My partner (M, 39) is not a big pleasure reader. He’s a scientist/professor and does a lot of academic reading so he says his brain doesn’t have space to read for fun. We’re taking a trip next week (will be a very slow, mellow trip) and he said he wants to bring a book. Going to try and snag him something from the library. Suggestions for him? Big nerd, short attention span (short chapters a plus!), will probably like something short/fast-paced/grips you from the start. He’s a big fan of F1 racing, his comfort shows are Star Trek and X Files, and is a biochemist. I think the last book he read was Bad Blood by John Carreyrou. TIA!
by InspectionNo8745
5 Comments
If Star Trek is a comfort show, there are hundreds of tie in novels across all the shows. If he has a fave series, you can probably find a “five best books from that series” list and get him one of those? There’s also many non fiction titles like biographies, autobiographies, behind the scenes, movie making of’s…
I’d love to help more if you have a little extra info.
PLEASE tell him to read Project Hail Mary or the Martian. They’re both shorter sci-fi standalone books that are easy to rip through while also being very enjoyable. I rate books 5 stars maybe 3 times a year and both of those earned that from me. They both have a decent amount of science in them.
If he likes nonfiction thrillers, maybe he’d like The Scientist and the Spy by Mara Hvistendahl
He might like some of the shorter or faster-paced sci fi.
Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. The first several are novellas—so a small commitment. The main character is a snarky cyborg.
Project Hail Mary or the Martian by Andy Weir feature scientists being extremely competent in solving really hard problems in extreme circumstances. They are both entertaining and fast paced.
Several of the Michael Crichton novels have a biology-type focus—Andromeda Strain or Jurassic Park, for example.
He might like Red Mars, but it’s long and is the start of a 3-part series. It might feel like a commitment. It’s about the terraforming of Mars and what that does to humanity.
Edited for typo
People have already recommended Murderbot and Hail Mary and The Martian, which were also my first thoughts. Some others you might look at:
John Scalzi books especially Redshirts, Old Man’s War, and The Dispatcher
Annihilation – Jeff Vandermeer – a weird scifi horror that might appeal to an X Files fan and scientist.
Books by Max Barry – especially Lexicon, but all are interesting