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.

Chris Gordon is reading Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff

I’ve been reading Michael Wolff’s explosive new book. It’s been slow going for me, despite the pace of the writing, because I keep having to look up the various people I come across. This book perfectly illustrates how completely bonkers Trump, and his nearest and dearest, are in relation to their own perceptions and understanding. Certainly it’s very difficult to believe everything in this account, but perhaps that is a sign of my own naivety and optimism.

Should I have read this as soon as it came out? Perhaps but my heart was truly broken for so long after the election that I simply did not have the heart or stamina to read how idiotic the Trump administration is.

Do not read this book to be comforted or entertained – read this book to remain frightened. Read this book to understand how so many people have been let down by global politics. Read this book to remain determined to make change.

Ellen Cregan is reading Little Gods by Jenny Ackland

I’ve just started reading this forthcoming novel from Jenny Ackland (available 21 March). This book has had glowing early reviews from great Australian writers such as Craig Silvey and Sofie Laguna, and only a few chapters in, I can certainly see why. This story deals in the unravelling of generational mysteries – its protagonist, 12-year-old Olive, takes it upon herself to tug at the threads of her large and slightly unusual family’s secrets, and uncovers some things that are dark and complicated.

Little Gods has echoes of books like Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet, or even Helen Garner’s The Children’s Book. None of the characters are particularly charming or likeable, but that makes the novel all the more intriguing and readable. This is a book to look forward to.

Bronte Coates is reading Apple and Knife by Intan Paramaditha (translated by Stephen J Epstein)

Apple and Knife is the first book from Sydney-based Indonesian writer Intan Paramaditha to be published in English. It’s an inventive, subversive and thrilling work of feminist horror fiction. Paramaditha brings elements of myth and fairy tales to contemporary Indonesian life. The stories are full of vivid, frequently unsettling, images that linger; the supernatural lurks within corporate boardrooms. With these stories, Paramaditha interrogates and challenges the concept of the female body in today’s world, and you can read a rave review over on Mekong Review that contextualises her efforts within Indonesian culture. Apple and Knife is sure to appeal to fans of Carmen Maria Machado’s ferocious collection, Her Body and Other Parties.