“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”  

– Ray Bradbury 

Our Summer Reading List: You’ll Want to Bookmark This

POINT TAKEN. Whether you read to de-stress, recharge, learn something new, or to escape into another world or point in time, reading not only shapes you, but inevitably the world around you.   

The world around us here at Hacker is diverse and takes on many forms. Overall, it’s a culture that nurtures individuals in their ability to progress ideas and build our culture. And, here’s what our people are reading … 

Summer Reading List 2019

Spyro Kourtis, CEO 

An avid fan of print, you’ll find Spyro lounging and learning in his yard. This summer (or really, always) it’s all about newspapers, magazines, and trade pubs: 

  • The New York Times 
  • Food & Wine 
  • Saveur  
  • Men’s Health 
  • Ad Age 
  • Adweek 
  • Puget Sound Business Journal 
  • Automobile 
 

Nasima SadequeCFO 

Nasima prefers to de-stress at the end of each day with a good book. Her favorite? Jane Eyre by Emily Bronte. This summer 

  • The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt 
  • Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan 
  • The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead 
  • Into the Water by Paula Hawkins 
  • The Shape of Water by Daniel Kraus and Guillermo del Toro 
  • A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza 
  • Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng 

And, all the Jodi Picoult she can fit in:  

  • Leaving Time  
  • Keeping Faith  
  • Small Great Things  


Kristyn Brown, Client Partner, Operations 

Without hesitation, Kristyn’s favorite novel is If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino. She is never far from her passion and, for the second year in a row, has set a goal of reading 52 books. Although she has some catching up to do, we have zero doubts she’ll achieve her goal. Check out her queue and progress on Goodreads. Here are just a few: 

  • Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman 
  • Eightball by Elizabeth Geoghegan  
  • Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe  
  • Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou  
  • Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
 

Jill Kourtis, Client Partner, Serum 

Jill loves to lose herself in a book. So far this year, her favorite has been the vivid and moving,  This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel. Next up: 

  • Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton 
  • Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner 
 

Rachel StevensCreative Director 

You’ll find Rachel curled up with a good book most early evenings. So far, she’s checked The Goldfinch by Donna TarttBecoming by Michelle Obama, and Arbitrary Stupid Goal by Tamara Shopsin off her list. But, summer is still young  

  • There There by Tommy Orange 
  • Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 
  • Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng 
  • Educated by Tara Westover 
  • Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 
 

Jame BoydData & Technology Director 

As a means to deepen his knowledge, Jame reserves his learning for the weekends when he’s able to kick back in his big recliner.  

  • So, Anyway by John Cleese 
  • Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth 
  • Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker 
  • Pacific Coast, Seattle’s Own Railroad by Kurt Armbruster 
 
Wherever your summer reading takes you, we hope you’ll join us in kicking back with a few on our list. Happy reading!