I’ve taken several weeks to read this book, dipping in an out, but having loved, ‘Hello, is this planet Earth?’, Tim’s pictorial look at travelling to space reading this was a simple decision. Tim has put together a fascinating and informative book that answers every question most of us would ever want to ask and answers them in a way most anyone can understand. From training, to launch, to working in space, what a spacewalk is like, and how it feels to return to Earth, as well as what’s coming in the future. A fun narrative and must-read book for anyone who has ever looked up at the stars and wondered what’s out there. ( )

Ask an Astronaut, My Guide to Life in Space by Tim Peake (audio book, 7 hours). A thoroughly enjoyable book by a British European Space Agency astronaut who spent over 6 months on the International Space Station in 2017. The book is a compilation of answers to questions elicited from the public about what it’s like to be an astronaut, ranging from the the most popular “how do you use the toilet?” to the more esoteric “what’s the effect of radiation on astronauts?” Regardless of the sophistication of the inquiry, Tim’s responses are delightfully down to earth and understandable—his having dumbed them down for people like me. He talks about days-to-day experiences, dangers, thrills, experiments, loneliness (or lack thereof), differences between various sections of the ISS, spacewalking, the possibility of catastrophic failures, actual accidents, languages, food, souvenirs, and a lot more. This book probably isn’t for hard core space addicts, but it’s a fun read for the rest of us. ( )

Basically an extended FAQ from a British astronaut who went to the ISS. This wasn’t the most exceptional memoir of an astronaut, but even a very good astronaut FAQ is quite interesting to me. I think ISS is basically an outdated political waste, and the best thing for space at this point would be to sunset it (along with the Shuttle, which was born useless and got progressively worse as it went), and I’m not a big fan of post-Apollo NASA manned space, but I’d definitely like to see commercial and independent space push the boundaries of humanity again. Until there is a story by the 2847th guy to go to Mars with SpaceX, I’ll happily read what is available. ( )

Burning space questions
toilet time to life-or-death
the guy loves his job. ( )

Astronaut Tim Peake of the European Space Agency uses the Q&A format to write about his experiences in the space program, working on the ISS, coming home, and everything in between. The book uses drawing to help illustrate some of the more complex ideas. The Q&A format allows him to break down complicated subjects so that they are accessible and easy to understand. Beyond that, he takes care to make sure that nothing goes over the reader’s head (without patronizing the reader), making this an ideal book for both children and adults.
There is so much wonderful information in this book, like what it feels like during re-entry versus exiting the atmosphere. It was fascinating to learn that one does not have to be a pilot (though Peake is) or a scientist to become an astronaut. Sadly, I am unlikely to be selected to become an astronaut, largely because of my poor eyesight. Oh, well. If you have any burning questions about living and working on the ISS or about training to become an astronaut, then this book is perfect. ( )