What is NYU Reads?
NYU Reads brings the NYU community together around a single common reading, chosen by a University committee made up of faculty, student, and administrator representatives. Building on our undergraduate schools’ first-year reading programs, NYU Reads extends this dialogue beyond NYU Welcome and opens it up to the entire University community.
2025-26: Orbital, by Samantha Harvey
Orbital (2023) by Samantha Harvey is our NYU Reads selection for Fall 2025.
For every one day on earth, the four astronauts and two cosmonauts in Samantha Harvey’s novel Orbital circle the earth sixteen times; from their space station, they swiftly circle the globe, looking back at Earth, experiencing “a day of five continents and of autumn and spring, glaciers and deserts, wilderness and warzones.” The “whip-crack of morning arrives every ninety minutes.” These astronauts are here for nine months: by the time they descend, they will have orbited Earth more than four thousand times. What might we understand about ourselves and others when we move at these kinds of speeds, and at this kind of distance? How does our understanding of place—earth, nation, culture—change? What about memory, or love, or time? As Harvey writes, it’s not that we have new thoughts, but “old thoughts born into new moments.” The astronauts and cosmonauts—American, Japanese, British, Italian, Russian—exercise, clean, dream, remember, but most of all, they monitor: their own bodies, molds, plant roots, forty resident mice, cultures of heart cells, cabbages and dwarf wheat, and the Earth, photographed over and over again, from every angle.
Meticulously researched and lyrically rendered, Harvey’s novel is a call to step back, take perspective, and achieve deeper understanding. Orbital is a meditation on what it means to progress: observation by observation, reflection by reflection, accelerated day by accelerated day. Her novel helps us see our homes and lives—and our own orbits—anew. Orbital was the 2024 Booker Prize winner.
Accessing the Book
How can I get copies of Orbital from NYU Libraries?
The Libraries offers multiple formats at no cost.
- E-book and an audiobook copies of Orbital.
- You will need your NYU Net ID and password, and to go through multi-factor authentication.
- For help with the e-book and audiobook platform, visit Getting started with OverDrive.
- Physical copies of Orbital will be available in the Bobst Library Engagement Collection located on floor 2, in the North Reading Room.
- The Libraries has limited copies available on a first-come, first-serve basis. If a copy is not available, you can join a waitlist to be notified when it becomes available.
Can I get copies from the NYU Bookstore or other sellers?
You can purchase a copy from the NYU Bookstore. Audio and ebooks are also available for individual purchase from your favorite booksellers.
When to Read the Book
Events and discussions for Orbital will take place primarily in the Fall 2025 semester, with some additional programming in Spring 2026. We recommend that you plan to read Orbital over the summer, before the start of the fall semester.
Research Guide
The NYU Reads Research Guide includes a selection of resources for engaging with this semester’s NYU Reads book.
Resources and Support
If you need emotional support while reading Orbital, professional counselors are available to talk 24/7 through the Wellness Exchange hotline at +1-212-443-9999 or to chat through the Wellness Exchange app (available in the Apple App Store or Google Play).
Accessibility
If you need help retrieving books or would like to request an alternative format, please email us at lib-accomodations@nyu.edu.