Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

A

As a person who is older than I would like to admit some days, if you mention the words space shuttle, then there are probably two places where my mind goes straight away. First, the iconic images of the shuttle piggybacking on a jumbo but secondly it is the video of the Challenger exploding. Given that event happened 40 years ago this year, it does seem timely that this book, which was released last year,  tells the story of a fictional shuttle called Navigator and the lives of the men and women who were part of the space program in the early 1980s.

The story centres on a female astronaut by the name of Joan Goodwin. The story starts in late 1984. Joan is working in Mission Control where she is CAPCOM, the only person who can speak directly to the crew on board the Navigator when things go wrong. She needs to be the rational and calm voice as she talks to her crew while they deal with a terrible incident.

Through a series of flashbacks we follow Joan's journey from the time that she was one of the earliest women accepted for the space program, through training and more training and more training. On a personal front, we watch as Joan is the stabilising figure in her beloved niece Frances' life and as she falls in love. However, the woman that Joan falls for is another astronaut and they must keep their relationship secret.

There were so many layers to this book from moments where the characters are looking at the stars and contemplating the meaning of life, to the strong friendships and rivalries which grow as the team learn about each other. After all, they are part of a very select group and there could be situations when you are relying on each other in life and death situations

I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions throughout this book. I laughed, I cried, I was prompted to think deep, I got angry at the double standards, and at Joan's sister for the way she treated Frances, and I learnt some things as well!

I am not much of a science fiction reader, so it seems kind of ironic that while I was reading this book I was also listening to the audio book of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. What these two book have in common that while they are filled with science and space talk, they are both really accessible and have a great deal of emotional depth. This is a very sciency historical fiction book.

I know I am very late to the party,  but this was my first ever read from Taylor Jenkins Reid. I have intended to read other books from here, especially books like Daisy Jones and the Six, but I haven't gotten to them yet. Given how much I enjoyed these I am going to try to read more from her soon. The reason why I picked this one up now is that it helped me cross off two different categories in the Goodreads Spring Challenge.

I am sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host here.

Rating 4/5

This week....

I'm reading

My big news this week....I finished War and Peace! Yes! I started this for the second time in January last year and was determined to finish it by June 30 and made it!

In other reading news, sometimes a book feels as though it was specifically written with me in mind, and that is definitely the case with This Book Made me Think of You by Libby Page. I loved it from beginning to end. I loved how bookish it was, it was sad but also hopeful, warm and uplifting! This will be on my best of list for 2026 for sure!

This week I also finished reading my first ever novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Atmosphere, which I read to fulfil two categories in the Goodreads Spring challenge. It is kind of funny that I was reading this book and listening to Project Hail Mary at the same time! I am making some progress with PHM, but it will be a while until I actually finish it.

I also finished reading The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon which was another Goodreads challenge read. It's my first book by her and it won't be my last.

Now I am reading The Model Murders by Amanda Hampson, which is the fourth book in the Tea Ladies series. It's so much fun visiting with these characters again!

We had our read on a theme book club meeting this weekend, and for the first time since we started this book club I didn't read a book to match the theme. I thinks on the shelf I could of read but they just didn't really appeal. The next theme is Secrets and I feel like both of the last two books I mentioned could fit for that theme!

I'm watching


On Friday night we went and saw a Peruvian movie called Mistura which is set in the 1960s in Lima and features a woman who needs to come up with a plan to save her house after her husband leaves her for a younger woman. It was very foodie and worth a watch!

On Satruday night we watched two movies. The first was a WWII file called Into the White which was set in Norway. It was based on a true story where a German plane crew and a British plane crew come together in a remove cottage in the middle of nowhere and have to work out how they are going to survive.

In a change of pace we then watched Office Romance which stars Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein as the boss and her lawyer who begin an inappropriate office relationship. I actually laughed out loud several times!

And for old times sake I watched First Wives Club with Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton as three women whose husbands left them for younger women.

Life

Not a lot to tell this week!

Max


Happy birthday to the Max! This good boi turned 4 this week! 

Posts from the last week


Top Ten Tuesday: Books with handwriting on the cover
Blog Tour: Charlie's Last Angel by Maggie Christensen
The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson
Afternoon Tea Diaries: Paradox at Oxi Tea Rooms
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: May statistics



I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date, Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz and the Good Book and a Cup of Tea link up hosted at Boondock Ramblings

Six Degrees of Separation: Daisy Jones & the Six to The Scarlet Pimpernel

I have seen people do the Six Degrees of Separation meme for a long time, and I have thought about trying to do it on and off. Ever since I have been trying to blog more this year, I have made the comment on a few posts that I wanted to try it but I wasn't sure if I could, but here I am giving it a go. I actually ended up doing more than one version which I guess means I found it a bit easier than I expected it to be

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Our starting point this month but a book that I haven't actually read. I've seen that was a big hit book last year. Maybe I'll get to it one day but also maybe not.

Staying at Daisy's by Jill Mansell - I've gone with an obvious link here with the titular character Daisy. In this book, Daisy runs a country house hotel that is owned by her family.

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach - Originally published as These Foolish Things, the book was re released as a movie tie in. Our main character here, Sonny, is also running his family's hotel.

Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach - By the same author, Tulip Fever tells the story of when the tulip bulb was the most prized asset that you could own during the period of tulip mania in 17th century Netherlands.

The Masque of Black Tulip by Lauren Willig - This book is the second book in the Pink Carnation series. This series features a series of female spies who take crazy risks to foil Napoleon's dastardly plans, which leads me neatly to...

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy - another dashing adventure where the Scarlet Pimpernel, using various disguises, his charm and his wit, save aristocrats who otherwise would have met their ends under the sharp blades of Madame Guillotine.

Turns out that by taking random leaps of association can be quite fun!



Six Degrees of Separation is hosted by Kate from Books Are My Favourite and Best.

Next month's starting book is Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner which is a book I know absolutely nothing about!! Will you be joining in?