Our 9 Favorite Feature Stories This Week: Astrology, Cruises, And Adventure Time

This week for BuzzReads, Amanda Petrusich explores why astrology is gaining popularity. Read that and these other great stories from around BuzzFeed and web.

1. Is It Time For Us To Take Astrology Seriously? — BuzzFeed

Illustration by Justine Zwiebel for BuzzFeed

In an April marked by angry eclipses portending unexpected change, the ancient, long-debunked practice of astrology and its preeminent ambassador might be weirdly suited for the 21st century. Read it at BuzzFeed.

2. The Ballad of Geeshie and Elvie — New York Times

Via nytimes.com

A beautifully written and beautifully presented story by John Jeremiah Sullivan about about searching for two mysterious women who changed American music and then vanished without a trace. Read it at the New York Times.

3. The Confidence Gap — The Atlantic

Edmon de Haro for The Atlantic

Katty Kay and Claire Shipman discuss the confidence gap that exists between men and women, about which they've written a book: "Compared with men, women don’t consider themselves as ready for promotions, they predict they’ll do worse on tests, and they generally underestimate their abilities. This disparity stems from factors ranging from upbringing to biology." Read it at The Atlantic.

4. Station to Station — Pitchfork

Via pitchfork.com

An lengthy but outstanding piece by Eric Harvey examining the past, present and future of streaming music. He explores how the rise of sites like Spotify and Pandora are affecting the ideas of taste, access and ownership, and listeners and artists alike. Read it at Pitchfork.

5. A Star Player Accused, and a Flawed Rape Investigation — New York Times

Leslye Davis / The New York Times

A must-read piece by Walt Bogdanich about the Florida State University freshman who was allegedly raped by Jameis Winston, the eventual Heisman Trophy winner — and the flawed investigation that followed. Read it at the New York Times.

6. Escape from Cuba: Yasiel Puig's Untold Journey to the Dodgers — Los Angeles Magazine

Photograph by Joe Pugliese for Los Angeles Magazine

Baseball fans have seen the talents of Yasiel Puig, the Los Angeles Dodgers' right fielder who crushed 19 homers and nearly won the Rookie of the Year award in 2013. What they haven't heard is the story of his journey to the States — one that involves a boxer, a pinup girl, a Santeria priest, and a dangerous Mexican drug cartel. And a whole lot of money. Read it at Los Angeles Magazine.

7. Why Royal Caribbean’s Newest Ship Represents A Critical Test For The Cruise Industry — BuzzFeed

Via Royal Caribbean

Quantum of the Seas sets sail in November and could mark the beginning of boom times for the industry, Peter Lauria writes, or it could forever doom it. Read it at BuzzFeed.

8. It's Adventure Time — The Awl

Via theholenearthecenteroftheworld.com

Maria Bustillos on the kids (is it for kids?) show: "Adventure Time is a smash hit cartoon aimed primarily at kids age six to eleven. It’s also a deeply serious work of moral philosophy, a rip-roaring comic masterpiece, and a meditation on gender politics and love in the modern world." Read it at The Awl.

9. Gabriel García Márquez, The Art of Fiction No. 69 — The Paris Review

Edgard Garrido / Reuters

A 1981 interview with the Colombian writer, who died this week at age 87. "It always amuses me that the biggest praise for my work comes for the imagination, while the truth is that there’s not a single line in all my work that does not have a basis in reality. The problem is that Caribbean reality resembles the wildest imagination." Read it at The Paris Review.