Stranger Reads

She/Her | 26 Main Blog: @strangers-for-now

[strange-reads-for-now]

I needed a spot to yap about whatever book I'm reading, so here we are! I'll probably also talk about book-related topics too. I gravitate towards thriller and mystery books, but I don't solely read those genres.

Currently Reading: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin V.5

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The last book I read was kind of serious so I'm going to switch it up with some Gundam next. I'm on volume 5 of The Origin series. I'm excited to read it because the cover looks really cool!

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[The Double Dutch Fuss: A Memoir by Phill Branch]

{Spoiler Warning}

The second half of this memoir focus on Phill Branch's move to California. Like every other L.A. transplant, he's got big dreams and rose colored glasses. It's not long before he finds out just how hard it is to make it. His ~14 years in L.A. are filled with instability, hunger, and bullying.

Thankfully, his time in California wasn't all bad. I was really happy for him when he was finally able to admit to himself that he was gay. From there, he went on a "coming out tour." I was happy when most/all of his friends were supportive. Though it seemed like a bunch of them knew well before he did. I held my breath when he came out to his mom. Her opinion mattered the most, so it was a relief when she said, "I still love you."

I also thought this section of the book was powerful because it allowed him to finally stop hiding. Once he stopped hiding, his interactions with love interests felt a little safer. He didn't let weird men take advantage of him. It also felt like he was actually letting his walls down. He finally let his community surround him.

His time in L.A. ended when his dad suffered from a heart attack. He moves back to Virginia to take care of him and start the process of healthing their relationship. I like this section because he forgives and loves his dad, but he still leaves room for his younger self. I did cry reading his dad's eulogy.

The epilogue was perfect. He's finally stopped struggling, and his kids are getting a better childhood than he did.

I have ONE complaint. Phill spent a lot of time keeping people at arms length. He does a great job writting that, but I wish he gave us more of some people, namely his mom. The only other person we're really familiar with is his dad. This kind of kills the tension when he's having an important moment with any other character.

TLDR: This was a pretty good book.

[howmanyholesinswisscheese]

What doesn’t get talked about enough is that, all those 40-something years, Rocky had all the supplies he needed to go back home. He had the fuel, he had the food. But he didn’t. He tried and tried and tried. He kept going. He took measurements, gathered data, built new Astrophage samplers but could never get it right. He maintained the Blip-A, a ship that was built in a hurry and just kept breaking, for over FORTY YEARS. When Grace found him, Rocky wasn’t just sitting idle in orbit. He was still working, still trying, he hadn’t given up. He was tracking the stars, probably to watch for a potential second mission from Erid, when he spotted the Hail Mary in reverse-thrust. Rocky calls Grace brave. Truly, Grace is. But I’d compare Rocky more to Stratt. How much of yourself would you be willing to sacrifice to save your planet? Rocky was willing to stay at Tau Ceti for the rest of his life until he either found a solution, or died.

[its-timego]

Imagine the surreal insanity of being Irina Petrova and just hanging out having a hobby that you're very intense about and then you notice something weird and then all at once your name is one of the most uttered in history, by total accident. In the movie universe they describe her as a "radio telescope enthusiast" she does not even do this professionally. And suddenly everything is Petrova line, Petrova frequency, Petrova wavelength, Petrovascope, Petrova Task Force, Petrova problem. And you're like man. I have a day job.

[shimmerytimbers]

Can we just talk about the contrast in color grading in PHM. The space scenes are filled with warm, cozy and earth tones while the Earth scenes are bleak and desaturated. Space then feels more like Grace's home because it's where he finds his purpose.

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[The Double Dutch Fuss: A Memoir by Phill Branch]

I picked up The Double Dutch Fuss after seeing it recomended on a youtube short. I knew nothing about Phill Branch, but the promise of a vulnerable story told by a great storyteller drew me in.

The way Phill Branch talks about his childhood really resonates with me. He constantly fails to perform. He doesn't understand "men's business", he can't catch a football, and he can't walk the way men are expected to walk. I've never struggled with performing boyhood, but I know what it's like to not meet societal expectations. You try to become invisible. You internalize your loved one's words to diminish yourself worth.

"People in hell want ice water. Everybody was born." (p. 93)

I like how Phill writes his relationship with his father. It's clear that he now knows what happened to him was abuse, but as a child, he couldn't stop looking for love in someone who was never emotionally present. I also understand why he doesn't want to speculate about his mom's feeling about it. She was his safe person. If she wasn't on his side, then he might as well have been lost as sea.

His discussion about his queer identity adds another layer of complexity to an already tough situation. Sometimes, it seems to provide a shelter in his storm of a life. Other times, it's his biggest source of pain.

I know that Phill Branch is a very successful (and hopefully happy) person nowadays, but watching him wade through years of hurt is difficult. He is a great storyteller though, and I'm really enjoying his memoir!

[josephinecarttanneur]

The cool thing about being an artist is that you can always redo the fanart you did 10 years ago when you had the vision but not the skills

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I just finished Project Hail Mary, are Andy Weir’s other books good too?

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I just realized that big question in Project Hail Mary is "Who would you [die/go to extreme lengths] for?"

A lot of characters say they're doing what they're doing for humanity's sake. Grace remains mostly unsure. He says he "doing it for the kids", but when push comes to shove, he still tries to run away from joining the Hail Mary crew.

It's beautiful that he finally finds his reason when he realizes that their nitrogen resistant taumoeba is likely to kill Rocky. He turns his ship around, ready to die for his friend.

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[Project Hail Mary Book Spoilers]

Holy guacamole! What a book! I finally finished reading Project Hail Mary, and I have some thoughts:

Andy Weir is such a talented writer!

I really like Grace's inner monolog. He's so funny and relatable. His genuine curiosity made the world feel so full. At some point you start to think like Grace and can't stop coming up with new questions. Thankfully most (if not all) of them get answered.

When Stratt finally has to force Grace to join the crew of the Hail Mary, she calls him a coward. This was a tough scene. I felt bad for Stratt because you can tell she doesn't like this choice she has to make. This was also the one time I disliked Grace. You could feel Stratt's guilt when he called her a murderer.

Grace accepts that he's a coward after remembering that interaction. I felt like that was so unfair, albeit realistic. He'd befriended an alien, done more than a few risky EVAs, and found the cure for the petrova line. He should give himself more credit.

It nearly broke me when Rocky finally woke up after saving Grace. Grace worked so hard to save Rocky, but nearly killed him in the process!

Grace and Rocky's seperation lasted so much longer than I thought it would. That was okay because it was so much more satisfying when they got back together! I also feel like Grace's choice to turn around was so much more impactful. You have a much better picture of their friendship in the book compared to the movie.

At the end of the book, you don't get to know what happened to Stratt. I (foolishly) hope that she isn't in prison like she predicted.

[datsderbunnyblog]

This comment was left on a post about making the most of the Libby app. "Excessive use of generous lending policies" is the most absurd phrase I've ever seen anyone use to discuss libraries.

[official-library-posts]

official library post

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Some of the book-to-movie changes they made with Project Hail Mary are so funny. Like the scene where Rocky has to tell Grace that there’s oxygen on his side of the tunnel. Girl, the air is coming from your ship. You know that!

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[Project Hail Mary Book Spoilers]

The explosion scene is so much worse in the book than it is in the movie.

Stratt and Grace watch the aftermath, quickly coming to the realization that DuBois and Shapiro are dead. Grace loses it. His friends are dead. How could this have happened?

Stratt, on the other hand, presents herself as totally fine. The first thing she does is ask Grace for a “short list of replacements”.

When I read that, my mind snapped back to the scene where she struggled to decide if she should put the astronauts in a coma. She asked for Grace’s opinion, but at the end of their conversation he said something like, “I don’t know why you’re asking me. You’ve already made up your mind.”

She already knows that Grace is their best option. I think asking him for a list of replacements was her first attempt at asking him to volunteer.

[asteronomical]

grace: i dont care what happens to me as long as you get to go home

rocky: nah if grace dies, rocky take himself out 0.01 seconds later and if erid doesn't agree to take care of grace then rocky will simply crash the hail mary into the planet

[saym0-0]

another teacher grace moment i love is when rocky gives him the oxygen model he goes 'i dont have one of these thank you!' like that is THE most teacher response ever when a child gives them something utterly incomprehensible but made with love

[neverendingfanart]

I know the end.