme in the book.

If you like science fiction and have not read Philip K. Dick, this is a good place to start. His work has been adapted into many films such as Total Recall, Minority Report, The Adjustment Bureau, and many others. I consider him an essential read for any science fiction fans.

Interested in this book? Look for it at your local library. If you’re affiliated with Lindenwood, you can request this book from the Lindenwood Library.

“When hostile aliens called the Formics attack Earth, only the legendary heroics of Mazer Rackham manage to attain a victory. To prepare for the next attack, Col. Hyrum Graff and his cohorts initiate a military program to find the next Mazer. Recruit Ender Wiggin exhibits an unusual gift for the training, easily mastering all of the challenges thrown at him.”

Many of you may have read this book already. It’s fairly popular even outside the science fiction genre. This book was published in 1985 and was based on a short story of the same name originally published in Analog in August of 1977. Since then, Orson Scott Card has written 15 other books that follow the same timeline with the most recent being published in 2016. This first book can be read as a standalone novel, but there is plenty more to read if you get drawn into the universe created around Ender.

A movie of this book was made in 2013, which I thought was a good adaptation of the book. It was entertaining and the visuals were impressive. Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, and Ben Kingsley all have give great performances. If you like the book, I also recommend the movie, but read the book first as the book is almost always better.

Interested in this book? Look for it at your local library. If you’re affiliated with Lindenwood, you can request this book from the Lindenwood Library.

I’m recommending The Ultimate Guide because it contains all five books of the series. If you like the first book then you’ll likely want to read the rest, so it makes sense to get them all in one. Anyway, the five books contained in this volume are as follows:

• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979)
• The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980)
• Life, the Universe and Everything (1982)
• So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1984)
• Mostly Harmless (1992)

As you may have guessed from those titles, these stories are a bit on the ridiculous side. They are funny, absurd, and sporadic. To put this in perspective, the first book starts with Earth being destroyed (without warning to its inhabitants) to create an intergalactic bypass.

I’ll admit that I grew a little weary of the whole circus a few times while reading through this volume (it may be a good idea to split the five books up instead of reading it all at once), but I enjoyed them all. Depending on your literary preferences and sense of humor, I believe you will too.

According to this book, the answer to life, the universe and everything is: 42. There is a great anecdote about this number in the world of computer programming that I believe Douglas knew about and he intentionally chose the number as a brilliant, truthful question to “the” question. I’ll refrain from providing the details despite the fact they are not in the books themselves, but I recommend you find this “real” answer after reading the books or whenever you want really.

Interested in this book? Look for it at your local library. If you’re affiliated with Lindenwood, you can request this book from the Lindenwood Library.

“In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win—and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.”

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is a fun ride. The movie adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg is an equally fun ride though it does have major differences from the book. Many of the differences make sense for cinematic purposes, but all the fun references (and some new ones) are still there and fun to see on-screen.

Though set in a dystopian future where there everyone scrambles for resources, humanity has created an online universe where many people work, play, and live most of their lives. The intricate puzzles and race to find the clues within the virtual galaxy keep you turning the pages. This future doesn’t seem too far off considering the exponential growth of technology and the ever expansive worlds being created within the internet. Let’s hope we create a better world than the one our friend Wade Watts inhabits.

Interested in this book? Look for it at your local library. If you’re affiliated with Lindenwood, you can request this book from the Lindenwood Library.