Book Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Book title: Project Hail Mary
Author: Andy Weir
Genre: Science fiction
Published: May 4, 2021
476 pages
My rating: 5/5

“I penetrated the outer cell membrane with a nanosyringe.”
“You poked it with a stick?”
“No!” I said. “Well. Yes. But it was a scientific poke with a very scientific stick.”

Ryland Grace wakes up from coma on board of a spaceship and finds out his other crewmates have died during the voyage to a different solar system. As his memory slowly comes back, he realizes he’s on a desperate mission to save the Earth from star-eating microbes called astrophage. And he has to do it alone… or does he?

Project Hail Mary is a science fiction novel by Andy Weir. I had previously seen the movie version of The Martian, which is based on Weir’s debut novel, but I had not read Weir’s novels before. Science fiction can get technical and difficult to understand, but Weir’s writing is very accessible. You can easily follow the plot even without deep knowledge of all things astrophysics and microbiology.

2026 Writing Goals

I know, I know, I’m really late in posting my writing goals! But I have already started working on them; it’s only this blog post that is late. So let’s talk about how my writing went in 2025 and what my goals are for 2026.

2026 Reading Goals

Goals for 2026 in my reading journal

January is almost over, but it’s never too late to set reading goals for the new year! In 2026, I want to:

• Read 50 books. I’ve had this goal for several years now. I usually have no problems reaching it, so I see no reason to change it.
• Fill out book bingo. I’ll talk more about my bingo board below.
• Review all books. I want to review all books in my reading journal, and I also want to write something about them in this blog, even if it’s just a short mention.
• Take part in Jane Austen July. I’ve joined the Jane Austen readathon two years in a row, and I’ve had so much fun! I already have some plans for what I want to read.
• Read at least one e-book. I had this goal last year as well and failed spectacularly. I didn’t read a single e-book. This year, I want to make the goal easy and try to read just one e-book.
• Read at least two library books. Last year, I read twenty library books. Reading two should be no problem!

 

2025 Reading Wrap-Up

Some of my favorite reads in 2025

It’s late January and I finally have time to write my 2025 reading wrap-up and talk about my favorite books I read last year. Better late than never!

 

2025 Reading Wrap-Up

• Total books read: 84
• Total pages read: 27,529
• Days read: 354
• Average rating: 4.14
• New books bought/received: 26

My goal was to read 50 books, so I definitely surpassed that goal! I did pretty great with my other reading goals as well. I took part in Jane Austen July as planned, read a lot of library books, and wrote a review of every book that I read at least in my reading journal.

Then there were the goals I didn’t quite reach. I had hoped to do a buddy read, but that didn’t happen. I also wanted to read e-books from my Kindle app, but I didn’t read a single e-book. Oops. The final goal was to fill out a book bingo, which I almost accomplished. I didn’t fill three squares out of twenty-five, as I didn’t read an e-book, an indie book, or a romance novel.

Let’s talk about my ten favorite books I read in 2025 next! The links lead to a longer review of each book.

December Wrap-Up and January Hopefuls

December Reads

December Wrap-Up

• Finished: 9
• Started but not finished: 1
• Total pages read: 2,304
• Average rating: 4.42

I finished three novels and one memoir in December. The novels were Lauren Groff’s historical fiction The Vaster Wilds (5/5 stars), Octavia E. Butler’s dystopian fiction Parable of the Sower (4.5/5 stars), and Jacqueline Harpman’s I Who Have Never Known Men (5/5 stars). You can find longer reviews behind the links. Tara Westover’s memoir Educated (5/5 stars) I’m reviewing below. As you can see from the ratings, I had a great month in December!

I also started one novel in December, The Beekeeper’s Promise by Fiona Valpy. I finished it in early January, but since I read most of it during the Christmas holiday, I’m reviewing it in this post as well.

Book Review: I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

I Who Have Never Known Men
by Jacqueline Harpman

Book title: I Who Have Never Known Men
Author: Jacqueline Harpman
Genre: Dystopian fiction
First published: January 1, 1995
188 pages
My rating: 5/5

“I felt a surge of grief, I, who had never known men, as I stood in front of this man who had wanted to overcome fear and despair to enter eternity upright and furious. I sighed and left.”

In an underground bunker, thirty-nine women and a young girl are imprisoned in a cage, their every move watched over by guards. As the girl cannot remember life before the imprisonment, the women treat her as an outcast. Until one day, a siren goes off, the guards run away, and a stroke of luck gives the women a chance to escape. In the strange and desolate world above, the girl shows herself to be the key to the other’s survival.

I Who Have Never Known Men (original French title Moi qui n’ai pas connu les hommes; translated by Ros Schwartz) is Jacqueline Harpman’s dystopian novel set in a post-apocalyptic world and an instant five-star read for me. Originally published in French in 1995, this book has found a new success in recent years, and its popularity does not surprise me. This was a gripping and thought-provoking novel.

Book Review: Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

Book title: Parable of the Sower
Author: Octavia E. Butler
Genre: Dystopian fiction
Published: October 1, 1993
311 pages
My rating: 4.5/5

“Live! That’s all anybody can do right now. Live. Hold out. Survive. I don’t know whether good times are coming back again. But I know that won’t matter if we don’t survive these times.”

Teenager Lauren Olamina lives with her family in one of the few safe neighborhoods on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Outside the walls of their defended enclave, chaos reigns and only the rich and powerful are safe. When their compound is destroyed in a fire and her family is killed, Lauren is forced out into the dangerous world with a handful of other refugees.

Parable of the Sower is Octavia E. Butler’s dystopian fiction set in the years 2024–2027. The American society has nearly collapsed due to climate change, water shortages, inflation, unemployment and housing crisis, and dangerous drugs. Newly elected president Donner promises to make United States strong again but might just set the country back a hundred years. Sound familiar?

A lot of people have been reading Octavia Butler’s dystopian fiction this year, and no wonder. First published in 1993, this book is even more timely now than at the time of its publication, and Butler’s predictions about the future are eerily accurate.