Best-Selling Author's Novel Fueled by '70s Rock Anthems Named ‘Readers' Favorite'
An instant New York Times best seller and Readers' Favorite Winner, Taylor Jenkins Reid'sAtmosphereblends historical fiction, '80s-set romance, and nail-biting thrills into one singular story. In the driver's seat you have Joan Goodwin, a professor at Rice University in Texas who joins NASA's space shuttle program as one of the first women to do so.
"Then when she is on the ground as CAPCOM on a mission," Reid shares in recent interview with Goodreads, "everyone she cares about at NASA is up on the spaceship, on that crew, when a disaster strikes. Joan is the lone voice to talk to these people she loves most through this perilous moment."
To get into that headspace, Reid says she turned to a playlist curated with songs that evoked the setting and feelings she was writing into her characters' emotional arcs. "I would listen to that playlist throughout the day to just mentally stay in this world," she says.
On the playlist, there was a "lot of David Bowie," which shouldn't come as a surprise, since the '70s rocker's oeuvre is brimming with cosmic masterpieces from which Reid could seek inspo: From "Space Oddity," "Life on Mars?" and "Dancing Out in Space," to "Ziggy Stardust," "Starman," and "Moonage Daydream," the list is a black hole of epic space tracks.
Reid also mentions Willie Nelson's "Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys," the Indigo Girls, and Brandi Carlile, adding, "One that I really loved, which was 'Far Away Star' by the Chordettes, is an old song, but it just struck the exact right note for me."
Atmosphere is available at bookshop.org.
Related: 1986 Book Flop Became One of the Greatest Movies of All Time
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 4:02 PM.