4.5/5 stars

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC! I adored this book with my whole heart. Enid is the socially awkward, mentally ill, lesbian representation I need more of. This entire book is just Enid's introspection and you can't help but want better things for her, and for her to make better decisions. Emily Austin is just so good at getting inside a character's head and letting us live in there with her, and it makes for a surprisingly refreshing and charming narrative. Even when I was annoyed with Enid and the people around her, I was cheering for her and occasionally laughing out loud. It is so incredibly easy to relate to Enid, it sometimes felt like her thoughts and words were plucked directly from my own brain.

At times, the plot felt very repetitive and exposition-y, with Enid both expressing her thoughts to herself and us the readers internally, and out loud to those around her. That being said, I would still happily have lived in Enid's brain for another 100 pages. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will happily continue reading everything Emily Austin writes.

Thank you to NetGalley/Atria Books for a copy of Interesting Facts About Space in exchange for an honest review.

Everything Is Stardust

The best comedy is the kind that makes you feel; maybe it even makes you sad. Emily Austin‘s Interesting Facts About Space has that quality. To say Enid is going through a lot is an understatement. Her life is imploding around her, and I think many of the things she’s dealing with will be evident to the readers before they are to her, but that’s just part of the journey.

A common refrain of Enid’s is that she has an evil parasite within her. This parasite is really just her impulse to do not-so-good things (i.e., her humanity). But, like a true parasite, it eats away at her. And her loved ones’ parasitic demons eat away at them. And everyone drops witty one-liners while it’s all happening. But, at its core, Interesting Facts About Space is about healing.

How do people heal? Especially when they’re neurodivergent or have been exposed to extreme trauma. How do you stand up for yourself? What do you deserve? What are you willing to ask for? In this book, the infinity of space is a stand-in for the enigmas of those questions, of life, of all the blank spaces in Enid’s memories. It’s perfect.

Should You Read It?
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up this book, but I am so glad I did; it’s one of the best I’ve read in a while. Anyone prepared for a comedy about serial killers, extremely depressed parents and PTSD should pick this up. That’s probably not everyone, but it’s right about my alley. Hopefully, it’s up yours, too.


And, if you’re wondering, Interesting Facts About Space does indeed deliver interesting facts about space. Emily Austin makes good on that.

Interesting Facts About Space hits stores on January 30, 2024. Pick up a copy at your local indie bookstore or library. 📚🔥🚀

I have mixed feelings on this story and I think it's entirely my issue lol.
On the one hand, I loved the writing and writing style, brava Emily Austin **clap emoji** and I was very invested in our main characters narration and all of her relationships. I liked that our main character had growth and I lol-ed numerous times!
But I finished the story feeling uneasy and I can't exactly see why. I do think there were some repetition in us finding out things with Enid and then her explaining them verbatim to other characters, it felt a little heavy handed. I wasn't in love with the mystery leaning third act. But honestly I could just be triggered by the in-time therapy sessions which in real life make me uneasy, and our similar diagnoses and those are definitely just me problems!
All in all, I'm glad I read the book. I'll think about Enid whenever I see a bald man which is nice!
My review will go up on my YouTube channel [LOL] in a wrap up. I will link when it's uploaded.

Enid lives a simple life. She works at the Space Agency. She’s socially awkward. She listens to true crimes podcasts. And she talks to her mom about space.
But lately she feels like she is being followed. One night she sees a pale, bald man peeping in her window. She has a fear of bald men.
Is she just going crazy and listening to too many podcasts? Or is someone actually following her?

This book was a little slow in the beginning and I found myself skimming through lots of paragraphs. I felt like a lot of the book was unnecessary, and the majority of it was spent on understanding who Enid is and how she grew up. Though it was slow, I actually did enjoy the ending! It all made sense as to why Enid has her fears. I also enjoyed being in Enid’s head and laughed a few times. She is easy to relate to because we all have thoughts and feelings that we don’t always say out loud!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Read if you like:
•Fleabag
•Being Inside the Narrator’s Brain
•Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (but this is better)


I spent so much of this book thinking “okay, this book’s entire genre identity is going to be decided by whether or not these internalized thoughts become action.” Kept me thinking and interested and wanting to reach through the page and help Enid out.
Watching someone work through their every thought to this extent felt so intense- was truly hard to stop reading.

I was so excited to be approved for this ARC because I absolutely loved Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin. Her writing is some of my favorite and this book was no different. I didn't feel like it was particularly plot driven though, so I struggled to pick it back up during the first 60%. It did pick up in the second half though.

"Interesting Facts About Space" is an absolute gem of a novel that deserves nothing less than a five-star review! From the very first page, I was captivated by the fast-paced and hilarious storytelling that Austin masterfully delivers.

Enid, the protagonist, is a character you can't help but root for, even with her unusual obsession with space and her rather unique phobia of bald men. Her quirky personality and her penchant for true crime podcasts add layers of depth to her character that make her incredibly relatable. As Enid navigates the complexities of her personal life, including her estranged half-sisters and her foray into the world of dating apps, you can't help but laugh, cry, and cheer her on.

The novel's blend of humor, charm, and heart is truly enchanting. It tackles the universal theme of self-discovery with such finesse that you'll find yourself reflecting on your own life and secrets. Enid's journey of self-acceptance is beautifully portrayed, reminding us that it's okay to embrace our quirks and imperfections.

What I particularly loved about "Interesting Facts About Space" is how it weaves together Enid's fascination with space, her struggles with personal relationships, and her increasing paranoia into a brilliantly orchestrated narrative. The way the story unfolds keeps you hooked until the very end, and you'll find yourself eagerly turning page after page to uncover the truth. "Interesting Facts About Space" is a literary masterpiece that left me thoroughly entertained and profoundly moved. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking a memorable and uplifting read. Kudos to the author for creating such a captivating and heartwarming tale!

She’s done it again!! After book #2 I can officially say that Emily Austin is one of my favourite authors. I would read this woman’s grocery lists.

This book follows Enid - 20-something and anxious, with an irrational phobia of bald men and lots of interesting facts about space. She has an absent father, a complicated relationship with her mother, and 2 half sisters that she is trying to built a relationship with. Objectively, Enid and I are nothing alike. But this character vocalized thoughts I’ve never been able to find the words for. Interesting Facts About Space will make you laugh, cry, and reflect on the deepest parts of your psyche. Enid is a flawed character and that’s exactly what I loved about her. If you loved Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead as much as I did, I would highly recommend picking this one up.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my thoughts! I can say with certainty that Interesting Facts About Space will remain a favourite for 2024.

5/5 ⭐️

4.25 stars
I had a really good time with this book. Who doesn’t enjoy a complicated relationship with your off & on depressed single mother. There is an instance when Enid is casually hooking up with people that gets her into trouble that then turns into a whole other unexpected relationship. I was surprised to see a relationship explored between Enid and her half siblings. It was interesting to read siblings forming a caring relationship into their adulthood. With the chaos that is going on in Enid’s head I’m glad that she was able to gain kind sisters.
What made me appreciate this book was Enid’s thoughts that she might be a bad person. She also feels as she’s missing critical info needed to fully form into herself. I think it’s relatable and gives us more insight into her as a character.
Here are some quotes showcasing that:
“I don't ever want to become my full self. There is no reality I can envision where myself now doubled is good. I think that if I were fully formed, I would be awful.”
“I want to hold people's beating hearts in my hands. I want to see all their arteries. I want to study how fully formed and bloody they are. I want to get as close as I can to them; to touch all their things, to put my mouth on them. I want to trick them into loving me. I want to test whether I can be loved; however, I think the way to test whether I am capable of truly loving people back is by ending things.”

Thank you netgalley for providing me an ARC for my most anticipated read this year! “everyone in this room will someday be dead” altered my worldview dramatically. The line “Now, do you ever think about how some people might wish that for you?” completely winded me in the moment and it’s sat in the back of my head for the two years since I first read it. Reading Emily Austin novels feels like a fourth wall break. it literally feels like someone, every other chapter, pulls the covers from above my head and shines a flashlight directly on my face in the night.

I have two half-siblings and a mom I feel guilty talking about them with. I hope I never see people again after a good time. I was lonely a lot as a kid. I avoid relationships because I believe I’m not made for them. I’ve always done things because I thought I was supposed to. Enid is one of, if not the most, personally identifiable character I’ve ever read and I don’t know how to thank Emily Austin for writing her. I can’t even put to words the things I didn’t love about this book because the good is so good. Reading this was a form of therapy and I wish I could have it in my hands right now to highlight and cry into.

Emily, I’m begging. Please do a reading or a signing or some kind of event here in Ottawa. If there’s one person in the audience, it’ll be me. My head is spinning.

This unique, quirky story follows main character Enid in a sort of slice-of-life way, as she navigates her life of working for a space center, dating women she meets via dating apps, listening to true-crime podcasts, managing her phobia of bald men, and trying to nurture relationships with both her mom and other family that she hasn’t previously been close to. We watch as Enid’s life heads towards a breaking point, and her typical coping mechanism of calling her mom to tell her interesting facts about space just isn’t quite enough anymore. With the help of friends and a therapist, Enid eventually works towards understanding both her past and her current self on a deeper level to ultimately lead to a hopeful future.

There is SO much to unpack in this short novel, but Emily R. Austin does it all with grace, providing such thought-provoking and reflective prose in the backdrop of an entertaining plot that is as humorous as it is heartbreaking.

While the publisher’s description of “fast-paced, hilarious and ultimately hopeful novel” is accurate, and the hot pink cover suggests a funny, popcorn-y story, I think both of those things are a little misleading as to what a reader can truly expect from this book. Despite being funny and compulsively readable, it’s also profoundly sad at times. This very character-driven novel really dives into Enid’s honest inner thoughts and takes on lots of aspects of mental health head-on in a deep way. Through Enid and her story, Austin explores PTSD, neurodivergence, paranoia, manic-depression, phobias, anxiety and more from the mental health perspective. Not only do we see mental illness through the eyes of a character experiencing some elements of it themselves, but we also see what it’s like to have someone close to you with mental illness, and how one person’s mental health can affect so many others. All of that being said, I do think that it ends on a hopeful note, and that the humor throughout provided a perfect balance to the heavier topics the book tackled.

All in all, this was a completely unique reading experience that eloquently melded humor with emotionally heavy themes to ultimately show that it’s possible to work through our fears and achieve a healthy headspace despite the most difficult of circumstances. And I LOVED also learning super interesting facts about space along the way! I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I finished it, and it’ll be one that sticks with me for a long time. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Emily R. Austin and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This might be a case of bad timing. I absolutely loved an earlier book by this author and was really excited for this one. However the structure really isn’t working for me in this one. I may try again when I’m more in the mood for it now that I know what to expect but at this point, deciding it isn’t for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

Emily Austin did it again for me. LitFic about neurodivergent queer people will always end up on my tbr. Learned a lot of fun facts about Space too.

Interesting Facts about Space by Emily Austin is a humorous and charming story.
Emily Austin's writing style is quirky, hilarious, and surprisingly touching.
This book was so deeply touching and phenomenal.
I was sucked in quick. And found it to be very astounding.
I will be picking up her previous title Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead.

Thank You NetGalley and Atria Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Emily R. Austin has done it again! This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 and boy it delivered! Emily’s other book Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead is one of my favorite books of all time, so I was very excited to read this one.
I really enjoyed following Enid's journey with mental health and her family. Over the course of the book had such a big character arc which was great to follow. Enid is a character I find very relatable, one sad gay to another. Overall what a stellar read that I would highly recommend. I will literally be reading anything, Emily R. Austin writes in the future

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing the reviewer copy in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read many books that have made me feel the way this book does. I felt like someone had taken a flashlight to the cracks in my facade, letting everyone see the monster I am. Austin has a talent for capturing the banal horror and anxieties of everyday life, including the experience of being a teenage lesbian. Throughout the book, I rooted for Enid to find her happy ending, all while understanding that there was going to need to be some serious work done for her to earn it. The relationship between her half-sisters, her mother, and her friends speaks to the complexity of the modern adult, balancing their own mental health against feeling like they need to hold the family together. I cannot wait for more titles by this author.

Much like Emily Austin's previous novel, Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, this one is good in a sneaky sort of way. There are some weird plot developments, and some of the writing feels like it's just repeating internet clichés, but ultimately Austin once again manages to take a style that would become grating under some authors and turn it into something a bit less conventional and a lot more compelling. The relationships between characters are wonderfully constructed, and Enid's journey feels realistic and earned, which ultimately pushes off any fair comparison to some other not-as-great popular novels.

The synopsis really emphasizes this being "hilarious" and "brimming with quirky humor," and it does have that (like the character of Maveric, who might as well have been plucked from a workplace comedy), but I don't think I was quite prepared for how intense and anxiety-inducing the book would be. Well, I didn't read the synopsis anyways, so I guess I wouldn't have known either way, but I think I expected something more generally wholesome and less "keeps me up for hours after reading it because I'm caught it an anxiety spiral." Maybe you can find some humor in the character's quirks, but they're also kinda a little too real for that, and there's this constant sense of tension and desperation throughout. The darkness here is not hidden behind quirkiness or the facade of a lighthearted romp.

I'd consider this a step up from Emily Austin's previous effort. Unlike with that book, I didn't feel the need for any relationships to be further fleshed out, nor did I feel like the ending was quite as overly clean or rushed, and the positive aspects of that book are only enhanced here, as there's a little more space to deeply explore the characters, and a little more ambition to do so, for that matter.

Litfic about weird woman who are prisoners of their own minds is a sub-genre that’s absolutely for me. I thought there was absolutely no way Emily Austin could top her previous novel but I was wrong. This one was somehow even better. I felt such strong emotions while reading this. I laughed, I cried, and I annotated basically my entire kindle copy. Halfway through reading this I ordered a physical copy because I couldn’t handle not having this beauty on my bookshelf. Austin’s writing simply speaks to my soul and I feel like she’s taken a sneak peak into my brain. I feel so seen by her and books like this matter so much. Highly, highly, highly recommend to all fans of character driven literary fiction with neurodivergent characters, repressed childhood trauma, dysfunctional relationships, and seemingly unwarranted fears.

I loved this but book! It is a quick read, full of heart. It pulled me out of a reading rut and had me postponing all the other things I needed to do so I could finish it. This book is about Enid who can’t stop listening to true crime podcasts, knows a lot about space, and is a character I completely fell in love with by the end of this story. And it’s not just Enid- there are so many things I enjoyed about this book- writing is great, there are complex characters, interesting family dynamics, and of course a lot of interesting facts about space.

Austin has established herself as a favourite author for me! I really loved her debut, and I connect with her writing in a personal way. she has a way of writing characters that are easily sympathetic yet flawed, and easily bingeable stories. this is mostly about Enid’s journey of self-discovery and i blew through this in a day, because Austin’s way of writing is just so addictive.