The Common Book Project at North Lake College is a co-curricular interdisciplinary project that engages students, employees and the greater community in the collective experience of reading and discussing a common text. The 2019-20 Blazer Common Book is The Martian by Andy Weir, a New York Times bestselling author from California who built a career as a software engineer until the success of this novel. He is a lifelong space enthusiast and a devoted hobbyist of subjects such as relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight.

The Martian is a story about American astronaut Mark Watney, who becomes stranded alone on Mars in the year 2035 and must improvise in order to survive. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills and a relentless refusal to quit, he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. The novel was adapted into a film starring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley Scott. The movie was released in October 2015.

View the calendar of events for the 2019-20 Blazer Common Book below.

Welcome to Mars!
Lecture by Professor Jason Eberle and an all-day come-and-go planetarium show
Wednesday, September 4
H200 | 11 a.m.

Film Screening: Apollo 13
September 19
Location and time TBA

Martian Skills for the Earthbound Student
Lecture about Martian survival skills by Professor MaryAnn McGuirk
Wednesday, October 2
H200 | 11 a.m.

Film Screening: Passengers
October 24
Location and time TBA

Martian Maker Challenge
Team competition for students and employees — build robots and rovers and use your designs to win prizes!
Tuesday, November 12
H200 | 11 a.m.

Film Screening: The Martian
November 19
Location and Time TBA

An Astronaut’s Perspective
Guest speaker: a current NASA astronaut
Wednesday, February 5
Performance Hall | 11 a.m.

The Space Program: Past, Present and Future
Tuesday, March 31
H200 | 11 a.m.

How to Be a Badass Botanist: Sustainable Gardening
Wednesday, April 22
H200 | 11 a.m.

Learn more about the Common Book series. For more information or questions, contact Brandi Harris.