The Martian Book Club Questions
Welcome to the Buddy Book Club – we have a light-hearted comedic podcast that covers a variety of books. The Martian by Andy Weir, saw a meteoric rise from a self published blog to novel to movie staring Matt Damon. The book follows Mark Watney, an astronaut and botany/engineering extraordinaire, who finds himself abandon on Mars. Instead of cowering in the corner and doing all the drugs provided (which is what I would have done), he devises a improbable plan to survive and make it back to earth. You like science, math, and surviving the impossible, then this books for you. If you’re interested, you can check out our podcast on the book.
Our book club questions try to be a little more outside the box/comedic than your typical book club questions – hopefully you enjoy them.
Book Club Questions – The Martian by Andy Weir
-> What do you think would be the worst part of being stranded on Mars? The lack of food, the loneliness, the boredom?
It seems like Watney actually was pretty entertained with music and shows. I think the worst part would have been just how brutal communication was and how long it took to relay the simplest message. That would drive me literally insane.
-> Is Mark Watney the perfect person?
What are his flaws? He’s too forgiving, he’s negative for like 10 seconds and the back to his normal self? How is this man so positive all the time!
-> Knowing all the things Watney had to go through… Are you like us and taking the easy way out?
And by easy way out I mean taking a ton of drugs and binging tv shows.
-> Was the science in the book overwhelming at times or interesting throughout?
For us by the end it seemed to get a little bit repetitive (as Dman points out in this clip).
-> If you were one of the astronauts headed home would you turn around to save Mark Watney?
I would, but I probably wouldn’t go out of the way and go against NASAs wishes. I also don’t think Watney would want the astronauts all risking their lives to save him.
-> Did you think Teddy was being unreasonable or cowardly because he didn’t want to try the sling-shot mission?
Everyone calls Teddy a “coward” because he doesn’t want to risk the lives of 5 astronauts headed back to earth with a plan that hasn’t been tested and adds countless more risks. He just just took a risk sending a rocket into space without adequate preparation, and in exploded so I was on his side. If things failed it would have been all his fault.
-> What did you think of the cannibal suicide pack that the astronauts had?
If they weren’t able to acquire the food on the slingshot, then they’ll all immediately take suicide pills and die and the one astronaut would eat their dead corpses… uhh pretty crazy. Seemed to get brushed over.
-> Did you enjoy the political elements going on back on earth? Do you think it would play out similarly if this same scenario played out for real?
I thought the political elements were fascinating, but I can’t image they would release as much information out to the general public.
-> Did you like how the book ended?
It seemed like the whole book was grounded in science, and then the end they kinda made it a super hero movie by planting bombs, punching holes in suits and risking everyone’s lives 10x over.
-> How do you think the book compared to the movie?
We’re fond of saying the book is better than the movie here at the BBC, but I actually liked the movie better.
Did we miss some questions? Reach out to us or check out our podcast.
