So you want to live vicariously through the astronauts…

I grew up loving space. I wanted to be an astronaut and go into space. Or even just work for NASA. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized I like being relatively on the ground, but my love for space has stuck around.

The past year or so I’ve gotten more into Sci-Fi, not on purpose, but just bit by bit. Admittedly, as I was trying to come up with this list I realized the majority of the sci-fi I’ve read aren’t actually focused on the trip through the stars itself. But with Artemis II safely splashing down, what better time to talk about some faves?

Astronaut Books I’ve Loved:

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Atmosphere follows Joan as she becomes one of the first women astronauts. You get to know her family, training class, and even the program itself.

I read this as soon as I got my hands on a copy from the library. It was a RIDE. Over the course of three days I laughed, cried, hoped and learned so much about NASA in the 1980s.

True to her other recent books, Reid has done so much research that it feels as though you’re in the room, going through the training, trials and tribulations of the group. She further solidified her place as one of my favorite authors with this one. Time and time again I’m blown away.

A Long Way To A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The first of four books in this series, you follow the crew of a spaceship that is on the way to tunnel a new wormhole.

This had been on my TBR for so long and I kept putting it off because I heard it was very character-based, which, historically speaking, hasn’t been my thing. I think this was the start of that change because I loved sinking into the world and getting to know all of them evenly and deeply.

I fell in love with all the characters and the second book was even better, earning the first 5-star rating for me this year. I have the last two on my Kindle and plan to get to them within the next couple of months.

Astronaut Books on my TBR:

For all the ones I’ve read, there are still so many left on my TBR. I did consider putting my entire TBR down on this list, but I do want to do another post where I actually read the ones I’ve been thinking about, so I wanted to make it manageable.

The options were infinite, but (aside from the aforementioned series) here are some I would love to get to sooner rather than later.

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield

Col Chris Hadfield has spent 4,000 hours in space, and wishes to impart the philosophy of prepare for the worst and enjoy every moment.

Hadfield tells stories about his space exploration from launches to spacewalks to working through crises. I like to think I’m cool under pressure, but the amount of clarity astronauts must have in moments when things don’t go as planned is insane. I think I’ll definitely be able to take a thing or two from his experience, and isn’t that a goal of reading?

The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush

Journalist Loren Grush goes in-depth about the first women astronauts after NASA opened up applications to every race and gender.

I used to read a lot more non-fiction than I did the last couple of years and honestly, I’ve been missing it. Having read Atmosphere, I’m so curious about accounts of those who made the trek to space in our world. This feels like a great place to start, but I know it’s going to expand upon my experience from the other books.