“Space is Cool as F*ck” by Kate Howells a delightful dip into the vast diversity of all things space. This book is written to be enjoyable for everyone, from space newb to space nerd. It is often schtick to use a profanity word in the title to shock and grab readers, and then to insert swearing with such enthusiasm that the words begin to lose all meaning. Thankfully, this is *not* that case! Yes, the F dash dash dash makes a regular cameo, but I did not find it overabused or too distracting.
So why is this book worth your time? The ubiquitous influence of Space is everywhere today: pop culture, geopolitics, global commerce, commercial businesses, academia… name a component of modern earthbound life and we can draw a direct tie to space. This book explores the various theories of the start of our universe, the expansiveness of space, and what the inevitable end(s) may be. It also takes on black holes (gravity whores), UFOs and aliens, interstellar travel, as well as antimatter, dark matter, and dark energy. Each topic presented in a hilarious and digestible narrative that makes it easy to understand and contemplate - no PhD in Astrophysics required!
Lastly, I read this one via the audiobook which includes an interview with Bill Nye, podcast style. Arguably, this was my favorite part of the audiobook! His take on conspiracy theories about whether we are living in a simulation and whether or not we have UFOs and aliens visiting earth gave me true giggle fits.
I rated this audiobook 4/5, as a strong primer about space for non-space people.
Thank you to Netgallery for an eARC in exchange for honest feedback.

I loved some of the science in this book, but the cursing felt forced and unnecessary. I was prepared for foul language, given the title, but it could have benefitted from some editing. The science was neat, and I'd have liked a few more anecdotal tidbits - bite-sized things to share and remember easily.

I understand what the author was attempting to do with this book; make space and heavy topics about the universe easier to digest, however, this totally missed the mark for me.

I would not consider myself a prude or adverse to strong language but this was over the top unnecessary. The author (literally) could not go three sentences without throwing in an expletive. The shock and novelty wore off around the 10% mark for me. I continued until the 20% mark and then threw in the damn towel.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me a brief listen of this novel.

Informative with humor. Sometimes I felt like the humor was forced but overall enjoyed it. I am a space nerd and love all of the mind-blowing facts. This book touched the surface and doesn’t go into too much detail so perfect for the lay person, such as myself. My favorite chapter was the Bill Nye interview!

I didn’t enjoy the narrator as much and feel that they forced the humor more than how it was written. In this case, I wish the author had narrated it herself.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this audiobook to listen to and review!

If you are interested in space, but looking for something bitesize that isn't too 'sciency', Kate discusses various cool elements of space in layman's terms. This is a short fun read where you also get to learn a few things.

Such a good little tidbit of a book. A great listen for space nerds! Didn't love the narrator, but i LOVED the interview with Bill Nye that was special to the audiobook. I'm so glad i found and requested this one!

Beware of overbearing profanity. Please don't allow under 18's hear this book. I was glad my daughter wasn't around when I listened to this audiobook. I failed to warm to the narrator I felt the attempt at humour felt rather false. I couldn't work out which demographic this book was focus at I wasn't even sure there was one. This book was not to my taste because of the amount of profanity. The odd word great but the overwhelming amount just angered me as this book would of been a 4 or 5 star read without it. I'm not one of these people who refuse to swear. I just don't find enjoyment in a book that every other word is a swear word or borderline inappropriate. Taking away most of the swear words and it becomes a very humorous informative read for those new to space science. I really enjoyed the simplified facts about space and the humorous facts. I adored the interview with Bill Nye as it covered a wide range of subjects and facts.
I did learn new things from this book and am glad I read it, I just wish it was a bit different.

Well, I've never listened to an audiobook before that was full of swearing, but it was kind of fun to listen to because of that. Apart from all of the swearing, of which there was a lot, there was tons of useful and interesting information about space, stars, planets, aliens, black holes, time travel and the universe, as well as an interview with TV scientist and head of the Planetary Society, Bill Nye the Science Guy. I enjoyed this book and I learned some new and interesting facts. I found it fascinating. I would advise that this book is not suitable for children, but anyone from young adult and upwards would enjoy it, as long as they don't mind excessive swearing.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book laugh out loud funny
Not for the faint hearted there is a lot of swearing and the sections are in bitesize bits and great to dip into when you are time limited it's fascinating and well written
Thank you to netgalley for a review copy of this book

At first, I really loved this book. It appeared to be a fun, engaging, digestible and informative read, that provided fascinating facts about the universe and space. Having read tons of popular astrophysics books, I was enjoying this more of a fact driven approach to telling the mysteries of cosmos. And in the beginning I was actually enjoying an occasional cuss word. I personally find that a swear word or slang can add depth to the tone or better connect with the intended audience, but this book had too much of misplaced profanity. In the end, instead of sounding funny and cool, it felt fake: like a parent googling teen slang jargon and then using it in front of their kids and their friends. And I can totally see my future self doing it.

I still really enjoyed the book, the best part of which was the interview with one and only Bill Nye. Had it had had less cussing, it would have been a 5 star read for me, as it was a well researched and fun.

Thank you for providing me with this free audiobook, in exchange for my honest review.

Received this audiobook from NetGalley.

Listened to the audiobook version of this book! It's a pretty good introduction to all things space and matter for those who don't have much knowledge on the subject. It's broken up into bite sized pieces which make it easy to pick up and put down. With a GREAT extensive interview with Bill Nye the Science Guy in the middle of it.

If you are looking for a great introduction to space for an older middle school or high school aged kid (there ***IS*** cursing.... lots of it!) or are interested for yourself, this will do the trick!

I love space. Like really really love it. I put on space documentaries to lull me to sleep, collect knowledge and pictures, and even paint some of my own. That being said, I was excited to find an audiobook chock full of space facts that I could listen to as I drifted to sleep. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with this one.
First off it doesn't translate well to an audiobook. They keep referencing pictures that seem like they're present in the paper book and since this version has no visual aspect we're only left with half the story. Also it seems like there are a variety of sub-headers scattered around the page, but without actually being able to see them it's a bit confusing as to why a certain topic is being brought up.
Second of all, the swearing. I swear like a sailor, ok? I am in no way opposed to swearing. But in this book... it was just excessive. Example (not an actual example from the book but just to give you a hint to what it's like): The Earth was formed when one fucking piece of rock smashed into another fucking piece of rock and after a million more fucking similar fucking collisions we are left with proto-fucking-Earth.
Like dude. We get it.
Anyway, Had to DNF this at 22% because the facts were all things I already knew and the swearing and narrator were really starting to grate on my nerves.

A rambunctious, factually jam-packed book about space. Told in a colloquial style, it is entertaining and educational. It's definitely a book you will probably need to dip into again and again as it speeds through complex topic areas (as an arts person it was a bit too fast for me). However, if you enjoy science, space or need an introduction to the cosmos then this is for you. There's a lot of swearing, so it's probably not suitable for children. I liked the style and the narrator's enthusiasm; however, her voice did get a little bit whiny at times. There's lots to get stuck into with this book, it's unapologetically fast paced and leaves you with a lot to think about.

This book was really fun to listen to, although I think that sometimes it tries to be too cool with the cursing. I still think that it is funny and enjoyable, it covers a lot of topics, so I did learn something new. It is easy to understand and it has short chapters so it is easy to follow through. The most enjoyable part for me was an interview with Bill Nye, they talked about a lot of things, even some conspiracy theories about our existance.

I enjoyed this one! I was listening to it on a long drive and got to learn more about space. It was broken down into bite size chapters and it was very easy to understand. I especially enjoyed the part where they interviewed Bill Nye. He is such a great guy and it was cool to hear him talk about something he loves.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a nice and quick book about space. Highly recommend.

I thoroughly enjoyed Space is Cool as F*ck. I work in the space industry and this book did hold any new knowledge for me, but it was still explained in a manner that was fun and engaging. This is not a children's book (as the title would suggest), but more of a young adult/adult's high-level guide with what the f*ck is going on with space and why exploring the stars and beyond is important. This book covers all the basics of space in an easy-to-understand way that made it easy to consume and retain. Space is cool as f*ck and Howells does a great job is explaining why! I listened to the audiobook and loved the discussion with Bill Nye and all of the fun facts. I recommend this book to anyone that has ever been interested in the vast and wonder of space.

Thank you to NetGalley and the p[publisher for providing me this ARC for review.

This book left me baffled. It covers so many complex topics overly simplified in short chapters and uses limited vocabulary. For that reason, I would think that it's targeted toward children or someone very new to physics and science in general.

This is where we get to the elephant in the room - the swear words. I don't know if they were meant to make the book "cool" or express enthusiasm about space, which it completely warranted. Either way, it just didn't work and it would draw me out of the topic at hard every time. It would have been better if the swear words were at least more imaginative. As it is, most are "shit" or "fuck" and at times so repetitive that both would appear several times within one paragraph.

I find it very hard to recommend this book since I don't think that it's appropriate for children and I can't think of any adults who wouldn't find this immature.

Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the artwork used in the book since it wasn't included with the download.

The best thing I can say about it is that the science mentioned, even though it has been incredibly simplified, seems accurate. Being only a physics and cosmology enthusiast myself, I could very well be wrong about that.

Fun short audiobook that gives introductory topics in space and astrophysics with a heaping does of (potty) humor and cursing (the Apollo 10 transcript where a poop was floating in zero g was an unexpected delight, but much of the cursing seemed superfluous). The interview with Bill Nye was another highlight, and I'd share this audiobook with middle and high schoolers with tolerant parents.

Audio review: engaging narrator who struck the right tone for the book.

Book review: I 'read' this in one sitting. It was fun. If you're looking for something that really delves into the subject, this is not the book for you. Likewise if you're looking for an easy book about astro physics for a teen or child, it's probably not the one you want given all the swearing (honestly the clue is in the title on that one.) However, as a tasting room of facts about space for people who don't (and will probably never) have the maths to really understand astro physics, this is a cool book. It's light and entertaining, with easily digestible chunks of space facts. I can understand people being annoyed that it never really delves deep into the subject - and in all honesty if I had bought the book rather than been given an arc, I may have felt similarly aggrieved - but it's not for the target audience who want to know more and get to grip with the maths. Or at least not by itself. There is a passage in the introduction that explains this and recommends further reading on all subjects. As a sampler buffet of physics delights however, I really enjoyed this one.