Riveting reads

From insightful non-fiction to razor-sharp novels, these books will challenge your thinking.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT MONEY by Otegha Uwagba

Speaker, brand consultant, and founder of Londonbased platform Women Who, Otegha Uwagba unpicks the secrecy surrounding money – who has it, how they got it, and how it shapes our lives – in this boldly honest book. We Need to Talk About Money explores toxic workplaces and misogynist men, class and privilege, and racism and beauty, uncovering startling truths along the way about our complex financial relationships.

HOW TO DO THE WORK by Nicole LePera

As a clinical psychologist, Dr Nicole LePera was frustrated by the limitations of traditional psychotherapy. Her bid to find more for herself and her patients set her on a journey to develop a united philosophy of mental, physical, and spiritual health. Le Pera’s New York Times bestseller How to Do the Work is her manifesto for self-healing and an essential guide to creating a more vibrant, authentic, and joyful life.

LUSTER by Raven Leilani

In this razor-sharp, tender, and funny debut, Raven Leilani explores what it means to be young in a shifting landscape of sexual and racial politics. Luster’s central character, Edie, is stuck in a dead-end job in an all-white office, bouncing from one hook up to the next, when she meets Eric, a white middleaged archivist with a suburban family and ‘sort of’ open marriage. With nowhere left to go, Edie falls head-first into Eric’s home and family.

THE MOTHER WOUND by Amani Haydar

The brutal murder of her mother in a devastating act of domestic violence at the hands of her father shaped Amani Haydar’s perception of the kind of mother she wanted to be. A lawyer by trade, she examines the inadequacies of the justice system to combat emotional abuse and control. In this story of female resilience and the role of motherhood, Haydar uses her own strength to help other survivors find their voices.

WHO GETS TO BE SMART by Bri Lee

Award-winning author of legal memoir Eggshell Skull, Bri Lee, offers readers a hardhitting interrogation of knowledge, power, and privilege in her latest book Who Gets to Be Smart. After a 2018 trip to Oxford to visit her Rhodes scholar friend Damian, Lee finds herself questioning her belief in academia and a system she previously revered. Deep diving into her own presumptions, her forensic examination calls institutional prejudice to account and uncovers the inequalities of the Australian education system.