A 24-hour, sixteen-orbit cycle on the International Space Station as its six inhabitants carry out their tasks and observe the Earth…

For a slim book that takes place over a mere 24 hours, the writing is surprisingly dense and it felt like it took me forever to read - I mostly only had snatches of time in which to pick it up, rather than the immersive chunks of reading time it benefits from. And yet I adored it - in fact, it’s amongst my favourite books of the year.

I lapped up all the little details of life in space - I was a bit obsessed with astronauts as a child after a visit to the Kennedy Space Centre and it turns out I haven’t lost my fascination with the banalities of space life.

But what most deeply struck a chord was the awe and affection that the astronauts each held for Earth, her various natural phenomena and the beautiful landscapes they witness. I enjoyed the descriptions of what the characters were seeing and how they felt about it and their contemplation of humanity’s place on Earth, coloured by each of their own trajectories. I’d love to listen to this narrated over corresponding footage filmed from the ISS.

Look, there’s no plot, no character development and nothing much happens - it’s basically just six people floating around the Earth in a tin can getting on with their day whilst looking out the window a lot - so it’s not going to be for everyone. But if you want an immersive, wondrous appreciation of our planet and humanity’s place on it, this is it.

A stunning “all vibes, no plot” meditation on the awe of Earth, wonder of nature and humanity’s tiny place in it.