The Bookshelf

I like to read … a lot. The clever app on my mobile phone tells me, this year I’ve already read 10 books, 2.714 pages. What I like even more than reading, is being able to talk about what I’ve read with other people. To have different opinions and perspectives only makes it more enjoyable and interesting. There are so many stories you can get out of a piece of writing once it is a shared experience; discussions you would probably not have had otherwise. This is why Sylvia and I pitched the idea of a book club to Simon, our COO here at fiskaly, in the summer of 2021. We were convinced that this would be a chance to get to know our colleagues better and learn from one another. What we also wanted this project to become, is something that has an impact outside of the company and supports a charitable cause. From the beginning we had an organisation in mind that has made supporting refugees in Austria its main mission. And so it was decided; for every member of the book club, fiskaly would donate a certain amount of money to a charitable cause on a monthly basis. People becoming refugees is not new. It’s happening all over the world, all the time and it requires ongoing and long term support to make a difference in people's lives. These days, with the ongoing war in Ukraine, the reality of people being forced to flee their homes is probably more present in our minds than it has been at any given time before. Since 2002, Ute Bock has been the leading NGO when it comes to supporting refugees in Austria. They know how to provide shelter, do consulting, organise German classes and so much more. We cannot contribute to their cause with our skills or our expertise. What we can do is educate ourselves, not look away and donate to an ongoing effort to improve the lives of people who had to leave behind a lot, sometimes everything, and start over again. In April of 2022 we are reading The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller and I am already looking forward to discussing it with my fellow readers. And here’s a list of what we’ve read so far:

• Without You, There Is No Us by Suki Kim
• An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
• An Beautifully Foolish Endeavour by Hank Green
• The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
• Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller

So if this sounds like something you’d be interested in being a part of, have a look at our open positions. We are always looking for motivated people who want to work - and hopefully read - with us.