Top Shelf With Hannah Ferguson

BOOKS BY LAURA BRADING

Last year, Diana Reid wrote a piece for PRIMER on the rise of the new ‘Lit Girls’ – young, activist women whose memoirs and books all published around the same time. “Most of the books are part-memoir, part-manifesto for a new wave of feminism that has arisen out of the crucible of the #MeToo movement,” wrote Reid.

Hannah Ferguson, CEO of social media juggernaut Cheek Media Co, was one of these women. Her debut book Bite Back published in September and showcases many of the same daring feminist opinions, progressive perspectives and whip-smart humour that her digital platform is celebrated for. We caught up with Hannah to chat all things books…

A book you read in a single sitting.

Love and Virtue by Diana Reid. I lay down on my couch on Boxing Day 2021 with Reid’s debut and didn’t get up again until it was over. This is one of the best Australian novels I’ve ever read and really blew open a context that many of us experienced at university but didn’t have the ability to articulate or criticise with such clarity.

A book you hated but everyone else loved.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. I felt this was one of the best plotlines I’d ever come across, but was executed quite un-emotionally. It felt like a missed opportunity to me and I was disappointed. I still demolished it in a single sitting, though, so I know I’m being exceptionally harsh.

Hannah Ferguson's debut was described by Grace Tame as a "whip-smart gift to the stale national media landscape".

A book that changed your perspective.

Nothing Bad Ever Happens Here by Heather Rose. This wasn’t my usual read, and it challenged my perspective on some spiritual practices and belief systems I usually would roll my eyes at. This memoir was actually the first book I’d read of Rose’s and I just adored it, the whole experience felt like a swim in the ocean. It was refreshing and emotional and challenging and beautiful.

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