Book Club: Ulloa Reading Corner—Packing for Mars

Read Them All—Once City One Book #7 (2011)
Wednesday, 7/16/2025
6:00 - 7:00
West Portal Teen's Area
West Portal

190 Lenox Way
San Francisco, CA 94127
United States

415-355-2886

Discuss Mary Roach's Packing for Mars—Once City One Book #7 (2011)

The author of Stiff and Bonk explores the irresistibly strange universe of space travel and life without gravity. Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. Space exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to you when you can't walk for a year? have sex? smell flowers? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a spacewalk? Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour? To answer these questions, space agencies set up all manner of quizzical and startlingly bizarre space simulations. As the author discovers, it's possible to preview space without ever leaving Earth. From the space shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA's new space capsule (cadaver filling in for astronaut), she takes us on a surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space on Earth.

Book Club reading list 

Celebrate 20 years of great authors. Together, we read them all. This fall, SFPL will announce the 20th One City One Book selection, continuing a cherished tradition of bringing the community together through shared reading and discussion. To celebrate these powerful stories that have connected us over the years, we will host dedicated book clubs for each title throughout the summer—offering thoughtful conversations and a chance to reflect on two decades of collective reading. Pick up a commemorative bookmark at any SFPL location to track your progress on this literary journey.  Join us in celebrating 20 years of One City One Book, and stay tuned for the exciting reveal of this year’s selection.

Book Clubs

Read, discuss ideas and connect through the many book clubs hosted by SFPL.

One City One Book

Events and workshops curated around SFPL’s One City One Book selection. One City One Book: San Francisco Reads is a citywide literary event that encourages members of the San Francisco community to read the same book at the same time. For more information, see sfpl.org/onecityonebook.

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

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This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

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