eSimplicity’s Company Reading List

If there’s one thing our team is grateful for during the pandemic, it is the extra time with family. The pandemic has created time for the development of new hobbies — cooking, baking, exercising, gardening, and more. For our team, one of these is reading!

The eSimplicity team is excited to share our company reading list. Below is a list of recommendations and descriptions from members across the team — both interns and full-time employees.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang | Graphic Novel

Recommended by Tuba Shadan, Graphic Design Intern

“[Uses] satire and colorful illustrations to successfully explore topics of cultural identity and racial stereotypes. Though that sounds heavy, it’s a funny, insightful read weaving together three different storylines to tell the tale of first-generation Americans.” — Tuba

Blurb: “A tour-de-force by New York Times bestselling graphic novelist Gene Yang, American Born Chinese tells the story of three apparently unrelated characters: Jin Wang, who moves to a new neighborhood with his family only to discover that he’s the only Chinese-American student at his new school; the powerful Monkey King, subject of one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables; and Chin-Kee, a personification of the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, who is ruining his cousin Danny’s life with his yearly visits. Their lives and stories come together with an unexpected twist in this action-packed modern fable. American Born Chinese is an amazing ride, all the way up to the astonishing climax.”

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller | Fiction

Recommended by Eric Ross, Director of Operations

“This was the best book I was ever forced to read, albeit a long time ago, and it has left an indelible mark on me. The endless circular reasoning and paradoxes (hence the namesake phrase) made for a fascinating take on our lives and condition. For me, it taught me about coming to peace with the situation you’re in and working hard to adjust it… It’s grim, but taught me to make the most of all our circumstances and work hard in whatever situation we find ourselves.” — Eric

Blurb: “Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy — it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.”

Moby Dick by Herman Melville | Fiction

Recommended by Trevor Kosloski, Technical Writing Intern

“There’s probably little to say that hasn’t been said about this book as a meditation on nature’s infinitude, etc… One of the loveliest parts of this (sometimes… less than exciting) book is Melville’s seeming love for companionship, the kind of divine bond which Ishmael & Queequeg have. As well as the bit about Ishmael being unemployable because his philosophy background makes him irritating; that’s relatable.” — Trevor

Blurb: “‘Call me Ismael’ is one of the most remembered opening phrases in the history of literature. Thus begins Moby Dick, the great masterpiece of Herman Melville, a tireless traveler who began in literature by narrating his adventures in the South Seas. The epic duel between the white whale and Captain Ahab symbolizes the eternal struggle between good and evil and is the most accomplished example of something many other American authors have pursued since then: the Great American Novel.”

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker | Fiction

Recommended by Shruti Kumar, Technical Writing Intern

“A page-turner, SO beautifully written. The writer is incredibly talented — it’s like watching a movie!” — Shruti

Blurb: “When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be…until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the reader’s belief in the power of love to move mountains.”

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak | Historical Fiction

Recommended by Christina Karayianis, Finance/Operations Intern

“A novel that I constantly find myself reaching back on the shelf to read… Filled with love, death, thrills, and heartbreak.” — Christina

Blurb: “When Death has a story to tell, you listen.

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.”

The Giver by Lois Lowry | Science Fiction

Recommended by Annie Hoang, Business Development/Engineering Intern

“I love the whole dystopia idea… The book showed how the world would and might be like if everything was ‘perfect’ and everything was controlled.” — Annie

Blurb: “The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community.”

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien | Fantasy

Recommended by Jamie Newberry, Senior Program Director

“I did not read much as a young child… One day I picked it up about middle school age and somehow the maps and drawings captured my interest… Then I would bike to my local library and found all the other LOTR books and read them. The LOTR series turned me into a reader and lover of books and a good story. I have read them many times for my personal enjoyment and have read the series to each of my kids as they were growing up.” — Jamie

Blurb: “Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.”

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett | Fiction

Recommended by Seth Ackerman, Business Analyst

Blurb: “The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known . . . of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect — a man divided in his soul . . . of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame . . . and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state and brother against brother.”

All book blurbs, cover images, and ratings have been retrieved from the Barnes and Noble website.