[The Martian by Andy Weir] (http://www.amazon.com/Martian-Andy-Weir/dp/0553418025/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422400259&sr=8-1&keywords=the+martian)

From Amazon:

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.
Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.
After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.
Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.
But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

On My Shelf:

Nonfiction:


[where there is no doctor] (https://www.amazon.com/Where-There-No-Doctor-Handbook/dp/0942364155)

[where there is no dentist] (https://www.amazon.com/Where-There-Dentist-Murray-Dickson/dp/0942364058/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0942364058&pd_rd_r=P7QG34TNRGWWJ4VG3CES&pd_rd_w=zUT5r&pd_rd_wg=bQSPa&psc=1&refRID=P7QG34TNRGWWJ4VG3CES)

[emergency war surgery] (https://www.amazon.com/Emergency-War-Surgery-Survivalists-Reference-ebook/dp/B007FH3S8C/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111178&sr=1-1&keywords=war+surgery)

[Seed to Seed, a seed saving book] (https://www.amazon.com/Seed-Growing-Techniques-Vegetable-Gardeners/dp/1882424581/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111210&sr=1-1&keywords=seed+saving)

[mini farming] (https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Farming-Self-Sufficiency-Brett-Markham/dp/1602399840/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1602399840&pd_rd_r=QYQGAKY6D2PJX21W5DBC&pd_rd_w=ZSjVd&pd_rd_wg=MKw9N&psc=1&refRID=QYQGAKY6D2PJX21W5DBC)


[square foot gardening] (https://www.amazon.com/All-Square-Foot-Gardening-Revolutionary/dp/1591865484/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1591865484&pd_rd_r=NW7HBPKNFJ2J8JYTR22M&pd_rd_w=kMSVD&pd_rd_wg=v6qzT&psc=1&refRID=NW7HBPKNFJ2J8JYTR22M)


[Ball Canning Guide] (https://www.amazon.com/All-Ball-Book-Canning-Preserving/dp/0848746783/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111296&sr=1-1&keywords=ball+canning)


[Steve Rinella's Big Game] (https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Hunting-Butchering-Cooking/dp/081299406X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111322&sr=1-1&keywords=rinella+guide)

[Steve Rinella's Small Game] (https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Hunting-Butchering-Cooking/dp/0812987055/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0812987055&pd_rd_r=HSSM813BSWTXN5Q77P1R&pd_rd_w=j1UjP&pd_rd_wg=OWNY6&psc=1&refRID=HSSM813BSWTXN5Q77P1R)

[root cellaring] (https://www.amazon.com/Root-Cellaring-Natural-Storage-Vegetables/dp/0882667033/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111429&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=root+cellarig)

[country wisdom and know how] (https://www.amazon.com/Garden-Wisdom-Know-How-Everything-Harvest/dp/1579128378/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111470&sr=1-3&keywords=country+wisdom)

[timberframe construction] (https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Timber-Frame-Craftsmanship-Simplicity/dp/1612126685/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111553&sr=1-9&keywords=cabin+construction)

[Ham radio -tech] (https://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual/dp/1625950136/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492111593&sr=1-1&keywords=ham+radio)

[ham radio general] (https://www.amazon.com/General-Class-License-Manual-Amateur/dp/1625950306/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1625950306&pd_rd_r=12TE98J0V80PC5Z8PMNJ&pd_rd_w=EfgM9&pd_rd_wg=jqqg2&psc=1&refRID=12TE98J0V80PC5Z8PMNJ)

[The FoxFire Series ] (https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Collection-Anniversary-Editions-Anniversay/dp/B00MRH3RYU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1492879953&sr=8-4&keywords=foxfire)

Also pickup up books on useful skills: raising rabbits, welding, different random construction books.

Fiction:

[Lucifer's Hammer] (https://www.amazon.com/Lucifers-Hammer-Larry-Niven/dp/0449208133/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492880068&sr=1-1&keywords=lucifers+hammer)

[One second After] (https://www.amazon.com/Second-After-John-Matherson-Novel/dp/0765356864/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492880115&sr=1-1&keywords=one+second+after)

[the martian] (https://www.amazon.com/Martian-Andy-Weir/dp/0553418025/ref=pd_sim_14_41?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0553418025&pd_rd_r=D4JHG0ERDKJXA7NYCZHX&pd_rd_w=vAle5&pd_rd_wg=9wBYx&psc=1&refRID=D4JHG0ERDKJXA7NYCZHX)

[the road] (https://www.amazon.com/Road-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0307387895/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492880272&sr=1-1&keywords=the+road0)

[alas babylon] (https://www.amazon.com/Alas-Babylon-Pat-Frank/dp/0060741872/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1492880316&sr=1-10&keywords=babylon)

This would make an interesting story similar to The Martian.

Amazon links for books mentioned in this thread:

\/u/thetrueonion (OP)

• Digital Apollo, David A. Mindell    -    Other books by this author
  
  
• Eagles of Mitsubishi, Jiro Horikoshi
  
  
• Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, Richard P. Feynman    -    Other books by this author
  
  
• A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking    -    Other books by this author
  
  
• Ignition!: An informal history of liquid rocket propellants, John D. Clark
  
  \/u/llothar:
  
  
• Amazon.com's list of books authored by Richard Feynman
  
  
• The Martian, Andy Weir
  
  \/u/DallasGreen:
  
  
• Closest I could find was Engineering and the Mind's Eye, Eugene S. Ferguson
  
  \/u/gearnut:
  
  
• Slide Rule, Nevil Shute    -    Other books by this author
  
  \/u/frothysasquatch:
  
  
• Waterpower in Lowell: Engineering and Industry in Nineteenth-Century America, Patrick M. Malone
  
  \/u/Beefstyles:
  
  
• Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed, Ben R. Rich
  
  \/u/CalledCaptainHook:
  
  
• One Second After, William R. Forstchen    -    Other books by this author
  
  \/u/75footubi:
  
  
• The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge, David McCullough
  
  \/u/Bradm77:
  
  
• The Soul of A New Machine, Tracy Kidder

The Martian: A Novel - Sci Fi about a man stranded on Mars and his struggle to survive and be rescued.

Ready Player One - Sci Fi about a virtual world/video game scavenger hunt with the winner becoming the new ruler of the virtual world.

Don't try to read any fundamental physics/engineering textbooks, they'll just bore you and you won't learn anything without also doing stuff like you would in a lab or for homework.

Instead read some books that inspire or entertain you. You won't have time or energy to read what you want once school starts. Here's some options:

• Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
  
  
• Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
  
  
• The Martian

• Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith
  
• Downbelow Station by CJ Cherryh
  
• A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
  
• Ursula K Le Guin's Hainish Cycle
  
• The Martian by Andy Weir

Here's a few recent books, all good or very good:

Last Plane to Heaven, Jay Lake (short story collection)


The Adjacent
, Chris Priest

On the Steel Breeze, Alistair Reynolds (Book2 in series)


The Causal Angel, Hannu Rajaniemi (Book3 in series)


Strange Bodies, Marcel Theroux


The Martian, Andy Weir (recommended!)


ShipStar, Benford-Niven (Book2 in series)


Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie


A Darkling Sea, James Cambias


The Disestablishment of Paradise, by Phillip Mann {I've just started this one, so can't say yet if good or great or crappy, but it's started off very good).


...And if you have not yet discovered The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanDerMeer, you should probably check it out.

SF doesn't get much harder than The Martian by Andy Weir. It's about an astronaut's efforts to survive while stranded on Mars after a failed mission. All the science is plausible.

I can also recommend The Risen Empire duology by Scott Westerfield for realistic space battles.

Mark Watney

I don't blame them. It's my favorite sci fi book (so far)

Read it!

Lately I've been ruminating on the Dark Elf Trilogy. I read it years ago, but I liked it a lot. If I recall, I once saw u/mistborn at The Dragon's Keep, and he liked that trilogy too.

I hope sci-fi is okay. Most of the time it's fantasy set in a different era.

• The Martian
  
  
• Existence
  

ME! I'm that person!

I had no idea there was a book. I'm pumped now.

Amazon link to the $9 paperback I just bought.

This is basically how The Martian was done. Released as a serial on the web one chapter at a time with fan feedback incorporated into future chapters (and even revising current ones).

Semi-space related, but I really loved The Martian by Andy Weir.

http://www.amazon.com/Martian-Andy-Weir/dp/0553418025/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421979859&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Martian

Good, engaging story, and plenty of geeking out.

Oh oh! I'm currently reading The Martian by Andy Weir.

It's really good. Near-future sci fi, definitely adventure, and quite funny.

After loads of reading on the bus to work every day, here follows my reading list for military aviation:

Modern

• Viper Pilot - memoir of an F-16 Wild Weasel pilot who flew in both Iraq Wars
  
• A Nightmare's Prayer - memoir of a Marine Harrier Pilot flying out of Bagram.
  
• Warthog - Story of the A-10C pilots and their many varied missions in Desert Storm
  
• Hornets over Kuwait - Memoir of a Marine F/A-18 pilot during Desert Storm
  
• Strike Eagle - Story of the brand new F-15C Strike Eagle pilots and their time in Desert Storm
  
  

  Vietnam
  

• The Hunter Killers - look at the very first Wild Weasels, their inception, early development, successes, and failures
  
• Low Level Hell - memoir of an OH-6 Air Cav pilot
  
  

  WWII
  

• Unsung Eagles - various snapshots of the less well-known but arguably more impactful pilots and their missions during WWII (pilot who flew channel rescue in a P-47, morale demonstration pilot, etc.)
  
• Stuka Pilot - memoir of the most prolific aviator of Nazi Germany (and an unapologetic Nazi) who killed hundreds of tanks with his cannon-armed Stuka
  
• The First Team - more academic historical look at the first US Naval Aviators in WWII
  
  
  

  Overall/Other
  

• Skunk Works - memoir of Ben Rich, head of Lockeed's top secret internal firm and his time working on the U-2, SR-71, and F-117 including anecdotes from pilots of all 3 and accounts of these remarkable planes' exploits.
  
• Lords of the Sky - ambitious attempt to chronicle the rise and evolution of the "fighter pilot" from WWI to the modern day
  
• Red Eagles: America's Secret MiGs - the story of the long-top secret group of pilots who evaluated and flew captured Soviet aircraft against US pilots to train them against these unknown foes.
  
• Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage - story of the US submarine fleet starting at the outbreak of the Cold War and their exploits
  
  
  
  

  Bonus non-military aviation
  

  I highly second the recommendations of Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, and Diamond Age. I would also recommend:
  
  

• Neuromancer - defined the cyberpunk genre
  
• Ghost in the Wires - memoir of prolific hacker Kevin Mitnick
  
• Starship Troopers - nothing like the movie
  
• The Martian - fantastic read
  
• Heir to the Empire - first of the Star Wars Thrawn Trilogy and the book that arguably sparked the growth of the Extended Universe of Star Wars
  
• Devil in the White City - semi-fictional (mostly non-fiction) account of a serial killer who created an entire palace to capture and kill his prey during the Chicago World's Fair
  
• Good Omens - dark comedy story of a demon and an angel trying to stop the end of the world because they like us too much
  
• American Gods - fantastic story about how the old gods still walk among us
  
• Dune - just read it
  

Have you read The Martian by Andy Weir portraying an ingenious astronaut and savvy mechanical engineer stranded on Mars? If so, what did you think of the book, or what was your favorite part?

Probably super late to the party, but this edition of The Martian has a bit of a Q&A with Andy Weir at the end. One of the questions asked him what one book he would take with him if he were trapped on Mars. I couldn't help but picture one of the Weasleys, after a snide pause, just saying "...THIS one."

A nice [book] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0553418025/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_img?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1UV26E3TSLS5O&coliid=I3NN4XIZLRKCRY) to snuggle up next to the Christmas tree during this season! :)

I haven't read anything good in years and the things I have read are usually due to finding new books for my kids or reading the books that have been adapted to tv/film.

One of my all time favorite series was from Robin Hobb. Starting with Assassin's Apprentice. This was a difficult read for me at the time, but I loved the story behind the characters.

I started reading less fantasy after reading Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Millennial Series. I read these after watching the original films. It is fantastic. Just don't buy the fourth book, it wasn't even written by him as he has been dead for a while now.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. I didn't start reading those until Game of Thrones premiered on HBO.

Now for some really old school, Dragonlance by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The fourth book came out years later and was fantastic. I have read more than a few of the side stories, but the main books are the best in my opinion, probably would not hold up well today.

Currently, I have The Martian by Andy Weir and Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan waiting for me to read.

The Five People You meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom is a book that I consider a must read. I don't consider it a spiritual book, but it did change my perspective on how I view my life in this world.

I hadn't read a book in the last 5+ years. Last week I picked up All You Need Is Kill because I liked the Edge of Tomorrow movie and loved it. It was a fast read at ~200 pages but it was great all the way through.

Now I picked up The Martian because I've heard a lot of good things about it. I think I actually might get back into reading now.

The martian

You may be interested in reading The Martian, which is an (obviously fictional) story about an astronaut getting stranded on Mars.

yes

The Martian by Andy Weir. You'd think a diary from a man stranded on Mars could get boring, but it's great sci-fi and awfully funny at times.

Edit: link not working

Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering (ABET search, input "Aerospace Engineering" for program name). Also consider joining AIAA, especially if you are in school or work in the industry. These both assume you are in the USA.

You can also follow the /r/aerospace and /r/engineering reddits.

As for books, The Martian was a much better book than movie. Jeb can learn a thing or two from Watney. If you really want to learn orbital mechanics, the /r/aerospace folks highly recommend SMAD.

EDIT: Saw someone mention watching live launches. Good idea: NASA TV and SpaceFlightNow.

The stuff I like that are similar free web creations are:

• Heretical Edge
  
  Basically harry potter but if it were internally consistent and with realistic and good characters, does a lot of subverting expectations and tropes.
  
  
• The martian
  
  Astronaut munchkins Science! to survive on mars
  
  
• RWBY
  
  Cute girl with giant scythe that also is a sniper rifle, everyone in this one has superpowers.
  
  
• Toothless
  
  Realistic medieval setting wherein templar knights fight against undead horde which is almost the only divergence from our normal nonmagic world.