Just, wow, my heart. The hype surrounding this book has been making me a little nervous, probably why I left it unread on my shelf for so long, but I am so glad to say that the hype is actually well deserved. Who'd have thought that a guy growing potatoes and driving around in circles could be so utterly, nail bitingly, falling off the edge of your seat enthralling, even if he is doing it on another planet. Of course the actual premise, an astronaut stranded alone on Mars, is instantly compelling, but it was the character of Mark Watney that made it so readable, facing his incredibly bleak situation with humour and a sense of hope but never losing the underlying reality of his situation, the isolation and the immense danger he's in. I laughed, I cried (from happiness no less, a rare achievement), I kind of want to go back and read the whole thing again, just all in all a really rather fantastic book. I think I need a cup of tea...