From a book about Australia’s energy future to a thrilling Star Wars adventure, here are the best books we read in February 2022!
Olivia Fricot – Senior Content Producer
The Gifts That Bind Us by Caroline O’Donoghue
Why I loved it: Caroline O’Donoghue is fast becoming an auto-read author for me, and books like The Gifts That Bind Us are why. The second entry in the Irish author’s young adult Gifts trilogy is sinister, charming and always exciting, doing absolutely everything that the second book in a trilogy should do. It continues the momentum of the first while catapulting the beloved gang into some witchy new mischief, handling both its supernatural and human elements with so much heart. Maeve, Roe, Fiona and Lily, now souped up with individual mystical gifts bestowed upon them from the ritual that rescued Lily, must figure out how to use them while contending with the rise of the menacing Children of Brigid. And since it ends on one hell of a cliffhanger, I absolutely need to read the third book ASAP. Love love love this series.
Buy it here
Nicholas Wasiliev – Senior Content Producer
Mortals by Ross Menzies and Rachel Menzies
Why I loved it: This is a book that I think everyone should read at least once in their lives. Put together by the father-daughter team of Ross and Rachel Menzies, this book dives headfirst into a topic most of us are terrified of: how our collective fear of death shapes our society. While occasionally a very morbid topic, both authors infuse this book with a real sense of cold, honest academic analysis. Above that all, however, emerges a powerful message that everyone can learn from: that the sooner you come to terms with your inevitable death, the sooner you start to live a better life.
Buy it here
Ben Hunter – Fiction Category Manager
The Furies by Mandy Beaumont
Why I loved it: The Furies is violent, uncomfortable, lyrical and beautiful all at once. Set against a drought-stricken outback Queensland, and punctuated with sharp and sensorial language, it tells the story of a woman named Cynthia who suffers the unspeakable and dares to overcome. This book screams against complacency, I dare you to read it.
Buy it here
Robert O’Hearn – Academic & Professional Category Manager
The Big Switch by Saul Griffith
Why I loved it: Saul Griffith is an expat Australian engineer and entrepreneur who has returned from the US to find our country in a unique situation. We have the right ingredients required to build the first totally electric state. He proposes replacing all our fossil fuels with renewables in one bold swoop. By turning everything electric, we will solve our climate problems, have cheaper energy and be more productive! Griffith is an enthusiastic and optimistic evangelist, but backs that up with science that convinces. He even suggests ways to resolve our policy stalemates. With The Big Switch, Saul has turned on the light, showing up an amazing opportunity for Australia, and all humanity. He convinced me.
Buy it here
Shanulisa Prasad – Lifestyle Category Manager
The Torrent by Dinuka McKenzie
Why I loved it: I have been reading a LOT of excellent crime novels this month, but The Torrent really stood out to me as being the perfect kind of procedural, with a wholly original and engaging lead character and two apparently unlinked crimes that are resolved elegantly. Themes of work/life balance, mother guilt and navigating the blokey, casually racist police as a pregnant, mixed race detective are woven throughout in such a realistic and engaging way. Bring on the second book in the series!
Buy it here
Hannah Armstrong – Assistant Fiction Category Manager
Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz
Why I loved it: Before You Knew My Name is an absolutely incredible book. Powerful, heart-wrenching and gripping from the first to the last page, it’s hard to believe this is Jacqueline Bublitz’s debut novel. I’m an avid reader and watcher of true crime, but our cultural obsession with murder mysteries and catching the ‘bad guy’ often makes me uneasy – it can sometimes be too easy to lose sight of the victims of these crimes. This book tells the story of Alice Lee, an 18-year-old girl who travels to New York city to start a new life, and the story of Ruby Jones, the woman who discovers Alice’s body on a rainy morning next to the Hudson River. In everything that follows, these women are at the centre of it. At times heavy and devastating, Before You Knew My Name is equally beautiful, enlightening and necessary. This book is something special.
Buy it here
Eden Samuel – Assistant Kids & YA Category Manager
Star Wars: Lost Stars by Claudia Gray
Why I loved it: Star Wars has taken over my entire life and so I had to dive into the canon books. Being YA obsessed, where better to start than with Lost Stars, a novel that can best be described as Romeo and Juliet meets Star Wars!? Set during the reign of the Galactic Empire, we follow Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree who live on the Outer Rim planet of Jelucan and become childhood friends, bonding over their love for flying. But, after enrolling at the Imperial Academy, the reality of the war pulls them in different directions and threatens to tear them apart. Will true love prevail?! I guess you’ll have to read it to find out. And while you do, I’ll just be here, patiently waiting for an adaptation to be announced (or not so patiently, we need it now).
Buy it here
Cassandra Sharp – Assistant Non-Fiction Category Manager
On Reckoning by Amy Remeikis
Why I loved it: As this concerns violence against women, rape and sexual assault, I’d offer a content warning to survivors and potential readers. This is a tiny, powerful book, in which Remeikis reviews the Morrison government’s woefully inadequate responses to Brittany Higgins’ allegations, as both a journalist and a survivor of assault. She writes with a stark clarity against the spin of the government, captured in quotes throughout. This is compounded by the government (and society) avoiding the elephant in the Parliament – that there are serious issues with how we treat survivors of domestic violence, rape and assault. Remeikis also highlights the less publicised impacts of this on marginalised women. She calls this wearing the faces of others – to empathise with women, they must be considered someone’s daughter or someone’s wife to be worth protecting. I also appreciate that Remeikis encourages survivors to do what they feel is right, rather than feel they must act in a certain way.
Buy it here
Jessica Paul – Supplier Performance Manager
Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow
Why I loved it: Tara M. Stringfellow’s debut novel is profound, mesmerising and a seriously tough read. This one should be handled with care. It follows three generations of Black women over 70 years. The timeline weaves backwards and forwards, following the three women as their voices layer together to tell a heartbreaking story of poverty, violence, racism and – ultimately – resilience. The characters are so vivid that the interweaving timeline actually adds to the story rather than detracts (always a sign of a talented writer). It’s a dark tale, a mixture of fact and fiction which deals with the civil rights movement, police brutality, domestic violence, faith and forgiveness. It was too much to bear and yet I couldn’t put it down.
Buy it here
Karen Robinson – Territory Relationship Manager
The Mother by Jane Caro
Why I loved it: The Mother is a page-turning thriller that manages to combine a great read with an incredibly important message. When Miriam’s daughter Ally married the love of her life all appears to have fallen into place. Soon small signs of trouble appear, but Miriam is reassured by Ally’s denials and tries to believe that she is overreacting or imagining things. Soon it becomes clear that Miriam’s worst fears are true and the book explores the impact of domestic violence on both the victim and their family, and explores the failures and limitations of the justice system when dealing with coercive control. Caro doesn’t sacrifice a great story for her message and that is what makes the book so impactful. It’s not often you can recommend a book for both the vitality of its message and the strength of its story. Frankly, everyone should read this book.
Buy it here
What’s the best book you read in February 2022?
Tell us below in the comments!
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