Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.

Mark Rubbo is reading King & Godfree: The Corner Grocer by Michael Harden and The Passion of Private White by Don Watson

I’ve been reading King & Godfree: The Corner Grocer by Michael Harden; anyone who has spent any time around Carlton will (or should) have a deep love for this Melbourne institution. As a hip (or so I thought) 23 year old, shopping at King & Godfree was like stepping into Italy; this book has brought back so many memories. Michael Harden’s book is not only a gorgeous production and collection of recipes, it’s also a wonderful social history of Melbourne, and Carlton in particular. This country owes such a debt to these young Italian trailblazers. If not for them we’d be getting our coffee at a Starbucks!

I’ve also just started reading The Passion of Private White by Don Watson. It's about the anthropologist and Vietnam veteran Neville White, who Don first met when they were both students at Latrobe University. White's Vietnam experience made him different, he became haunted by demons. As an anthropologist he worked in Arnhem Land amongst the Yolgnu people. So far it’s a wild ride but I’m well and truly on board and can’t wait to see where I’m taken!

Julia Jackson is reading Cain's Jawbone by Ernest Powys Mathers

Throughout the year I've been working on Cain's Jawbone.

This book is the ultimate gift for crossword puzzlers and mystery solvers! Cain's Jawbone is a fiendishly hard literary puzzle. I've spent months working on it with a great friend. Slowly but surely we've identified the narrators and worked out the murderers and their victims! It's been incredibly hard but very satisfying to complete!