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 Lilly and Her Slave by Hans Fallada

Lilly and Her Slave is a recently discovered collection of stories by the German writer Hans Fallada.

Best known for his novel Alone in Berlin, Fallada died just after war and struggled with mental illness and drug addiction throughout his life. These stories have just been discovered and translated and are brilliant. Fallada writes about complex, often destructive relationships in a detached way that I find fascinating. In the title story, Lilly sets outs to seduce a young man but loses control of the relationship and ends up in an asylum.

Lian Hingee is reading The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

I have an enormous pile of books sitting on my desk to be read at the moment. Recent releases, prize contenders that I’m supposed to be judging, books I’ve been sent for review, books I’ve been leant by friends and workmates. They’re all going to have to wait a little bit longer, because right now I’m reading The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, and I’m sorry but there’s absolutely no space left in my brain (or my schedule!) for anything else.

Described as ‘Agatha Christie meets Quantam Leap via Groundhog Day’, Stuart Turton’s debut novel is a mind-bending, genre-defying, utterly compelling page-turner about a murder (sort of) that takes places at a dilapidated country house (maybe) during the 1920s (ish?), and the poor bewildered narrator who must relive the day over and over again in different people’s bodies until he figures out whodunnit. I’ve never read anything like it, and I can’t put it down.

Lucie Dess is listening to Special by Lizzo.

Lizzo’s latest album is here! And it is EVERYTHING! After listening to ‘About Damn Time’ over and over after it blew up on Tiktok, I just knew Special would be full of bops. In true Lizzo style, she delivered. The album starts out strong and just keeps going up from there. It is a symphony of soul, R&B, hip-hop and pop with a touch of disco.

This is an album to dance and sing along to at the top of your lungs, but it is also a deeply personal album where Lizzo takes us along on her journey to find sex, self-acceptance, and hope. Make sure you hit pause with your boogying and take a moment to just sit and listen to the lyrics too.