What Our Staff is Reading in June

There’s nothing everyone loves more than finding a good book to read on your porch, the beach, or even your couch in the summer. And our staff is no exception. Everyone has been busy diving into new books outside of office hours, and this month we are sharing not only what we are reading but also some of our thoughts on our choices. 

Our CEO, Naren, is currently reading The Power of Conflict: Speak Your Mind and Get the Results You Want by Jon Taffer. Taffer believes the key to a happy workplace is to embrace conflict and give it purpose. Though we consider our office to be a constructive and supportive environment, we look forward to Naren sharing Taffer’s toolkit with our staff.

To find out what the rest of our staff is reading, check out the list below.

Aditya is reading Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi, a literary debut about mothers and daughters set in India, and If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga, a novel about love as a weapon of empire. 

Gillian is reading the The Summer I Turned Pretty series by Jenny Han, which is about a teenage girl growing up over the course of three summers. Gillian would recommend this series to people who want a quick YA beach read or who like watching TV show adaptations, as the series was just adapted by Amazon!

Jenna is leaning into summer thrillers and recently finished The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanan, and is currently reading The Wife Between Us by the same authors. She is also currently reading Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life by Sutton Foster, one of Jenna’s theater idols, who also attended her high school.

Tyler is currently enjoying Homesick For Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh. It is a collection of unsettling (and sometimes depressing or frustrating) short stories. 

Caitie is reading Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo and Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. She would recommend Six of Crows if “you like found families, heists, and a little bit of romance set in a fantasy world. I had a hard time putting this down!” 

Heather just finished Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. This “gem of a novel” weaves literary and speculative fiction together. Next on her list is Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead.

Kat is currently in “research mode” and is reading The Story of Egypt by Joann Fletcher. When she needs a break, she plans to read Once & Future by A. R. Capetta and Cory McCarthy. 

Michelle is reading Just One Look by Lindsay Cameron and The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter—two “weird, creepy stories about obsession.” She’d highly recommend The Photographer to anyone who’s a fan of disturbing psychological thrillers. “The protagonist is compelling, manipulative, unreliable, and a little unhinged, which I personally love in a book.” This was a page-turner that Michelle had a hard time putting down. 

Sky is reading Alien Virus Love Disaster by Abbey Mei Otis. She bought it recently on a trip to Asheville, North Carolina, where she visited Malaprop’s Bookstore and Alien Virus Love Disaster was a blind date with a book! It ended up being perfect for her trip as the short stories made it easy to read in bits and pieces while she traveled. “The stories are strange, topical, and dark. Recommended for fans of Parable of the Sower, Margaret Atwood, Brave New World.”

Taylor just finished The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn. This is her fourth book by Quinn, and each read has been just as good as the last. She has a hard time putting these stories down and is constantly encouraging her friends, family, and you to read them.