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

 Want to know what it's like being in space?  Chris Hadfield gives us the tour.

Subtitled 'Life Lessons from Space' this book is packed full of wisdom that one can apply to ordinary life.  Sweating the small stuff, aiming to be a zero, Hadfield identifies what makes him qualified to be an astronaut while retaining his ultimate lesson, humility.  

It's a book that would have been tremendously useful while I was writing my long poem about the first astronaut in space, 'The First Man In Space', as it is full of authentic details about being up in space for so long.  Handling the day to day practicalities of life in space, to the space walks with their awe-inspiring views, and singing Bowie's 'Space Oddity' become lessons in how to live life to the fullest, gaining the most out of each moment.

Hadfield was extremely helpful to me during the lock downs as we were all in our space stations under extreme conditions and gave ,me perspective on what it might be like to live in space.  Understanding the risk of any given situation helps us better to prepare for the unexpected and helps us push past our fear.  Hadfield is afraid of heights yet he is able to overcome this drawback in order to do his job.

He explains his first space walk 'It's like this, I think.  It's like being engrossed in cleaning a pane of glass, then you look over your shoulder and realize you're hanging off the side of the Empire State Building, Manhattan sprawled vividly beneath and around you.'  An experience to be remembered and shared as affirming and progressive.

This book has given me a greater appreciation for the rigours of going to space, from the examinations to get selected, to the post-flight treatment and more importantly insight into NASA's philosophy of working in a team and how, ultimately, we all share one planet and in it's magnificent beauty it's us who have to look after it for generations to come.     

 

The 'Empire' Trilogy by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts

 

'Daughter of the Empire', 'Servant of the Empire', and 'Mistress of the Empire' gave me escapism when I needed to escape the most.

Following a long period of ill health I found, and turned to, these books with their worlds of empires, bloodthirsty political clans and slavery.  

It follows the protagonist Mara and her journey from being in a monastery to becoming the highly respected Servant of the Empire.  With this is her transformation from dark violence to benevolent rulership.

As the books have a strong female character it naturally reminds me of Sigrid Undset's female lead Kristin Lavransdatter, who undergoes great hardship in securing her place.  Though Mara ascends to the top her position is always precarious as other clans cook up plots to get rid of her.

These books are set in the land of Kelewan, a land familiar from other Feist books like 'Magician' where old favourites like Pug make a cameo.

Dense with political shenanigans I found that through the machinations of the various clans there were moments that spoke out with deep beauty.  Such as when the Spymaster falls in love or when Mara falls in love with the barbarian slave who turns her worldview upside down.  

The time taken to build up these characters throughout the book's many pages becomes satisfying when there is a twist to how these characters function and become changed people.  It is an optimistic book about the capacity to change.  

Stephen Donaldson said that n fantasy and sci-fi man becomes an 'effective passion' and Mara's ability to effective change for the greater good makes that statement manifest.