Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Atmosphere is the latest pick for the Good Morning America book club.
Reid’s novel, published Tuesday by Ballantine, follows Joan Goodwin, a professor in 1980 Houston who trains with NASA to become one of the country’s first woman astronauts and befriends the other members of her cohort—falling in love with one of them—before something goes terribly wrong. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus wrote, “A heart-pounding race against the clock combined with a love story adds up to a novel that’s impossible to put down.”
Reid appeared on Good Morning America to discuss her novel. Asked by co-host George Stephanopolous how the idea for the book occurred to her, she said, “I’m interested in writing about women thriving in male-dominated spaces, and I think the space shuttle program called that to mind for me.…But also I was just in the mood for a really big, grand love story. I wanted to write one; I wanted to feel one.”
Co-host Michael Strahan noted that Reid has published five New York Times bestsellers and asked if she felt any pressure from that.
“I feel pressure because I feel like my job is to make the most compelling, readable book possible so that it gives people an escape,” she replied. “I take that really seriously. So with every book, I’m really trying to make sure that I’m writing a story that when you pick it up, five pages in, I can pull you toward that ending.…I just want to tell the best story that I can.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
