Vouge Australië heeft een artikel geschreven over de boeken die Emma aanraad met haar boekclub ‘Our Shared Shelf’.

A passionate reader who leaves books in public spaces and has her own online book club, Our Shared Shelf, Emma Watson talks us through some of her favourite tomes.
Conscious Business by Fred Kofman
I’ve started reading Conscious Business, which is about being mindful in your professional life. Kofman writes about responding to challenges in a way that honours your own values and builds mutually respectful relationships. I think this is so important, both for building feminist movements and for communicating with integrity.

The Mother of All Questions by Rebecca Solnit
A brilliant follow up to Men explain things to me. Her essay on the film Giant and Elizabeth Taylor was one of my favourites. I also love referring people to her essay when I am asked in the wake of the me too movement whether there can’t be any jokes or fun anymore. She also slays the myth that Feminists don’t have a sense of humour. She’s funny as hell.

Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari
Yuval Noah Harari has a vision for the future in which humans have mastered most of our environment, from nature to our own biology. I don’t think it’ll be a light read! But I want to try and understand the potential consequences of our scientific advances. For example, what will our world be like if artificial intelligence becomes self-determining?

Ain’t I A Woman by Bell Hooks
I’ll always return to Ain’t I a Woman by Bell Hooks, an iconic author featured at Our Shared Shelf. She wrote this book in 1981, but her commentary about the impact of racism and sexism on black women is still so fresh and relevant today. Hooks writes about how the early women’s liberation movement excluded and barred black women activists. The book reminds me that in order to fight for true equality for all women, we must take into account the movement’s past injustices.

The Five Minute Journal by Alex Ikonn and UJ Ramdas
I love the idea of starting my day by listing three things I’m grateful for. And going to bed thinking about the three amazing things that happened in the day. I’m a big believer in the transformative practice of gratitude. And right now I’m feeling thankful for The Five Minute Journal.

Stitched Up: The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion by Tansy Hoskins
Tansy Hoskins understands fashion’s powerful allure and asserts that it is capitalism’s “favourite child”. Her book begins with the unflinching description of the horrific fire that trapped and killed 1,133 garment workers and injured 2,500 more in Bangladesh. Aside from the appalling conditions, she details the disastrous environmental and social costs of fashion. By the end of the book, she makes a strong case for nothing less than a revolution.

Rumi, Bridge to the Soul translated by Coleman Barks
One of my favourite lines from a Rumi poem is: The minute I heard my first love story, I began looking for you. That’s when I fell in love with Rumi. His words, even in grief, are so lushly drawn, full of knowing. For anyone with a heartbeat, these newly translated poems commemorating Rumi’s 800th birthday, will make you swoon.

Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
For a trans person, telling their story, standing in their truth is a revolutionary act. Janet Mock shares all that society has told her to keep quiet in service of her truthand to help empower others. She says that it’s through her personal decision to bevisible, that she finally sees herself. And because she tells her riveting story with such clarity, wit and courage, we not only see her in all her humanity, we are moved to see the world differently. I am really looking forward to reading more of this one.