Hannah's top reads of 2023

Explore the team’s favourite books of 2023! Choosing three from an entire year is a challenge and more recent reads tend to obscure what you read in February. Still, there are those that stay with you through the months. Why three? Because it's more than one but less than a list...

Behold Hannah's top reads of the year!

The Parenthood Dilemma by Gina Rushton: Becoming a parent - it’s one of the biggest (and inherently permanent) life changes anyone can undertake. So, it only feels right to be more informed about the risks, impacts and experiences of others (in vastly varying healthcare systems). With chapters of reproductive rights, labour (emotional and work life), climate crisis, and fertility it covers so much more than just ‘do you want a baby?’ Rushton brings evidential background to what is so often considered an emotional and purely individual choice.

Trumpet by Jackie Kay: In essence it’s about the presence of absence. About how the central character (Joss), who has almost no direct narrative, was beheld, besmirched, and beloved by the other grieving narrators. A rightful modern classic (and it would make a great film).

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich: Right up my street. Bookshop, ghost, righteous indigenous indignation, and a bisexual protagonist in a straight perceived relationship. The Birchbark House is one of my all-time favourite children’s books and it was great to finally read Erdrich’s contemporary fiction. There’s also a handy list of all the books mentioned throughout, a ready made reading list!

Watch out for the rest of the team favourites, coming in the next few days on the website!