Those who know me know reading and books are near and dear to my heart. As a child, the only effective punishment my parents was grounding me from books. Sending me to my room just meant more time to read!
Since it’s time for books to be celebrated, I decided to do a check in with some of my team members to find out what everyone was reading! We appear to skew heavily toward history and historical fiction this month, with a few dipping into old favorites close to their hearts.
Please share with us what YOU are reading and enjoying these days!
Isaac Eiland-Hall, Web Developer
I’m currently doing a re-read of Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. I’m currently halfway through, on ‘Hogfather’, which is a story involving the equivalent of the Christmas holidays on the Discworld, but involves Death, the Tooth Fairy, and Mr. Teatime (but don’t call him Teatime, it’s teh-ah-tim-eh). He’s an Assassin, so best to pay attention. The Discworld series in general are hilarious fun, but I also credit them for a lot of my outlook on life, death, religion, and humanity.
Victoria Kelsey, Director of Research
I’m currently reading ‘The Fervor’, by Alma Katsu. This book was recommended to me by a friend and coworker from RT Book Reviews and Library Journal, so I knew it would be good. I have only just started but am intrigued so far. As a child, my father would take us to Manzanar on our road trips every summer. He was a former Navy radioman, and he thought the lessons were important. So far, ‘The Fervor” is reminding me of what people, and the governments run by people, are capable of.
Jordan Martens, Director of Services and Implementation
I’m currently reading ‘The Gulag Archipelago”, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. I began reading The Gulag Archipelago because I heard it referenced on a podcast. At the time, I was reading Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky and thoroughly enjoying it, so I decided to continue my trend of Russian authors which led me to Gulag. I appreciate first-hand accounts of historical events and it is not easy to find verified first-hand accounts of the Soviet Era experience from a legitimate insider translated to coherent English, and Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago fit the bill.
Julie Dubuc, President
In his skillfully laid out book, Adam Grant discusses how our mental flexibility, empathy, curiosity, and willingness to put yourself in other’s shoes are critical skills in our modern world. He challenges rival sports teams’ fan to consider their rival teams perspectives, political parties to reframe challenges, and his students to reimagine learning. I feel in our world today what we need most is mental flexibility and the ability to think again about what we may believe or not believe to be true.
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know, by Adam Grant
Brian Consort, Director of Technology
This is a story about alternate dimensions and the challenges of finding work in the middle of a pandemic. It is just a fun, light-hearted read that I’m finding helpful in the middle of all the ‘ick’ that is current events. Also, kaiju!
Oliver Lollis, Director of Business Development
On the surface, this is a story about a motorcycle trip across the American Northwest. The narrator, who is never clearly defined, journeys with his some, Chris, and a couple of friends from home. Much deeper, the book addresses the status of quality, identity, rationality, duality, and religion. I love this book because the story is simple, but the inward journey is always a mystery.
Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig
