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Orbital
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
A slender novel of epic power, Orbital deftly snapshots one day in the lives of six women and men hurtling through space--not towards the moon or the vast unknown, but around our planet. Selected for one of the last space station missions of its kind before the program is dismantled, these astronauts and cosmonauts--from America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan--have left their lives behind to travel at a speed of over seventeen thousand miles an hour as the earth reels below. We glimpse moments of their earthly lives through brief communications with family, their photos and talismans; we watch them whip up dehydrated meals, float in gravity-free sleep, and exercise in regimented routines to prevent atrophying muscles; we witness them form bonds that will stand between them and utter solitude. Most of all, we are with them as they behold and record their silent blue planet. Their experiences of sixteen sunrises and sunsets and the bright, blinking constellations of the galaxy are at once breathtakingly awesome and surprisingly intimate. So are the marks of civilization far below, encrusted on the planet on which we live. Profound, contemplative and gorgeous, Orbital is an eloquent meditation on space and a moving elegy to our humanity, environment, and planet.
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quietlycuriouskate
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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#bookerprize2024
I mean, I'm not *unhappy* but of the eight longlisted books I've read so far this one came in at 4th place. 🤷
Would love to know if it was anyone here's top pick.

Graywacke Not my personal number 1 favorite, but a terrifically written book that i thoroughly enjoyed. I‘m happy it won. 14h
Leniverse For me it's third in the shortlist and fourth in the longlist (but I have a couple more longlisted books to go). It's the book I least expected to win, and I enjoy being surprised 😂 I'm good with this win, even if it wasn't my favourite. 14h
30 likes2 comments
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Tamra
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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I listened to the audio version of Orbital (what now seems like ages ago) and really enjoyed it. I recall it being meditative, something I am typically drawn to because life is so noisy.

sarahbarnes I haven‘t read this one, but it was one I was intrigued by. 1d
Tamra @sarahbarnes it does not have the traditional narrative one might expect of a novel and perhaps is why it hasn‘t been a favorite of readers? I recommend it though. 😁 (edited) 22h
AnneCecilie I was disappointed that this one, my least favorite from the list since I considered bailing 16h
See All 6 Comments
Graywacke It‘s a special book for me. I‘m really happy it won. 10m
Tamra @AnneCecilie I suspect it‘s one of those books you have to be in the right mood for. now
Tamra @Graywacke I don‘t have adequate words to describe it well, but there is an ephemeral & lyrical impression that has stuck with me. I ordered a paper copy yesterday just to reread it and my husband is intrigued enough to give it a go as well. now
52 likes1 stack add6 comments
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Chelsea.Poole
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Pickpick

Another perfect read following the results of the election. I was transported out of this world, immersed in the lives of astronauts orbiting Earth. It puts into perspective how small each of our lives is and how little we, as individuals, matter in the grand scheme of things. While this can seem upsetting at first, it‘s actually rather freeing for me personally. The book zooms in on characters‘ experiences but then way out to the universal.

Aims42 Beautiful picture! Is that a Thanksgiving catcus? I‘ve got one in orange that is thriving right now too 😍🥰 3d
AmyG Looks like one @Aims42 as mine is blooming in the same color! I call it my election cactus. 3d
Aims42 @AmyG Nice 😄 It‘s my first year with mine, it was fun all of sudden seeing buds appear. Glad something is thriving and not just surviving lol 3d
Lindy I was pleased to see it win the Booker today. 🤩 1d
77 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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AvidReader25
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Pickpick

6 astronauts orbit the Earth & reflect on what brought them to that point. A beautiful & poetic book. Who knew I‘d need a book set in space to gain a little perspective this week.

“We matter greatly and not at all. To reach some pinnacle of human achievement only to discover that your achievements are next to nothing and that to understand this is the greatest achievement of any life, which itself is nothing, and also much more than everything.”

Chelsea.Poole I read this this week too. And I agree, it was just what I needed. 4d
29 likes1 stack add1 comment
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vlwelser
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Pickpick

This is interesting but I have no idea how it made the Booker shortlist. It all happens in a day on the ISS as they circle the Earth. It's about the environment and the absurdity of politics and maybe a bit about humanity in general.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Tamra I really appreciated the long & slow view. 3w
Suet624 Does this mean I don‘t have to read it unless it wins the Booker? 3w
TheAromaofBooks I really like this cover!! 3w
See All 7 Comments
vlwelser @Suet624 signs point to yes. But it is really short. 2w
Suet624 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 2w
vlwelser @Suet624 my crystal ball is broken. Or something. 1d
Suet624 I guess I have to find it now but it‘s hard to imagine it could be so much better than the other ones I read on the shortlist. 1d
33 likes7 comments
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Pedrocamacho
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Mehso-so

I am not sure that I really liked the elegiac structure of this book. Didn‘t really work for me.

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ChaoticMissAdventures
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Pickpick

This is a book for language lovers. Yes there are characters, there is a semblance of a plot, Harvey talks about space, and earth and not so subtly about climate change, but it is all background to her gorgeous prose.
This is definitely a pick, and a great book for the Booker short list. I am in a bit of a slump so this book that would normally take me a day to read room me 2 weeks, not a reflection of the book but of my current struggles.

BarbaraBB I hope you‘re struggles won‘t last and wish you the best 🤍 1mo
33 likes1 comment
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andrew61
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Pickpick

A book that made me feel dizzy with the description of a space station orbiting the earth as the astronauts contemplate their lives and families on earth who pass repeatedly in the blink of an eye. But also dizzy with prose describing the beauty of a unique planet seen from blinking lights of cities tounending oceans of blue. It was a short read, but it took me some time to absorb it all. I enjoyed it + feel it needs a reread.

Cathythoughts Beautiful photo ! 1mo
AvidReader25 This was the perfect read for the day after the election. I loved seeing all the astronauts from around the world uniting and celebrating the beauty of life. 5d
45 likes2 comments
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Tripex
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Tha shortlist
Booker

The One - Nov 12

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Balibee146
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Next up on #kindle

43 likes1 stack add
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Graywacke
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Pickpick

Sustained wandering reflection. An imagined day on the ISS… reflecting - on life, pasts & futures, practical realities in this tiny station, on the earth out the window, on existence. One astronaut is determined to reach the moon, another works a radio connecting to amateur radio operators on the ground within range. One has just lost her mother, yesterday. This book is one day, 16 rotations around the earth. I floated off with their thoughts.

Graywacke (Glad i could play a little with my cheap gemstone globe) #booker #booker2024 #longlist #shortlist 2mo
BarbaraBB Wonderful review! 2mo
See All 7 Comments
Suet624 A book I had no interest in reading until your review. 😊 2mo
Graywacke @BarbaraBB thanks! 2mo
Graywacke @Suet624 yay! For a day when you don‘t feel pressure to get through any books. 🙂 2mo
squirrelbrain Pretty picture! 🌍 1mo
53 likes1 stack add7 comments
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TheEllieMo
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Mehso-so

There were parts of this book that I liked, but mostly it just felt to me like rambling. I can understand why some people like it, and why it‘s been Booker shortlisted, but it‘s not my cup of tea. I feel it can be summed up by a quote from the book itself: “It‘s just imaginings and projections, and they could all be wrong.”

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ChaoticMissAdventures
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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"Maybe it's hard to shift from thinking your planet is safe at the centre of it all to knowing in fact it's a planet of normalish size and normalish mass rotating about an average star in a solar system of average everything in a galaxy of innumerable many, and that the whole thing is going to explode or collapse."

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ImperfectCJ
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Mehso-so

This book is a meditation on existence, perspective, and what it means to be human. There's not really any plot, and listening to the audiobook was kind of like listening to a creek flowing by or to yoga studio music. It prompts big thoughts, but there's not much to it.

Photo: Contrail from a Starlink satellite launch a few months ago.

ImperfectCJ Sarah Naudi's narration is excellent, though. Her understated accents are one of my aspirations as a voice actor. 2mo
TieDyeDude That is a lovely photo! Sounds like an interesting listen; fairly short? 2mo
ImperfectCJ @TieDyeDude Pretty short...about 5 hours on 1.0x 2mo
47 likes3 comments
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Graywacke
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Itchyfeetreader That is a fab cover 2mo
Leniverse Curious what you\'ll make of this one. I thought it was slooow, but beautiful. But basically just alright. I read it six months ago and it has stayed with me since, and grown in my estimate. I think I might have to re-read it 2mo
Graywacke @Leniverse 16 orbits can get old quick. Will see. I‘m on page 8 ☺️ 2mo
Graywacke @Itchyfeetreader @Enchanted_Bibliophile it is quite a pretty cover. 2mo
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quietlycuriouskate
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Pickpick

I liked it. It's not as profound as the blurbs would have us believe and, little glimpses of their Earth-lives notwithstanding, the astronauts are largely interchangeable (though I suppose it's a vocation selecting from a narrow bandwidth, character-wise.) While there's no plot to speak of (I'm not doing a very good job of selling this, am I?😆), I found the repetition soothing and, though it's a short book, I wanted to take my time over it.

27 likes1 comment
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rmaclean4
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Mehso-so

This poetic, rhythmic, meditative novel was not for me. There is no plot, and although I can appreciate what this work is doing, it did not captivate me. I switched to the audio version at about the 50% mark since I was having trouble making myself pick it up. 3 🌟 #bookerlonglist
@squirrelbrain @JenP @AnneCecilie @charl08 @JamieArc @BarbaraBB @Graywacke @jlhammar @Deblovestoread

squirrelbrain Some people love this one - I found it OK but it didn‘t grab me. 3mo
JenP Yup, I felt the same 3mo
BarbaraBB Me too. Love your review though 3mo
Graywacke Bummer. No clue how i‘ll fair with this one. Split response (well, not split here ☺️) (edited) 3mo
20 likes4 comments
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JenP
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Mehso-so

This was just okay for me. It is beautifully written but very loose/lacking in plot and character development. This is a book about reflections and big ideas. Repetitive and ultimately boring for me.

Our panel reviewed it on the blog here:

https://thereadersroom.org/2024/08/23/20024-booker-longlist-orbital-by-samantha-...

squirrelbrain I quite liked it when I read it, but I agree with the repetition, and I can‘t remember anything about it now, hence why it ended up lower down my list. Gorgeous photo! 3mo
JenP @squirrelbrain I liked the beginning but after a while I just felt bored - a similar experience to many of the books on the list that I‘ve read so far. 3mo
Graywacke I‘ve heard complaints about the repetitiveness, even as that‘s on theme, in tune with the title. Bummer. 3mo
33 likes3 comments
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Hooked_on_books
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Pickpick

The premise is simple: a day in the life of 6 astronauts on the ISS as they orbit the earth 16 times. But this slim book contains some profound musings about humans, our place in the universe, and the stupidity of our petty grievances with one another. I thought it was really good and expect aspects of it to really stick with me.

Leniverse I liked it too. It seems to be a bit of a marmite book though. Quite a few people upset at it being on the Booker longlist 🤷🏻‍♀️ I was pleased to see it there. 3mo
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charl08
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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They have each at some point been shot into the sky on a kerosene bomb, and then through the atmosphere in a burning capsule with the equivalent weight of two black bears upon them. They have each steeled their ribcages against the force until they felt the bears retreat, one after the other, and the sky become space, and gravity diminish, and their hair stand on end.

#Booker24

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JenP
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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So far, I‘m quite liking this one. #bookerprize

BarbaraBB That‘s good! 3mo
27 likes1 stack add1 comment
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BarbaraBB
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Mehso-so

#Booker 4/13

This book felt so real. I can imagine life in a spacecraft to be exactly like this. The repetitiveness, the small things that happen, the role everyone has, the earth below, always circling around it.
And yet that repetitiveness made it hard for me to concentrate and I know I started skimming more than once. A well-written slim book but no favorite of mine for the shortlist.

📸 A new Kokeshi doll, souvenir from Japan

squirrelbrain Great review! I liked it better than you did, but I know I skimmed a lot of it, and now I can‘t recall much about it. 🤷‍♀️ 3mo
jlhammar Eager to see what I make of it! 3mo
Jas16 That is why for such a slim book I really had to take my time with it. I found myself skimming as well. Great review. 3mo
See All 11 Comments
rmaclean4 Just started this one. So far, I am enjoying the meditative qualities, but I am just at the beginning. Thanks for the tag! 3mo
LeahBergen I love Kokeshi dolls! 3mo
sarahbarnes Good to know. And I love the souvenir! 3mo
Leniverse It's a slow read for such a short book! It has actually grown on me in the months since I read it. I find myself thinking about it relatively frequently. 3mo
Graywacke Those dolls are adorable. And gorgeous. Interesting about orbital. I guess it‘s intentionally cyclical (??). I‘m looking forward to it. 3mo
BarbaraBB @LeahBergen @sarahbarnes They‘re lovely right?! I hope this family keeps growing! 3mo
BarbaraBB @Leniverse I can see that happening to me too. In fact I already did today when there was a news item about astronauts stuck in ISS at the moment! 3mo
BarbaraBB @Graywacke Yes it is, I think. They circle the earth several times a day so the repetitiveness is unavoidable I guess. So it is well written but not always engaging imo! 3mo
85 likes1 stack add11 comments
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JenP
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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My current reading location

Blueberry 💛 3mo
BarbaraBB I am reading the same book but at a less spectacular location! 3mo
JenP @BarbaraBB what do you think of the book so far? 3mo
See All 6 Comments
BarbaraBB Not sure. Parts are great, others I find boring. How about you? 3mo
JenP @BarbaraBB I‘ve been distracted by my location 😂 3mo
charl08 Beautiful 😍 3mo
24 likes6 comments
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BookishTrish
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Pickpick

A day in the life of six astronauts aboard an international space station - From the minute details of their routine to contemplations of humans place in the universe. I think I‘d have preferred reading this, but I got the audiobook. The narrator was great, but the subject matter might be better suited to a slow read.

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Jas16
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Pickpick

Despite its slim size this is a book you take your time with. A day of the compiled thoughts of six astronauts orbiting the earth for months, both distant from home but also seeing everything from a new perspective. There isn‘t more to the plot than that but there is gorgeous writing and reflections that had me pausing to reread and absorb.

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ClairesReads
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Pickpick

I found this slight novel to be wonderfully moving as it considered the triviality and momentousness of our lives on Earth. From the vantage of space, over 24 hours, Harvey‘s astronauts internal dialogues consider such a wide range of global, spiritual, and philosophical issues that I found almost every sentence said something profound, thought-provoking, or moving. Harvey succeeded in inspiring my awe at the magnitude and smallness of my life.

julesG Wonderful review!!! I had similar thoughts but couldn't put it into words. 3mo
BarbaraBB Great review. Eager to read it now! 3mo
quietlycuriouskate Fingers crossed my library hold will come in soon. I'm really looking forward to this one! 3mo
Chelsea.Poole Yes, great review! 3mo
32 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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LeafingThroughLife
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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The best part of every vacation is buying a bookish souvenir, right? I bought the tagged book here at Point Reyes Books. 😀❤️📚

Booksblanketsandahotbeverage How fun! I love going to new bookstores on vacation. 6mo
BookmarkTavern My favorite thing to do! 💖 6mo
29 likes2 comments
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Suelizbeth
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Pickpick

Hard book to review. A novel and yet it reads more like a memoir. It is about everything and nothing. We share the inner and outer lives of 6 astronauts/cosmonauts as they orbit the planet in an international space station. The descriptions of the earth from space and the 16 ascending/descending orbits that make up a day and a night are beautiful and enigmatic and otherworldly and unimaginable and this novel is unlike any other I have read.5⭐️

LeeRHarry Very keen to read this one. Nice review. 😊 7mo
Suelizbeth @LeeRHarry Thank you 📚❤️ 7mo
44 likes5 stack adds2 comments
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BarbaraBB
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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I tried this one but are putting it back on my shelves. I am not in the mood for it and will safe it for another day. I feel restless with all these Women Prize longlisted books and the International Booker coming soon too. Right now I need something easy until I decide what I‘ll do with the those longlists… whether to join in or not 🤦🏻‍♀️😉

squirrelbrain Who are you kidding?! You‘re joining in ALL of the lists…. 🤣 8mo
TheBookgeekFrau I really like that cover! 😍 8mo
TrishB @squirrelbrain she was nearly convincing! 8mo
See All 12 Comments
Ruthiella Just be firm like @rockpools and say NO to the longlists …🤭 8mo
BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @TrishB @Ruthiella You are the worst kind of people 😂😂 and now I want you to know if @rockpools fell for it already! 8mo
rockpools Ooh, that‘s a pretty book 😍. (ignoring the question…). I have Bookshops & Bonedust by my bed, for my (not started) easy read. Unfortunately it‘s buried under 4 books from the NonFiction longlist that I‘m Definitely Not Reading. (Yes, @Ruthiella, that number has gone up 😵‍💫) I‘m genuinely going to wait til you all tell me what‘s essential from the Women‘s Fiction list - I kind of want to read the lists everyone predicted more than the real one. 8mo
rockpools …and IBP is next week‘s problem! So yes, @BarbaraBB -I‘m very much with you! Enjoy ‘deciding‘! 😘 (edited) 8mo
julesG This might be the only book I'm actually interested in reading from the longlist. 😁 8mo
batsy That cover really pops against the lovely backdrop. Perhaps it's just the wrong time for it... Maybe you need some junk food in book form? 😁 8mo
squirrelbrain Lol @Ruthiella - @rockpools is my inspiration when it comes to saying no to things! 🤣 8mo
Cazxxx I just finished this the other day and really liked it but it was slow! Definitely something you have to be in the mood for 8mo
sarahbarnes There‘s always a new list! 8mo
88 likes12 comments
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Tamra
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Pickpick

I‘d like to get this one in print because the prose is akin to an elegy, a plea really, to awaken us to the beauty & fragility of our planet. 🌍

And this cover!!

Cathythoughts Lovely review ❤️ 8mo
Tamra @Cathythoughts 😘 I went in blind and was pleasantly surprised. 8mo
Tamra I had to continually remind myself this is a piece of fiction, though apparently well researched. Very realistically written. (edited) 8mo
See All 10 Comments
batsy Sounds good! 8mo
squirrelbrain I have this on loan from the library, in case it makes the Women‘s Prize long list, but I think I‘ll read it anyway…. 8mo
Tamra @squirrelbrain it‘s definitely worth it! 8mo
Tamra @batsy poetic, really beautiful. 💙 8mo
BarbaraBB Just starting this one. Happy you loved it! 8mo
Reggie Stacked. 8mo
Tamra @Reggie I hope you like it. It‘s a quiet meditation. 8mo
49 likes3 stack adds10 comments
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Kazzie
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
Pickpick

So so beautiful! The combo of the interiority and emotions of the astronauts along with technical ISS elements. Such an interesting perspective on earth/the planet. I also really liked the camaraderie between the astronauts

Tamra I‘m really enjoying the audio, but I think I‘d love it in print. 8mo
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Twocougs
Orbital | Samantha Harvey
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Pickpick

🤩 wow! Some of the most beautiful and deep writing I‘ve ever had the privilege to read.

LeeRHarry Stacked! 9mo
BarbaraBB Me too! 9mo
25 likes2 comments