Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films and TV shows we’re watching, and the music we’re listening to.

Lian Hingee is reading We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson is one of those writers that everyone tells you that you must read. A master of American Gothic, she was reclusive, agoraphobic and obsessed with witchcraft. She’s probably best known for her short stories (especially ‘The Lottery’), but her slim novella We Have Always Lived In The Castle has one of the best first paragraphs I’ve read, so that’s where I’ve started.

Merricat lives in the decaying elegance of Blackwood House with her ailing Uncle Julian, and her lovely older sister Constance. The ramshackle grounds are an oasis amongst a sea of hostile locals who are positive that Constance is responsible for the murder – courtesy of an arsenic laced sugar bowl – of the almost the entire extended Blackwood family. When a distant cousin appears on the doorstep full of smooth-talking promises and a hidden agenda, Merricat must act to protect the world she knows. We Have Always Lived In The Castle is an unsettling, gorgeously written, slow-paced novel full of mounting tension.

Jan Lockwood is reading Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty (available 18 September)

She’s back! That’s what it says on the cover of my early copy of Nine Perfect Strangers – Liane Moriarty’s upcoming release. And yes she is! This novel is everything I’ve come to expect from Moriarty in terms of well considered and believable characters, a genuine exposition of topical issues, some humour, poignancy without over-sentimentality and, overall, extremely satisfying. I am recommending it to everyone I know who’s enjoyed her previous books. The titular ‘strangers’ are attending a wellness retreat with some unconventional treatment methods, and from here, the story unfolds.

Bronte Coates is reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Min Jin Lee’s second novel has been on my radar for quite a while. Everyone raved about it when it was released last year (it was even voted by our staff as one of the best fiction reads of 2017) but I’ve only just carved out the time to read it for myself. This is a wonderfully immersive work of historical fiction that spans multiple perspectives from WWI through to 1989. At the heart of the story is Sunji, a pregnant Korean teenager who accepts an offer of marriage from a Christian pastor and travels to Japan with him. The novel expands outwards from there, following the various people who come into the world of Sunji’s family. I know almost nothing about the history and relationship between Japan and Korea and it was both gripping and sobering to spend time in this particular nook of history.

My colleague Leanne recently featured this book on her list of recommendations for fans of Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians trilogy. While Pachinko is very different in tone – it’s not a romantic comedy – it IS equally addictive and another sprawling story of complex identities, familial pressures and cultural clashes.

Mike Shuttleworth is watching Call My Agent!

The tale of an actors’ agency struggling for survival after the sudden death of the founder and leader, Call My Agent! mixes drama and laughter over six sparkling episodes. A subplot about an ingénue from Nice who has come to Paris to make her career (and who also carries a delicate secret) adds to the delicate instability of the whole confection. Each episode is studded with some of the biggest names in French cinema, and while these highly strung actors bring a suitcase full of problems, the agents have plenty of baggage of their own. The personal and the professional are cleverly entwined in a deliciously funny, and occasionally raunchy all-French affair.