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.

Emma Clarke is reading The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez made me feel as if I had snuck into a screening of a horror movie. I could leave at any moment if I wanted to (I hadn’t even paid for a ticket!) and yet I found myself mesmerised and thrilled by the wrongness of it all. These stories unfold in a way that allows their presence to linger, their consequences coming to you after moments of contemplation. These Argentinian short stories are written with a sense of breathy urgency, gripping at you with their daytime horror and bringing to light things that many (myself included at points) wish would be left in the dark. The rules are broken, urban legends are not quite as distant or insubstantial as they may seem at first glance, much like the violence that hides under the gloss of polite society.

If I were to choose the thing that unsettled me most, it would be the murky distinction between the rational and the irrational. The betrayal by characters’ external worlds were not nearly as cutting as the dangers posed by their own minds. The supernatural plays its role and yet, I was left with the feeling that the real we internalise, whatever that may mean, held far more peril than any ghostly presence could.

Aurelia Orr is reading Ghost Lover by Lisa Taddeo

Ghost Lover is a collection of short stories that seeks to cut beneath the skin, unravelling every awful, hateful thought that women may have for each other. Throughout the collection, Taddeo explores how many women target their frustrations – at men and patriarchal beliefs and values – towards women, perpetuating misogyny and anti-feminism rather than blaming the true culprits. Her writing holds nothing back, exposing every vulgar and crass thought and feeling, bringing to light how horrible and unfair humans can be to those undeserving of it.

I devoured each story with a delicious relish, my heart hooked and bleeding from the first sentence to the last. It is a compelling and shocking read, but one that is so crucial to understanding the complex politics and mind games women play with each other.

Ghost Lover is published June 17 and is available for pre-order.