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.

Paul Goodman is reading Karl Ove Knausgaard’s Seasons Quartet

To whet my appetite for Knausgaard’s finale to My Struggle, I have been dipping into his Seasons Quartet – the series of essays he wrote for his (then) unborn daughter. Ranging from reflections on the changing seasons and painting a stunning picture of Scandinavia throughout the year, to thoughts on parenthood and painstaking observations on the things that make up daily life, such as apples, doorknobs and bees, Knausgaard brings his analytical eye to the mundane and creates something simply remarkable.

Ellen Cregan is reading My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

I just finished reading My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. This is a darkly hilarious book that follows a young woman as she tries to sleep off all the woes in her life – for an entire year. Moshfegh’s protagonist is wealthy, beautiful, and lives in a world where opportunities present themselves up to her with little to no work. She blatantly squanders this privilege, choosing to medicate herself to the hilt rather than engage with a society that she finds irritating and pointless. Every single character in this book is deeply flawed, and Moshfegh is not afraid to both poke fun at and punish them. Our narrator’s awful relationship with her ‘best friend’, Reva, is a hot mess of manipulation and empty social interactions. The psychiatrist who keeps her dosed with every sleeping pill in existence is the worst medical practitioner imaginable. But it’s all totally hysterical. This is a sometimes revolting but always brilliant book.

Marley Rocha is reading Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina

A small book with a big story, Catching Teller Crow is a tale of loss, family, corruption and courage, told through the voices of two young aboriginal girls.

One is the voice of Beth Teller, the daughter of a detective who is investigating a suspicious fire at a children’s home that has left one man dead. Beth wants to help her father with the case and uncover what is really going on in this small town but there’s only one problem – due to a tragic accident Beth is dead too and now only her father can see her. The second voice in this tale is that of Isobel Catching, a mysterious girl from the children’s home who’s story might just hold the key to the dark truth.

Written by sibling duo Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina, Catching Teller Crow is captivating with its unique and poetic style. It deals with unspeakable acts of abuse and violence but as seen through the eyes of an innocent young girl, bringing to light the dark and ugly in a gentle yet emotional way.

A real page-turner, at it’s core this is a story of family, love and the bravery of letting go.

Marley is a member of our 2018-2019 Readings Teen Advisory Board. Find out more