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.

Ellen Cregan is reading Please Don’t Hug Me by Kay Kerr

I am notoriously bad at keeping up with all of the wonderful YA releases we get each year - typically I only read one or two. This year I did a little better, and one of the awesome titles that I was able to get to was Kay Kerr’s Please Don’t Hug Me, which I am now re-reading. Our protagonist Erin is in her final year of school, but things aren’t going to plan - she’s unexpectedly left her part-time job, her relationships and friendships are changing, and the things she thought she’d be looking forward to are turning out to be less and less appealing. The book is written as a series of warts-and-all letters from Erin to her absent older brother, making this a hilarious and heartfelt read. I also found many scenes painfully relatable. And best of all: Kerr has a new book in the works for 2021. I cannot wait to read it.

Lian Hingee is reading The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

I just finished reading The Thursday Murder Club, which was every skerrick as charming as I had been led to believe by my workmates. Set in an idyllic retirement community (formerly a nunnery, because of course it was), Richard Osman’s debut novel features an unlikely team of octogenarian super sleuths with a penchant for solving cold cases. When a real life murder case lands in their laps they take it upon themselves to apply their very specific set of skills (many to do with being underestimated as an elderly person, having a lifetime of favours to call in, and decades-worth of experience) to solving the case. As Joyce, Ibrahim, Ron, and the mysterious Elizabeth (I want to be Elizabeth when I grow up) run rings around the befuddled police, it becomes clearer that the murder they are investigating has roots that go back further than any of them expected. This is Cozy Crime with a capital C, and it’s absolutely charming, unexpectedly witty, and engaging as hell. I can’t wait to read the next in the series.

Chris Gordon is reading Travelling Light by Tove Jansson

While I rode the merry-go-round of dread and fear this year, I wasn’t alone – my free trip on this great continuous emotional circle that was 2020 was a shared journey with friends and family. During lockdown times, I swapped novels, garden cuttings and cooking with those near me. As we opened up further, we met in the streets and sometimes we cried together. To end this journey of sorts, one of my dear friends gifted me a collection of translated stories from Tove Jansson. It hit the spot.

Told as if Jansson and I were pondering the world together with a cuppa on our laps, Travelling Light is the perfect reading remedy for an unsettled heart. This collection covers many themes, but what connects them all is Jansson’s sparse prose – effective and kind. These stories help you be alone and quietly consider the really important elements of a good life: the trees, the moments shared, and the gifts one person can give another. I recommend purchasing Travelling Light to gift to someone you care about.

And wishing you, dear reader, many many wondrous moments as we end this terrible tragic year together.