The new display at the Somerville Public Library on Highland Ave, created by our one and only staff member, Thy, is now in our glass case for viewing. The display features books, movies and upcoming programming happening all surrounding the Somerville Reads 2016 book "The Witches" by Stacy Schiff. Below are some pictures of the…
Remember Mark Watney in The Martian modifying the astronaut habitat to grow potatoes? Over at Quirk Books Danielle Mohlman has posted some potato recipes from various online sources. And if you’re interested in food real-life astronauts would eat, Tara Ziegmont of Feels Like Home has instructions for making astronaut pudding. The post includes a video…
One noteworthy feature of The Martian is the absence of any, well, actual Martians. In many science fiction works set on Mars, most notably Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, the presence of an intelligent native species is a key plot element. And thanks to the work of Percival Lowell, whom I wrote about in yesterday’s…
The selection of The Martian for Somerville Reads raises the question, “Why Mars?” No one would ever write a book called The Venusian or The Plutoniac. But the words “Martian” or “Mars” command attention. And they long have. But why? What is it about this planet that has fascinated humanity for so long? A partial…
Our next book for Somerville Reads, our annual community one town/one book series of events, is the critically acclaimed best-seller The Martian, the story of an astronaut stranded on Mars and his struggle for survival. The Wall Street Journal called it “The best pure sci-fi novel in years.” Kirkus Reviews praised it for being “sharp,…
The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro is our book for this year’s Somerville Reads. Inspired by the 1990 Gardner Museum heist, the Art Forger is the story of Claire Roth, a struggling young artist who makes a meager living painting reproductions. Her luck seemingly changes when an art dealer offers a very large fee…
