In
Letters
From an Astrophysicist,
Neil deGrasse Tyson has handpicked 100 letters and emails received
throughout his career and provided his responses to them. It’s a
fun look at the types of things people want to ask or relay to a
public figure, and they run the gamut from science to religion to
life in general. Interestingly, many of the letters and questions
don’t even pertain to his specialty of astrophysics. People look
to him as a role model for their children, for example. The letters and responses cover both heavy emotional topics (such as Tyson's memories of 9/11) to the kind of silly (such as why he believes Bigfoot does not exist). The content
felt a bit repetitive at times (he mentions several times that
eyewitness testimony is unreliable) and a big focus of the letters
was on religion (how people can reconcile faith and science, etc.),
which wasn’t always that interesting to me. However, although
blunt at times, Tyson’s witty, personable nature shines through in
his responses, and it’s really cool to see how he engages with the
public. 4 stars
Light From Other Stars by Erika Swyler (2019)
A thoughtful dual timeline science fiction story about space, time, and family relationships.
This was a gem of a book. I didn't know a lot about the story going in, but I ended up really enjoying it. In 1986, Nedda and her family are living in Easter, Florida. Just after the Challenger tragedy, a project that Nedda's father was working on plunges the town into chaos. In the future timeline, Nedda is an astronaut on a mission to help build a colony on a distant planet.
The writing is beautiful, although in some places it felt a little high-brow for me. But, it did help elevate this science fiction story into something more. Nedda's father's project, a machine that manipulates time, is definitely in the sci-fi realm, but it's the reason he wants to create the machine and how he relates to his daughter that are at the heart of the story. The pacing did feel a bit slow at times, but there are some interesting reveals near the end that make it worth sticking around. 4 stars
A thoughtful dual timeline science fiction story about space, time, and family relationships.
This was a gem of a book. I didn't know a lot about the story going in, but I ended up really enjoying it. In 1986, Nedda and her family are living in Easter, Florida. Just after the Challenger tragedy, a project that Nedda's father was working on plunges the town into chaos. In the future timeline, Nedda is an astronaut on a mission to help build a colony on a distant planet.
The writing is beautiful, although in some places it felt a little high-brow for me. But, it did help elevate this science fiction story into something more. Nedda's father's project, a machine that manipulates time, is definitely in the sci-fi realm, but it's the reason he wants to create the machine and how he relates to his daughter that are at the heart of the story. The pacing did feel a bit slow at times, but there are some interesting reveals near the end that make it worth sticking around. 4 stars
