(JP/Hans David Tampubolon)

Italian environment researcher Valentina Baravelli from the University of Bologna spends most of her days fighting for the environment, particularly in the waste management sector.

Recently, Valentina visited Jakarta to share her knowledge on how the European Union had managed waste better in the last 20 years and on how Indonesia could do the same, noting that it indeed had the advantage of being a tropical country.

She has also been actively involved in the environmental movement in Bali, an island where she has been living for the last six months, to educate both locals and tourists on how to improve waste management and gain an economic advantage from doing so.

During her free time, when she is not dealing with waste or the environment, she loves to read, especially romantic fiction.

In the last few years, she has developed an interest in American writers.

“I like contemporary American writers like Jonathan Franzen. The last book I read was Purity by him,” she said.

“I only started reading American literature a few years ago. Before that, I read many things including old books from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. I like different things to read,” she added.

— JP/Hans David Tampubolon

--------------

Alice In Wonderland
by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson a.k.a Lewis Carroll

This is a book that I read when I was a kid. I still love it now. I think it is important for more people to read this book because it helps people to think creatively.

--------------

He Knew He Was Right: The Life Of James Lovelock
by John Gribbin and Mary Gribbin

This book is about the environment and it talks about the history of the Gaia theory. I like it because it relates to my field of work as an environmentalist. I can relate to it because what is written in it is about a guy who is fighting for the environment, and he receives these negative responses from the people around him. Eventually, he proves to everyone that he is right. I face the same situation and I like to fight for what I believe until the end.

-------------

Oceano Mare (Ocean Sea)
by Alessandro Baricco

This book comes from my home country of Italy. It is a romance and in addition, I have this big love for the sea. That is why I like reading it so much.