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.

Fiona Hardy is reading The Silent Woman by Janet Malcolm

Thanks to the influence of peer pressure, I felt compelled by my co-worker Bronte’s enthusiasm for this book so picked up my own copy – and gosh, I’m glad I did. After fifteen crime books in a row, it’s good to be reading something completely different in Malcolm’s story of the stories about Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. Malcolm is looking at Plath’s biographies more than the woman herself as depending on whose book you are reading, Plath or Hughes are each victims or monsters. I’m still not sure what the truth is and I’m not sure that Malcolm will figure it out, but damned if I don’t enjoy every word she’s writing anyway. It’s searingly critical of gossip while still feeding the delicious need for snide comments, and I wish it wouldn’t end.

Emily Gale is reading One Life: My Mother’s Story by Kate Grenville

Memoir is a relatively rare choice for me but I feel as deeply engrossed in this as I would in a novel. Although it has been pieced together using ‘fragments’ of her mother’s writing, there is nothing fragmented about the way this story of a life unfolds.

Kate Grenville’s writing maintains a perfect tone - it is elegant, quietly but powerfully emotional, carefully restrained. The level of historical detail is just enough to take you there (I’m in 1933 at the moment) without weighing you down. Nance - Kate’s mother - is a wonderful central character and one I feel very warmly towards. The whole family is fascinating, especially Nance’s frustrated, cold mother who comes across as a cruel figure in Nance’s younger life.

This personal story is a real treat.

Bronte Coates is reading the Ms. Marvel comics

Kamala Khan is an Islamic Pakistani American high school student who writes superhero fan fiction, until a bizarre incident turns her into an actual superhero – AKA Ms. Marvel. The story, which debuted last year, has amassed a huge following and just earned several nominations for Eisner Awards. That the writer of these comics, G. Willow Wilson, is so smart and interesting is an added bonus. (You can find a great interview with her here.)

I was raving about these comics to a friend who said, ‘It’s as if someone sat down and thought, “What would be the perfect comic for Bronte…” and then created this.’ And, yep, that basically sums up how I feel about this project (probably along with several thousand other superhero female fans). I’ve always loved superhero narratives but before now, I don’t think I’ve been able to identify so closely with a particular superhero. I felt for them deeply and connected with them on some level but Kamala is the first super hero that I get. She’s brash and awkward with a sense of humour about her situation; in one adventure she teams up with Wolverine and it’s so delightful that I’m smiling just remembering it.

In case you’re interested, here are some other comics by smart, interesting women that I’m looking forward to getting my hands on this year:

• Nimona by Noelle Stevenson, who is also known as Gingerhaze!: Described as a ‘brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic’ Stevenson also received a bunch of Eisner nominations this year. She’s also a co-writer of Lumberjanes which is terrific.
• Honor Girl: A Graphic Memoir by Maggie Thrash: Our online children’s specialist Emily Gale listed this book as a young adult book to look out for in 2015 and it sounds excellent. Set in a girl’s summer camp for girls, this memoir is about the author’s feelings for a female counselor.
• Step Aside, Pops by Kate Beaton: Kate Beaton is my favourite comic artist of all time and I’m thrilled she has a second anthology due for release this year. This year also sees her first picture book release: The Princess and the Pony (woooo).

Nina Kenwood is listening the Gilmore Guys podcast

So my reading has been derailed this week by my new obsession: the Gilmore Guys podcast. As they say on their iTunes page: “Do you awaken in a cold sweat every night, fearing that two men will never start a podcast on Gilmore Girls?” Yes, yes I do. Or, rather, I did.

The podcast is very simple – two guys (one a big Gilmore Girls fan, the other watching it for the first time) watch an episode of the show, and then talk about it. One TV episode is discussed per podcast episode. I am a die-hard Gilmore Girls fan, so I can’t really speak to whether or not this is a podcast for non-Gillys. I suspect maybe not. But it’s perfect for someone like me, who has a high tolerance for pop-culture discussions and a love of re-watching her favourite old shows.

The podcast is as funny, sweet and silly as Gilmore Girls was, with lots of in-jokes that build up along the way and very funny guests, including some well-known comedians. My only complaint is that it’s sucking up so much of my time, as I am now re-watching Gilmore Girls in tandem with the podcast (and also, I fundamentally disagree with their thoughts on Jess and Dean).

I recommend you start the podcast somewhere late in their discussions of the first season as they take a little while to find their podcasting rhythm, but when they do, it’s magic (yes, this is a shout out to Jess’s close-up magic).