Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

Today's Featured Book: 

Project Hail Mary

by Andy Weir

Genre: Science Fiction

Published: May 4, 2021

Page Count: 476 pages

Summary: 

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.

"What's two plus two?"

Something about the question irritates me. I'm tired. I drift back to sleep.

A few minutes pass, then I hear it again.

"What's two plus two?"

The soft, feminine voice lacks emotion and the pronunciation is identical to the previous time she said it. It's a computer. A computer is hassling me. I'm even more irritated now.

"Lrmln," I say. I'm surprised. I meant to say "Leave me alone"---a completely reasonable response in my opinion---but I failed to speak.

"Incorrect," says the computer. "What's two plus two?"

THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne of Head Full of Books. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Head Full of Books and visit others in the linky. 

The candidate pool wasn't deep. There just weren't many coma-resistant people out there who had "the right stuff" and were willing to go on a suicide mission.  

When all of the copies at my library are requested from now until the end of next year, and even used copies are selling for full price, sometimes you have to look around in unlikely places. Happily, I was able to join a bookring at BookCrossing a few months ago, and this book arrived for me yesterday. 

Yes, I've seen the movie. I liked it a lot.

The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.    

Is there a book you keep coming back to, reading it more than once?   (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

I'm not sure how many times I've read and listened to and browsed through Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I've written posts about ZAMM and included ZAMM on lots of my lists over the years.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: Quotes

Chataquas: Education and Uplift

Most Memorable Books I Was Forced to Read

Books I Almost Put Down But Didn't

Books I Loved Much More Than I Thought I Would

Books I Enjoyed That Are Outside My Comfort Zone

Thankful: Six Books That Changed My Life

Can Books Improve Your Happiness?

 

A Chocolate Chip Cookie Baking Frenzy

We got together last week with an old friend who is a baker, too. Our conversation about our recent baking adventures rapidly turned ferociously competitive. Ali and I both want to make the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie before we die, and we will do anything to win this title.

I reminded Ali of the time I came closest to bringing home that trophy. In 1990, I won second place in a cookie baking contest at my town's Wal-mart. 

Since then, I've made hundreds of versions of chocolate chip cookies. Before we left Ali's house, I vowed to myself to renew my attempts to win the chocolate chip cookie championship.

Two cookie cookbooks and several batches of chocolate chip cookies later, I feel I have inched toward that goal. 

I used Dorie's Cookies by Dorie Greenspan and Cookie Club: 80 Creative Cookies to Make, Swap, and Share by Mallory Oniki as my inspiration, my reference books.

First I tried a recipe from Oniki's chocolate chip cookie (CCC) section of the book.

Crunchy Edge, Soft Middle CCC

(Makes 8 Large Cookies)

1/2 cup (113 g) salted butter, melted

1/2 cup (108 g) brown sugar

1/3 cup (66 g) granulated sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups (162 g) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cups milk and/or dark chocolate chunks, plus extra for topping

Flaky salt, for topping

1. Place the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Use a whisk or rubber spatula to mix until well combined, about 2 minutes.

2. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until combined, about 1 minute.

3. Add the flour, kosher salt, and baking soda. Use a rubber spatula to mix until the flour is just incorporated, about 1 minute.

4. Add the chocolate chunks and mix until evenly distributed through the dough.

5. Use a large (4 tablespoon/2 ounce) cookie scoop to scoop the dough into balls. Top each dough ball with one or two chunks of chocolate, gently pressing the chunks into the dough. Place all the dough balls onto a small baking sheet or plate lined with parchment paper. Cover and transfer to the fridge to chill overnight (or at least 12 hours).

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place four dough balls onto each baking sheet, spaced equally apart. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.

7. Top each cookie with a pinch of flaky salt. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 15 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

My modifications: I made twenty small cookies instead of eight large ones. I cut the baking time to ten minutes. 

My assessment: Soft. Chocolate-y. A nice salty zing to face off with the sweetness of the cookie.

Here's one more that I tried from the Cookie Club cookbook.

Spicy CCC

(Makes 12 Large Cookies)

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup salted butter, softened

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus extra for topping 

1 1/2 cups semisweet or dark chocolate chunks, plus extra for topping

Flaky salt, for topping

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Place the brown sugar, butter, and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to mix until combined, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract, and mix until fluffy and lighter in color, about 1 minute.

4. Add the flours, baking soda, kosher salt, cinnamon, and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, depending on how spicy you'd like the cookies to be. Mix on low just until the flour is combined, about 30 seconds.

5. Add the chocolate chunks to the bowl. Mix until the chocolate chunks are even distributed through the dough.

6. Use a large (4-tbsp/2 oz) cookie scoop to scoop the dough into balls. Place up to six dough balls onto each baking sheet, spaced equally apart. Top each dough ball with one or two chunks of chocolate, gently pressing the chunks into the dough.

7. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until the edges start to brown. Top each cookie with a pinch of flaky salt and a dash of extra cayenne pepper, if desired. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

My modifications: I had no whole wheat flour so I used all-purpose flour only. I did not have dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate, so I used milk chocolate chips.

My assessment: A soft, flat cookie. Sweet and salty, with a kick from the cayenne.

I'm ready for you, Ali!

Other attempts to make the world's best chocolate chip cookies:

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

How to Bake for Beginners: Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Chapter Book Club Picnic

Life is What You Bake It

Be a part of the friendly In My Kitchen (IMK) community by adding your post at Sherry's Pickings each month - everybody welcome!  We'd love to have you visit.  Tell us about your kitchen (and kitchen garden) happenings over the past month.  Dishes you've cooked, preserves you've made, herbs and veg. in your garden, kitchen gadgets, and goings-on.  And one curveball is welcome - whatever you fancy; no need to be kitchen-related. The link is open from the first of the month to midnight on the thirteenth of the month, every month.

Weekend Cooking was created by Beth Fish Reads and is now hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader (and Baker). It is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.  

For more photos, link up at Wordless Wednesday, Comedy Plus, Messymimi's Meanderings, Keith's Ramblings, Image-in-ing, Soul and Mind and So On, Wild Bird Wednesday, and My Corner of the World.

Books I Was Reading On This Day Over the Last Ten Years

What was I reading on this day a year ago? Two years ago? Ten years ago?

2025.     Mark Twain by Ron Chernow.     Not a surprise, since this book is 1,200 pages, and I was reading on it for most of the summer of 2025. I felt like I had to read this bio of the writer after reading James and then Huck Finn earlier in the summer.

2024.     The Wedding People by Alison Espach.     A good summertime read---silly, light, frivolous.

2023.     Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter.     Another book I chose to read because I thought it would be a light summer read, but it turned out to be thoughtful and a well-written book of historical fiction.

2022.     How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith.     I traveled with the author across my country to visit sites and events of significance to slavery, and I learned so much I'd never been taught in school. A must-read.

2021.     The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman.     A big book of summer at 710 pages about the start of World War I. I'd been meaning to read this book since I was in high school, and I was proud that I finally got around to it.

2020.     Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman.     I forgot how many kids' books I read in 2020. You remember that year, right? I walked to the library every day and turned in a couple of picture books and picked up a couple more, masked, all requested online.

2019.     The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea by Mark Beauregard.     This August was my month of All Things Moby Dick. 

2018.     The Annotated Persuasion by Jane Austen.     The first summer I was retired. I finally decided to read Jane Austen, so I did Jane up big, reading all her books and watching movies made from each movie.  

2017.     Lassie-Come-Home by Eric Knight.     I was a school librarian in 2017, and I decided to try to read all of the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. As of today, I've read 806 of the books on the list.

2016.     Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich.     I always eagerly anticipated the publication of the next Stephanie Plum mystery, and this one was not an exception. My friend Lisa always bought the next book in the series each August and read it and then passed it on to me. 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.   

The Sunday Salon: Two Wonderful Re-reads; Persian Food; Jury Duty; and a New Ukulele

 

Welcome to the Sunday Salon! We're glad you joined us here.

What is the Sunday Salon? The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

I thought life would slow down in August, but it hasn't yet. I went to a Seed and Plant Exchange on Sunday, I had jury duty on Monday (the case was settled out of court, so yay!), we went to dinner at a Persian restaurant in Houston with old friends on Tuesday, we went with my dad to an appointment to see if he might be a candidate for an ultrasound procedure to reduce his hand tremors on Wednesday (he was!), I swam on Thursday, I went to a class on poet Wallace Stevens on Friday, and we did our butterfly count on Saturday.

I reread two wonderful books this week, one because a friend said it was her favorite book (Peace Like a River) and the other because I will be leading a book club discussion of it next week (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency).

What I Read Last Week:

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (Fiction)

No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides (Nonfiction)

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor (Dark Fantasy)

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Three Five-Star Books Completed

Beautiful Illustrated Books Set In or Near Paris

The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. Now I've established a regular routine of writing down my 3 Good Things. Here are 3 Good Things from last week:

Good Thing #1:

I bought a ukulele.

Good Thing #2:

Bastani (Persian ice cream).

We also tried koobideh kabobs and 

tahdig (Persian crispy rice).

Good Thing #3:

I took a class on 

taking photos for iNaturalist.

I'm thinking about getting a macro lens for my phone.

Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below.