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.

Mark Rubbo has been immersed in French history

Over summer I read Paris Echo by Sebastian Faulks and watched the DVD series of Un Villages Francais. Both crossover to some extent. Faulks’s novel is set in contemporary Paris where the French treatment of Algerians during their fight for independence and their complicity in the round up of French Jews during World War II haunts the present. Un Village Francais follows German occupation of a French village during the war and how the people respond to that occupation, often aiding the Germans, unwittingly and wittingly, in their war effort and particularly the persecution of the Jews. Both book and DVD are absolutely compelling.

Tracy Hwang is reading Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Everything about this book is wonderful. Meyer’s writing is so engaging – I was gripped from the very first page, until the very last – yet despite the fast pace, she has made room for her characters to flourish and they really fly off the page. The story takes place in a society where people are officially labelled as either a ‘superhero’ or a ‘villain’, but Meyer shows her characters acting in grey areas. Renegades is told from dual perspectives, and it’s done fantastically, especially for the story that Meyer is telling. I loved the insight the changing POVs gave me and by the end of the novel I had become very much attached to the characters. Don’t sleep on this one – you will regret it if you do.

Ed note: Tracy is a former member of our Readings Teen Advisory Board.

Leanne Hall is reading Jade City by Fonda Lee

I was long overdue for a nice chunky fantasy read, so when I saw that Fonda Lee’s Jade City had won the 2018 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel my decision was made easily. This story is set in the kingdom of Kekon – which bears more than a passing resemblance to Hong Kong – that is ruled over by a number of opposing clans who fight over control of jade. If you’re a Green Bone and part of a clan, jade gives you some pretty handy supernatural powers (Lightness, Strength, Perception, and so on). If you’re an ordinary commoner though, or if you overdo it, exposure to the precious stone will give you the ‘Itches’, with madness and death lying in wait. The novel explores the tension and enmity between two of the largest rival clans, No Peak and Mountain, and follows very closely a small group of twenty-somethings who are abruptly thrust into the leadership roles in No Peak.

Having never read mob classics such as The Godfather I was a little unprepared for the detailed politics, territorial grappling and Art of War-style manoeuvring in Jade City! But Lee’s fascinating and immersive world building, which subtly draws from colonial and regional history, her deep character dives, and her thrilling fight scenes, has won me over. I’m about two-thirds of the way through, the body count is through the roof, and I’m thoroughly enjoying this story of gangsters with magic. I will definitely track down, Jade War, the second book in the planned trilogy when it comes.

Paul Goodman is reading Dirt Music by Tim Winton

I wasn’t expecting Tim Winton to write with such lyricism and command; nor was I expecting his depiction of life in a fishing town in Western Australia to be so profound and relatable, but it seems Dirt Music is full of surprises.

In one of her lonely nights as an outsider in the town of White Point, Georgie spots a poacher at sea. He is gone before morning and the men are none the wiser. Georgie is compelled by this man, Luther Fox, but pursuing him is to involve herself in the town and its business, and soon the town drives Luther into the wild and Georgie into herself. Their lives are at every mercy other than their own.

To get the criticism out of the way first: the book’s third act is a little drawn out. As for praise: not only is Winton’s prose balanced and poetic, but it conveys the look, feel and taste of nature, both human and earth, rural and urban. As someone with a despicably poor visual imagination, I could see every hill scrambled over and suffered every sunburn. More than that, it’s a pointedly intimate story made compelling and claustrophobic by its setting. As someone who comes from a small town and remembers it despicably well, I turned the last page with a newfound respect for the author.

Bronte Coates is reading Unlike the Heart by Nicola Redhouse (available March)

In Unlike the Heart, Nicola Redhouse details her experience with postnatal anxiety and attempts to make sense of the how and why of it all. As the daughter of two parents with a shared passion for psychoanalysis, she has a unique perspective with which to tackle this subject and the result is intellectually stirring, at times provocative. Her investigation leads her to closely examine her own family history, as well as explore how the human mind has been viewed across philosophy, science and literature. This is an urgent and compelling read, and I highly recommend you look out for its arrival in bookshops in a few months.

Chris Gordon is reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne

The last week in Melbourne has been a roller coaster of emotions for me. First of all, I finished reading Emma Cline’s The Girls long after everyone in the world had already fallen in love with this brilliant but also very disturbing story. I loved the pace of this novel, but I found the topic unsettling to read. To be honest, I was glad when I finished. I want a book about ice creams and flowers next please.

I was fortunate enough to attend one of the opening performances of the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Do whatever you need to do to see this play. The production is magical , the story is uplifting, and it is a complete joy – I cannot wait to attend again. I read the play when it was first published, but my knowledge of the plot in no way distracted me from the beauty of this production. It’s an absolute treat.

I also saw Nick Cave at Melbourne Town Hall. He played a little, he talked a lot and he was gracious throughout to his rapt audience. He mentioned one of his top reads was American Psycho. I read this novel so long ago and remember being nonplussed by all the mystique around it. Perhaps, once I’ve recovered from The Girls I’ll head back for another read.

He also mentioned that his favourite performer was Nina Simone; this would not be a surprise to any fan of Cave’s, but it was lovely to be reminded that it was the husky wondrous voice of Simone that he listened to the most. On the way home, past the flowers along the 86 tram route, past the Princess Theatre decked out in full Harry Potter splendour, I listened to Simone sing her top hits and felt that Melbourne was a good place to live.