What Fluent is Reading

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07 Aug What Fluent is Reading

Posted in Content, Get to Know Us.

At Fluent Research, we believe that a good book has the power to inspire, educate, and transform. In honor of National Book Lovers Day, we asked our team to share what they’re reading right now and their thoughts on the content. From thoughtful novels to powerful nonfiction, their diverse tastes reflect a passion for life, learning, and laughter.

Aeliya Ahmed – Project Manager

  • Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
  • A friend of mine recently recommended this book to me and I’m enjoying it so far. It’s a book that’s written by a former student who goes on weekly visits to his old college professor, Morrie who’s dying from ALS. In their weekly talks, Morrie imparts gems of his end-of-life wisdom. I’m still making my way through all the lessons this book chronicles, but it has been a great reminder of what is truly important.

 

Charlotte Beatty – User Experience Researcher

  • Orlando by Virginia Woolf
  • Orlando is my favorite book I’ve read so far this year. As a big Virginia Woolf fan, I find Orlando to be the most playful, hopeful, and self-expressive novel in her body of work. The book exists as both a work of fiction and a surrealist autobiography of Woolf’s own life, identity, and relationships. The gender-bending, poetry-obsessed, effortlessly endearing Orlando lives for hundreds of years through different time periods, switching genders and lives overnight, and experiencing different political moments and social catalysts from different stratifications. The book is a snapshot of Woolf’s meditations on gender, politics, and power in conversation with the time period she was alive in, but her thoughts still feel relevant to the world we find ourselves in today, nearly a century later. The 1993 movie adaptation starring Tilda Swinton is equally moving and delightful.

 

Evelin Garcia – User Experience Researcher

  • Magic in Room 216: How One Teacher Came of Age and Inspired the Next Generation by Andee Nunn
  • The author of this book, Andee Nunn, was my English teacher in high school. At the time, I was having a very difficult time and living with so much uncertainty about the future. Mrs. Nunn was extremely supportive and did everything she could to help me go to college. To this day, she has been one of the most supportive teachers I’ve ever had and I am still in touch with her to this day. In this book, she talks about her experiences navigating education and recalls stories of the students who have made a lasting impression on her throughout her career. I highly recommend this book!

 

Mary Meyn – Research Director and Chief of Staff

  • Real Americans by Rachel Khong
  • I recently finished reading Real Americans, by Rachel Khong. A few years ago I read Khong’s 2017 novel called Goodbye, Vitamin and loved it. It was original, poignant, and beautifully written. So when I saw that Khong had a new novel coming out I knew I had to read it. Real Americans is a story of cross-generational family identity, as told from two perspectives. The two perspectives were radically different yet equally compelling and believable. I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to those who enjoy fiction!

 

Kelly Sheehan – Senior User Experience Researcher

  • Funny Story by Emily Henry
  • Funny Story is a fictional story about a children’s librarian whose fiancé dumps her for his childhood best friend. She finds companionship in her fiancé’s new partner’s ex and soon begins to fall for him. Emily Henry only has a handful of books, and I was so excited about the release of this new one. She has a way of creating vivid and compelling characters whose storylines feel both understandable and novel. Her books feel like a complete escape from reality, and I love being pulled into her stories!

 

Amy Warren – Senior Child Development Researcher 

  • Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  • I was drawn to this book for its blending of Indigenous knowledge and Western science. As a botanist and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Kimmerer offers a unique perspective on our relationship with the Earth. She shares the wisdom and teachings of her ancestors, emphasizing the importance of reciprocity and gratitude towards the natural world. She delves into the intricate details of plant life, revealing the complex systems and relationships that sustain ecosystems. I love how she weaves together these two ways of knowing. I think it’s this sort of “mending of splits” — between Wisdom and Science, Humans and Nature — that is most needed now.

 

Dan Warren – Director of Youth Development & Education

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