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.

Mike Shuttleworth is reading Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs

A recent episode of the Backlisted Podcast prompted me to dig into the shelves for a copy of Fungus the Bogeyman, the Raymond Briggs graphic novel of 1977. Briggs, a graduate of the Slade School of Fine Art, takes the reader on a walk through the slimy, damp and pustulant world of the Bogey underground. Our guide is Fungus, a young bogey who wonders what all this making things go bump in the night, tapping on windows, and spreading boils is all for? The world building for the Bogey underground is lavish, while the wordplay is pungently hilarious. While the appetite for graphic novels seems insatiable, perhaps the time is overripe for a Bogey revival.

Mark Luffman is reading I Wanna Be Yours by John Cooper Clarke

It’s a long way from ‘I Don’t Wanna Be Nice’ to this, the ultimate proof that JCC’s strange journey from punk poet to National Treasure is complete. It’s a grim-from-up-north tale told in the laid-back laconic style that the once wriggly mouthed speed demon has adapted to with surprising success. There’s undoubtedly some glossing over amidst the grot - some spectacular shrugging in the face of low-functioning drugging, but I guess there are some threads that simply don’t need to be picked up when you’re being woven into the rich tapestry of the Cultural Heritage industry. For the record - it’s the records that explain why anyone would want to read this. But it’s the writing herein that makes doing so such a pleasure.

Chris Gordon is reading The Mother by Jane Caro.

I’ve been reading Jane Caro’s first novel for adults, The Mother. This book reads like a fast paced crime novel, but is also an excellent portrait of what coercive control is within relationships. The story demonstrates the insidious nature of violence towards women and the impact such violence can have on an entire family. Through the story we learn how feeble the legal system is against such violence. We are shown how it lets women down over and over again. I read this novel quickly and was left shaking. This is the type of novel to give to those that won’t read Jess Hill’s book, See What you Made Me Do or for those interested in having a heated and enlightening conversation in their book group. It is not for the faint hearted , but it is a portrait of where we are right now.