Christmas: What better time than this for a little bookish mischief?

by Rosie Audino, expert in philosophy and science and health communication

Christmas is almost here, and as every year, we'll be expected to be our best selves; we hope to at least find ourselves on the sofa, under a warm blanket, with a ginseng herbal tea to help digest the Christmas eel. And what could be better, in this perfect scenario, than a good book?

The following is a list of books we enjoyed reading: novels, essays, and graphic novels. They are diverse but united by a common thread. At Geen, we often discuss gender health, and what better way to understand it than through reading? Awareness on this topic is still low, even among those working in healthcare. A study involving 430 medical students showed that most were not adequately familiar with the concept of gender medicine: specifically, only 30% of male students were aware of gender health, compared to 58% of female students.

With Geen, we aim to help bridge this knowledge gap and address its consequences on people's health.

But back to our cozy scene: armchair, blanket, herbal tea... and books, right? You've probably already heard of The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir, A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf or Gender Trouble by Judith Butler, all fundamental texts in the history of feminist thought. Below, you'll find a list of 10 books (though there are many more worth reading) that could be an excellent starting point for engaging with these topics.

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1. Things Explained Well. Matters of a Certain Kind - by the editorial staff of Il Post, in collaboration with Iperborea

The books by Il Post in collaboration with Iperborea are little gems: they combine Il Post's clear, informative style with Iperborea's impeccable design. This volume is a valuable guide for navigating identities, languages, and gender topics.

2. Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men - Caroline Criado Perez

This is a book you absolutely must read if you truly want to understand what the "gender gap" means: in health, work, transport, and even in how smartphones are designed. After reading it, you'll see the world through different eyes. Seriously, give it as a gift to all your friends, boyfriends, brothers – everyone!

3. The future is already here. What artificial intelligence can really do - Barbara Gallavotti

It's true that it doesn't directly address the gender gap, but AI is at the heart of the Geen project, and this book by the brilliant science communicator Barbara Gallavotti explains the technology in a simple, concrete way, without alarmism. It's enlightening even for those who want nothing to do with AI.

And now for fiction:

I can already picture you wrapped in your plaid blanket, with grandma's wool socks, a steaming cup of herbal tea, and that smell of cinnamon cookies filling the kitchen… while you try (in vain) to hit the opening high note of All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey.

(Yes, I'm exaggerating a bit. But it's almost Christmas: let me have my fun.)

4. The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank

Brilliant and tender stories that follow a protagonist grappling with growth, love, identity, and small everyday mishaps. Perfect to read in a single evening.

5. Future Sex – Emily Witt

A candid and curious report on the future of sexuality: technology, desires, freedom, and new forms of relationships. Honest, intelligent, and full of insights.

6. The Mental Load: A Feminist Comic - Emma (foreword by Michela Murgia)

A sharp and ironic graphic novel that dismantles the mental load and a thousand domestic injustices with very short vignettes that always hit the mark.

7. Manual for Revolutionary Girls: Why Feminism Makes Us Happy - Giulia Blasi

A fresh, direct, and motivating guide: perfect for those who want to approach feminism without rigidity, starting from themselves and their daily lives.

8. Words of Another Kind: How Women Writers Changed the World - Vera Gheno 

A journey into women's writing and the transformative power of words, through authors who have changed culture, stories, and imaginations.

9. Giving Life - Michela Murgia

It's Michela Murgia. And that alone would be enough. An intense and illuminating book on the meaning of care and motherhood in all its forms.

10. Butter - Asako Yuzuki 

A magnetic novel that dismantles sexism and prejudices about the female body through the investigation of a woman transformed by the media into a monster.

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