Sadly, this was a DNF for me at about 30%. It just wasn't for me. While I'm always here for queer characters and even neurodivergent ones, I felt this was VERY try-hard, played to an extreme for quirkiness rather than trying to really paint a full, well-rounded character. This book will be for a lot of people - it's very fun in places and written in very readable language - but sadly, it wasn't for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to give it a go, however!

I was somehow under the mistaken impression that this book was actually about time travel. Do you can imagine my confusion as I progressed further & further & got no closet to any time traveling. Eventually i flipped back to the blurb and realized my mistake 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

So having completely backwards expectations DID affect my enjoyment, as I do not normally read contemporary. I’m just not the target audience! But that being said, I still enjoyed this more than I thought i would. It was a refreshing take on things like mental health, childhood trauma, & other various family issues. It manages to tackle some serious issues without ever crossing the line into feeling “dark..” Austin managed to cover some pretty serious subject matter while retaining a somewhat lighter, sarcastic tone.

I also liked our MC, I’ve found that often authors have difficulty maintaining likability when they try to write a flawed character, but that was not the case here at all. Our MC was damaged & imperfect but still relatable.

I had a surprisingly good time with this! I did NOT expect to feel so positively about this. It’s still not my cup of tea enough to not be a full 5 stars, but I enjoyed this, & as a non contemporary reader, I’d say 4 stars is a pretty solid rating! I’m still interested in reading her earlier release,” everyone I know will some day be dead!

3.5 I was very excited for this book as Emily Austin's first book was my favorite book of the year I read it. This book was just not as impactful for me as the other one and I think in comparing it is where I am finding what I feel like it is missing. Austin is great at writing quirky and compelling characters. I had a bit of a harder time connecting with Enid than other characters but it did not stop me from enjoying the book. There was a good character arc and the humor you can expect from Austin. A humor that I would categorize as situational and humorously off-putting. For me the strongest parts were the interactions between Enid and her sisters and the scene in the bathroom was my favorite of the whole book. There was not much of a plot so if that is something you enjoy in your books this might not be for you.

Interesting Facts about Space by Emily R. Austin was a quirky, fun book with a bit of a mystery and it tackled such topics as mental health, dysfunctional family, trauma, LGBTQ+ issues, and neurodivergence. I love it all the way to space and back!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced digital copy of the book.

Compulsively readable and effortlessly charming, “Interesting Facts about Space” has 100% cemented Emily Austin as an auto-buy author for me. She really knows how to blend the perfect balance of humor and introspection, where I’ll be laughing one second and spiraling into existential dread the next. This is one of those books where you realize you’ve never had a single original thought. It’s as if Austin reached into my consciousness and put it all on the page for me to dissect and embrace.

Enid is a neurodivergent, hard of hearing lesbian who navigates human connection, family dynamics, and a phobia of bald men. While overcoming paranoia, miscommunication, and feelings of inadequacy, Enid learns a valuable lesson in the importance of embracing one’s true self — flaws and all.

I just finished “Beautyland” by Marie-Helene Bertino as well, and these two books have so much in common. If you enjoyed this one, I highly recommend the other and vice versa.

The first few chapters of this book were charming, dark and interesting. I loved the neurodivergent representation and the characters were fascinating. Learning about her family history and current relationships through her lens was fun. The middle of this book was slow and rough to get through. I kept waiting for more to happen. And then, all of a sudden, more did happen very quickly and the book was over. The pacing, which I'm sure was intentional and for effect, was odd. In the end, I enjoyed the book while I was reading it but when I was finished I kept thinking that I wanted there to be more to it. I'm not sure what exactly I wanted, be it more plot or more information or more closure. I just know that I felt like there was a piece missing from this puzzle.

I loved reading Emily Austin's latest book. It was light-hearted and managed to accurately depict mental illness with a good touch of humor. What got me hooked was the way the characters were developed. Each one was so unique and well-thought-out, making it easy for me to relate to them. The relationships between the characters were also really well-written. The bond between Enid and her sisters was fascinating, adding depth to their characters as the story unfolded. Polly's character was a nice surprise, bringing a good balance to Enid's life. Enid's connection with her mother was beautifully portrayed, despite the challenges they faced. And I loved the friendship between Enid and Vin - it was a standout, highlighting a strong queer-platonic connection that was portrayed exceptionally well. The only thing I thought could have been better was the pacing of the story, which sometimes felt a bit slow. The ending wrapped up a bit too quickly for my liking, but all in all, it was still satisfying and didn't take away from my overall enjoyment.

I know Emily Austin has some avid fans, so I was really excited to read my first book by her. Overall, I did enjoy the story. I thought character development was excellent - characters were quirky, there was progression, they were REAL. That said, I did find myself waiting for the story to really take off. By the time I got to the end, I found myself wanting more (and not in the best way). Again, this was a fabulous book and I love character-driven stories, but for me, there was just something missing.

This book was funny, and uncomfortable, and heartbreaking, and uplifting all at the same time. I loved the characters' quirks and an accurate, thoughtful exploration of mental health issues.

I had trouble getting invested in the book at first, but I do feel that it came together at the end and I felt more satisfied in my understanding of the book & the main character’s motivations.

I liked but didn't love this one. For the right reader though it could be amazing. Loved main characters spouting of facts about space and that she found something at the end, but really found the characters difficult to gel with, and somewhat unlikeable. That said, if literary fiction is your jam this one might be for you still. Good mental health and LGBTQIA+ rep.

I had heard a lot of hype about this book and I think for the most part it delivered. I was skeptical of the blunt delivery that main character has and the detachment that comes with that. The tone reminded me a lot of "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" -- there is a lot of heavy themes but the presentation is slow and muted.
I think the book really succeeded in engaging the reader, despite (and maybe because) the main character was so frantic in her head. The commentary of relationships, memory, trauma and family were spot on. As someone who comes from a blended family, I felt that the portrayal of "the other family" was so spot on.
I would read more books by this author and would recommend this to anyone who likes female main characters who are messy and human while also being a little offbeat. Also great disability rep. The main character is often wondering what part of their personalities comes from their disability and when they even realized that their hearing loss is considered a disability.
Thanks you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

📚 Book Review 📚

🚀 Interesting Facts About Space ☄️


When I found out Emily Austin was publishing another novel I had to check it out because I really enjoyed Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead. Like her previous book, this one has a very quirky protagonist struggling with her mental health. Enid (the protagonist from this book) "deals" with her mental health struggles by avoiding them. The title refers to one of her preferred avoidance tactics, focusing on interesting facts about space. Enid is relatable amd loveable with a deep fear that she is not a good person. She struggles with her family relationships as she tries to forge a new relationship with her half sisters after the death or her estranged father yet still remain supportive towards her mother. She keeps much to herself out of fear but when she finally allows herself to share some of her thoughts and fears she finds that not only is she not alone in her feelings, but she is deeply loved by those around her. This is a quirky feel-good story that I highly recommend!

What a read! Although a little difficult to follow at times, Interesting Facts about Space is a book centered around character development than plot-- something that took me time to accustom to the nuances of the developments of each character. The intensity of the simple moments throughout Enid's life portrayed a character struggling to come to terms with herself and her relationships with others. Overall, a great, easy read with much food for thought.

'Interesting Facts about Space' has that magic that always comes from Austin's writing. Her voice is so unique: a mix of dark and casual, quirky and almost surreal, but very grounded in reality, detached but deep.

The plot is hard to consolidate, but the basics are that we have Enid, a neurodivergent, half-deaf, lesbian who works an office job at a space agency, obsessively listens to true crime podcasts, and spends a significant portion of her life checking in on her mentally ill mother, with whom she connects by sharing interesting facts about space. Enid has largely blocked out her past, has a massive fear of blind men and is terrified of someone who may or may not be breaking into her apartment. She has also newly connected with her two half-sisters after the death of their father — who had abandoned Enid and her mother — and that relationship is still being developed. Enid also regularly hooks up with women, but never in a way where there's something personal, until a unique connection that we get to explore (and which I loved). We are entirely in Enid's head as this is all happening, and it's fascinating to see how she views the world.

I really enjoyed the book for the most part, and highlighted a good amount of the writing. It does feel like about halfway through there's a change that's too sudden and poorly developed, and that felt like a weird departure/change of personality, that could have been written much better.

If you, like me, have ever worried that you’re a terrible person, you might identify with Enid. She thinks she may have a parasite inside of her, is afraid of bald men, and can’t really remember anything of her adolescence. She rewatches YouTube videos from that time that she can’t delete to torture herself. True Crime podcasts are her comfort zone, and she serial dates women without ever having lasting relationships with them. When she starts dating (?) the wife of one of her hookups, someone breaks into her house, and her paranoia takes over. Do we deserve happiness if we think we’re horrible people? Does anyone else ever really understand us, and are some feelings universal?

I absolutely loved this book. I picked it up because I enjoyed Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, and I wasn’t disappointed with Austin’s sophomore effort. I identified more than I’d maybe like with Enid, and I appreciated all of the actual facts about space, hence the title. It’s funny, heartbreaking, and relatable. I recommend for my fellow neurodivergents and anyone who has ever felt like they are the only one who ever felt or experienced something. It will remind you that you’re not alone.

OOF. i wasn't sure what to expect with this book when all i had heard was the main character had a phobia of bald men but i definitely didn't realize it would be a deep exploration of her trauma. a lot of aspects of this book made me feel uncomfortable in the best way because it just felt so REAL. i was rooting for enid the whole book and i love how every question i had was answered by the end. this makes me really excited to read more from this author because i loved the discussions on mental health, as well as gender and sexuality, that she brought up in this book. also, the title is super accurate because there were definitely a lot of interesting facts about space!

tw: ptsd, ableism

Enid is an anxious lesbian who loves true crime and has a serious phobia of bald men. She’s trying to form some sort of relationship with the half-sisters her estranged dead father left behind. And she constantly calls her mom to share space facts and to check in on her. OKAY! While this made me laugh out loud a few times, it kind of felt like a lesser plotless version of EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM WILL SOMEDAY BE DEAD. I read EVERYONE in January so it’s fresh and the emotional profiles of Enid and Gilda are just way too similar. I was excited to see Austin’s range, but this had me wondering if she has any? 🥴 Not my fave, but also not my least fave. Maybe my expectations were too high.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I love a quirky narrator, and this delivered on that, plus it centered on a queer person, so even more bonus points! As I tried to describe this book to my partner, it was hard to nail down what the "plot" was beyond getting to know the protagonist. It did eventually build up the suspense, but I didn't care because the book was such a delight to read.

A sweet story that makes you stop to think about neurodivergence and how awesome it makes the universe. Loved the plot and character development.