r/AskReddit 23h ago

What’s the most addictive book you’ve ever read? Like the kind keeps you are thinking about non-stop until you finish?

2.7k Upvotes

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975

u/DocSewer 23h ago

Project Hail Mary

197

u/Tyrshand 23h ago

I’ve been a huge fan of Andy’s since I first read The Egg while I was in high school (about 15 years ago)

I’ve read everything he has put out

When PHM came out I was obviously excited to read a new work from one of my favorite authors

But I was not expecting to read ~500 pages of what I could easily argue is his magnum opus in three or four sittings

61

u/technoSurrealist 21h ago

I always forget that he wrote The Egg. Probably the work that's had the biggest philosophical impact on me in my life. I think about it at least weekly

27

u/PennsylvaniaAvenue 21h ago

I’m just learning that it’s the same author

31

u/DocSewer 23h ago

I can’t believe I haven’t read anything of this before. But he’s on my good reads list!

45

u/Phenogenesis- 21h ago

The audio book is one of the greatest performances done and really elevates the book even further in a way that rarely occurs.

1

u/bulleitprooftiger 18h ago

Which book do you mean

1

u/Phenogenesis- 18h ago

Project Hail Mary

1

u/DocSewer 21h ago

I listened to it while I cross stitched. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G audiobook. I could listen to him all day

1

u/Phenogenesis- 18h ago

Very appropriate but wildly easy to misinterpret username...

1

u/DocSewer 10h ago

Yeah. Problem is someone who sews is spelled the exact way as in the gutter! I’m the first one

0

u/cIumsythumbs 17h ago

It's so good. I've listened to it dozens of times. It's my auditory comfort blanket.

3

u/AdBudget4478 16h ago

WHATTT? I DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL JUST A SECOND AT AGO THAT "THE EGG" IS WRITTEN BY HIM. It's my all time favourite story. wow! good day to be alive.

3

u/Craft_Alotl 22h ago

So fun!!! Love this unique tale of survival and friendship that manages to be both humorous and deeply touching.

1

u/buttplugpeddler 21h ago

🎶🎵🎼🎶🎼!

39

u/rawr_imfierce 22h ago

I felt this reading The Martian. Waiting on my copy of PHM and can't wait!

3

u/SloAndSteddy 13h ago

I reread the martian a few months ago and could not put it down. What a compelling story. 

1

u/Protomau5 21h ago

I’m reading the Martian now and it’s not gripping me the same, I also have Artemis up next. After finishing PHM I immediately bought the other two lol.

1

u/Vitaminpwn 17h ago

The Martian was way too many things going wrong. I didn't feel good about any success because I knew something else would go wrong in like 20 minutes to throw that away.

57

u/wiNdbridge0 22h ago

amaze amaze amaze

17

u/flyonwall88 22h ago

I was literally gifted this book 2 hours ago. Definitely reading now

12

u/FroggySpirit 22h ago

Watching the movie right now… in my PHM hoodie… waiting for my mom to mail me back my copy that I lent her.

I don’t have a problem 😂

10

u/Wolfeehx 22h ago

That was a great book. I felt the film did it justice too.

2

u/Craft_Alotl 22h ago

Yeah, it was a great adaptation.

Very true to the spirit of the book. 💕🚀

4

u/AbusiveTortoise 20h ago

The audiobook is hella good as well. Lot of sound effects especially with Rocky’s voice that are really engaging.

2

u/Achint_Kumar 19h ago

I was in a reading rut for years and this book was recommended to me by a friend. Since I'd already seen The Martian - I thought why not. This book is so good it should be prescribed as a medicine to remove the rut😂

3

u/Callen_Nash 22h ago

Am I the only person who felt like this was just The Martian with a little friend?

6

u/Protomau5 21h ago

They feel like polar opposites to me personally.

5

u/Callen_Nash 21h ago

It seemed like the exact story. Smart guy gets stuck alone in a very sticky situation and only has himself to rely on. The only difference is one is trying to save himself and the other is trying to save the world and ends up with a little buddy but they both have to use some tricky science in order to do it. And yes, the little buddy does help.

I was just really underwhelmed by this book. I’m glad other people loved it though.

5

u/Bunburial 21h ago

It was the exact same story, and that became apparent the moment he wakes up in the ship. Weir is an entertaining writer but not a particularly talented novelist.

5

u/Callen_Nash 20h ago

I agree. I loved The Martian when I read it, had such high hopes for Artemis but it was kinda bad and then heard such great things about PHM that made me Very excited to read it but I was so let down.

I really can see how other people would like it but there’s much better sci-fi novels to read.

1

u/cIumsythumbs 17h ago

I really can see how other people would like it but there’s much better sci-fi novels to read.

What titles do you recommend?

1

u/Protomau5 20h ago edited 20h ago

Science/math and space travel go hand in hand. The majority of Hail Mary he is with other people or Rocky.

Getting stuck alone in a sticky situation is the plot to millions of stories lol. But yes they’re both in space.

1

u/DocSewer 21h ago

I didn’t read the book and since I already saw the movie I can’t do it in that order. But I’m definitely going to check out his other books

2

u/Little-Subject-4232 23h ago

Yes, same for me!

1

u/DryManagement1495 21h ago

Yeah I read this in two days at the beach, and then listened to the audio book on the long road trip home. They made some weird substitutions when they made the movie. Things that required no extra effort. 

1

u/siborg51 3h ago

Only book I’ve read in one sitting

0

u/girlikecupcake 18h ago

I listened to the audiobook and it took a bit to get used to the flashback scenes without a good audio cue, but that was my only problem with it. It was great and rather than just listening before bed I had it on as often as I could reasonably pay attention to it. Absolutely loved it.

-6

u/getmoneygetpaid 22h ago

Is it a lot better than the movie? Because the movie was like a solid 6/10.

5

u/WindowScreaming 22h ago

Depends what aspect of the movie you enjoyed. The book is much more science-heavy and Grace’s character voice is not for everyone—he’s very “millennial-coded.”

3

u/horrayforkittens 22h ago

Book was better imo. Ryan Gosling did a good job but he’s “too bro” for the nerd I imagined while reading the book. Also, even though they did a great job portraying what was going on in his head, it’s hard to truly capture everything on film. There’s more science in the book, and you can follow his reasoning through a problem which is really cool.

3

u/21onDec23 21h ago

My one complaint is Ryan gosling. Good actor, grateful to him for the movie's existence. I think they should have chosen a different actor. Feels like Ryan gosling just plays himself in everything.

4

u/fernando-pantalones 22h ago

I thought the book was 6/10. It's written like a cooking blog, only with science. So many better books out there.

2

u/Brian_Corey__ 21h ago

Book is better than the film. 8.5/10. Audiobook is very good. Rock's voice is 10x better in Audiobook than in the film. There's way too much interesting science stuff that is just glossed over in the film.

1

u/DocSewer 21h ago

Books are always better than the movie. The only movie I loved more than the book was 25th Hour

-5

u/Fridayrules 21h ago

Agreed, but omg the movie was terrible.