Some of our February best books and brand new releases include the history and repression of countries, the injustices within society, the challenges of motherhood, in addition to the science of food. Happy reading!

📖 Books read in February: 12

• 📚 Red Memory: Living, Remembering and Forgetting China’s Cultural Revolution by Tania Branigan (2023). The Guardian’s former China correspondent assembles a cast of eye-witnesses to tell a story now being suppressed once more. In this study of the legacy of Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution, we see China’s leaders are brazen in enforcing forgetfulness.
• 📚 Unlawful Killings: Life, Love and Murder: Trials at the Old Bailey by Her Honour Wendy Joseph, QC (2022). Peeling apart six dramatic murder and manslaughter cases, Unlawful Killings removes this distinction between ‘them’ and ‘us’. As one of just a few judges licensed to try murder cases at the Old Bailey, the author has presided over many of the high-profile cases that all too often grab our attention in dramatic media headlines – for every unlawful death tells a story.
• 📚 Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya H (2023). A queer hijabi Muslim immigrant survives her coming-of-age by drawing strength and hope from stories in the Quran. This daring and radically hopeful memoir shows that it’s possible to have faith and be part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
• 📚 Don’t Forget to Scream: Unspoken Truths About Motherhood by Marianne Levy (2022). This remarkable memoir is threaded with humour and tenderness, and yet exposes the often crushing loneliness and unfairness of motherhood. 
• 📚 Food for Life: The New Science of Eating Well, by Tim Spector (2022). The respected scientist and author of Spoon Fed delivers an eye-opening account of the frauds and fallacies of the food and diet industries. In Food for Life he draws on over a decade of cutting-edge scientific research. Along with his own personal insights, Professor Spector deliver a new and comprehensive approach to what we should all know about food today.
• 📚 Until We Are Free: My Fight for Human Rights in Iran by Shirin Ebadi (2016). In this powerful book, Dr Shirin Ebadi, Iranian human rights lawyer and activist, tells of her fight for reform inside Iran. She speaks of the devastating backlash she faced after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. From habitual encounters with vigilantes, to being imprisoned and her family harassed. Dr Ebadi shows incredible strength in facing down an unjust system.

Tell us what your favourite February bestsellers were!

Keep an eye out for season 3 of the How To Be…Books Podcast as more amazing guests are due. In the meantime, remember to check out topics we’ve covered above from identity with University of East Anglia Professor and Shame on Me author Tessa McWatt to political responsibility with Fear of Black Consciousness author Professor Lewis R. Gordon.

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