You’ve Been Curious About the Stuck Astronauts

Loved “Death at a Funeral” or are Considering Buying Fyre Festival Tickets (please don’t)

Hi friends,

You’re reading this on one of my least favorite days of the year: the Monday after we lose an hour of sleep because of Daylight Savings. Historically, at least, I am a mess no matter how much I attempt to get ahead of it with more sleep, schedule changes, etc.

If you are like me, stay strong.

And, now, what to read if…

You’re Wondering What Life Has Been Like for Those Stuck Astronauts

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally returning to Earth this month after being stranded in the International Space Station for nine months. They traveled to the station last June for what was supposed to be a brief mission. Instead, they’ve been stuck due to a spacecraft issue.

If you’re curious about what life is like for them up there, check out Samantha Harvey’s Orbital, a slim novel following six astronauts over a 24-hour period on the International Space Station. Harvey highlights such details about life on ISS as the taste of dehydrated meals, the challenge of gravity-free sleep and the exercise routines designed to prevent muscles from atrophying.

There isn’t much — or really any — of a plot in Orbital but I loved the details about the International Space Station so much it didn’t bother me. Moreover, the writing, particularly the scenes describing the Earth from above, is exceptional. It’s roughly 200 pages, so if you’re looking for an afternoon arm chair adventure, this one is for you.

You’ve Got a Family Reunion Coming Up

Pride and Joy by Louisa Onomé

Joy Okafor has spent months painstakingly planning her mother’s 70^th birthday, a family reunion held over Easter weekend. She’s booked a rental home where her extended family can stay, a caterer specializing in Mama Mary’s favorite Nigerian dishes and a DJ. As Joy finalizes the party prep, her mom lies down for a nap, but when her grandchildren go to wake up Mama Mary they find she’s not sleeping but dead

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Joy’s Auntie Nancy, devastated by her sister’s death, refuses to believe Mary is really gone. Instead, she declares she had a premonition that Mama Mary will rise again like Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. Most of the family quickly gets on board with Auntie Nancy’s declaration, organizing a party and notifying the media. Joy, though, remains skeptical, and struggles to plan a funeral while feeling like she can’t grieve publicly.

Pride and Joy reminded me a lot of “Death at a Funeral” (the British version, I haven’t seen the American remake), showing how death forces people to come together and, often, address long-ignored issues. Pride and Joy shows the grief and sadness that come in those times but also the moments of surprising hilarity.

You Weren’t That Surprised to See the Fyre Festival is Back

Hype by Gabrielle Bluestone

As soon as I saw that Billy McFarland is attempting to host a second Fyre Festival (after the first one ended with him spending four years in prison for fraud), I knew I had to remind you all of Gabrielle Bluestone’s Hype, which puts the fraudulent festival in the broader context of “the golden age of gift.” (Before you buy your tickets, the tourism director of the island where McFarland claims the festival is being held says “this is an event that does not exist.”)

In Hype, Bluestone alternates between documenting the decisions that led to hundreds of wannabe influencers stranded on an island and examining new other internet-era scammers, such as fake heiress Anna Delvey, Adam Neuman of WeWork and, of course, Theranos’s Elizabeth Holmes. She argues that social media and venture capital practices incentivize excitement and “hype,” over actual results, connecting the dots between the $400 juicing machine that raised $120 million, the world of influencers and the Fyre Festival.

It’s a juicy and entertaining read I enjoyed even after watching both Fyre Festival documentaries. (Look: it’s well-established I’m fascinated by a scam.) Grab this book to ensure you don’t buy tickets to the next fake experience/festival.

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