Book 1, Post 1

Out of all the books on the list, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming struck me as the most fascinating. Just from the title alone, I knew I wanted to choose and read it. The way the author used words like “killed” and “it had it coming” to talk about Pluto, a planet, was intriguing enough. The title gave off a humorous yet playful tone, something I wanted the memoir I picked to have. 

Growing up, I always heard the infamous story of Pluto no longer being considered a planet in our solar system. However, I never really knew or understood why. What happened? What was Pluto now, if not a planet? Reading a memoir about this exact discovery, written by the person who made it, was more than enough reason for me to select the book. Reading it would answer those curiosities, and plus, I would probably learn a thing or two about astronomy along the way. 

The first couple of pages immediately captured my attention. The author, Mike Brown, talks about not caring much about Pluto. This surprised me. Before reading the book, I assumed Brown was simply an astronomer who dedicated several years of research to prove Pluto wasn’t actually a planet. What I didn’t expect, though, was to find out that wasn’t remotely his goal. His goal was to discover another planet past Pluto named Xena. This further added to my curiosity. How did Brown “accidentally” kill off Pluto? I know that Xena isn’t considered one of the planets in our solar system today, so what happened to it? I wanted to learn more. 

Additionally, I love how the author didn’t immediately jump into the climactic part where he makes his discovery. It’s more of a slow build. He sets the scene for us first before building towards the climax.