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.

Tye Cattanach is reading The End of the World Is Bigger than Love by Davina Bell

Davina Bell has delivered a beautifully imagined, magical new fairy tale that exists in the same realm of sophisticated magical realism that brings to mind the extraordinary skill of writers who excel in the genre, the likes of Angela Carter, Sonya Hartnett and Leanne Hall. The End of the World Is Bigger than Love almost defies description. It is one of those rare books that I find myself wondering how to describe to a customer, except to gush and babble incoherently about its magnificence and my own sense of wonder that a book like this can exist in the world. I, for one, am so very glad it does. We need books like this. We need writers like Bell. Now, more than ever. The End of the World Is Bigger than Love is by far my favourite book of 2020.

Chris Gordon is reading The Spill by Imbi Neeme

Imbi Neeme’s debut novel is a portrait of two sisters and how they have dealt with their history, their losses and their hopes. Spread over decades of pain, both suffer a post-traumatic stress that manifests in unique ways. This is an easy read, delightful even as the mounting evidence of shared grief is formed. I read the novel quickly and throughout, considering how we all hide secrets and mistakes, and how much it matters to try to be just a little kinder each day. The Spill is well-formed, courageous and very enjoyable – and perfect for those that love the domestic dramas of Moriarty or Munro.

Jeremy George is reading The Commons by Sean Bonney

This week I have been re-reading the late English poet Sean Bonney’s collection The Commons. Originally sub-titled ‘Narrative/ Diagram of the Class Struggle’, these furious poems mix, meld and streamline voices from the Paris Commune, the October Revolution and contemporary struggles to a rallying cry for change. Bonney’s tragic early passing is felt acutely this week. During a time when we feel the absolute necessity of solidarity more than ever, The Commons offers a guiding voice.

Fiona Hardy is reading Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

I have just finished reading Pippi Longstocking to my eight-year-old, and it was an absolute treat! I think we all harbour the desire to do whatever the heck we want, tell our teachers we don’t want to go to school, and make up wild lies about everything at all times. Pippi is strong-willed, literally strong enough to lift a horse, and absolutely her own person. For Tommy and Annika, her two much more traditionally normal neighbours, Pippi is an entertaining revelation who disrupts posh tea parties and turns a circus trip into mayhem. For readers, she is somebody who will make you laugh, keep you in suspense, and even give you a shiver of scary delight when she invites her neighbours to see the ghosts in her attic.

I had such a blast reading this with my kid that I gave the book a little hug when it was over. This book is 75 years old, but feels fresh as anything written today, and I can’t wait to read it again next year.