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.

Joe Rubbo is reading A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders

Some of George Saunders happiest memories arise from teaching Russian short stories to a small group of students - 6, to be exact, chosen from a pool of 600 - at Syracuse University, something he’s done for the last 20 years.

In this book, he distils these teachings for the rest of us. He chooses a few stories from Chekov, Dostoyevsky, Turgenev and Gogol and with humour and enthusiasm, picks them apart to find out what makes them great. How do these writers achieve that very difficult thing: to write a short story that moves the reader. As someone who has struggled, and succeeded, with the form over many years, his insights are never banal. This is one for writers and short story lovers alike.

Clare Millar is reading Searching for Charlotte by Kate Forsyth & Belinda Murrell

This is a fascinating read, perfect for a few lazy summer days, about the search for more information on Australia’s first published children’s writer - Charlotte Waring Atkinson. This is right up my ally as I love everything to do with children’s literature (I’m the Chair of the Readings Children’s Prize this year!), so I couldn’t help but be intrigued by this biography.

Forsyth and Murrell are both celebrated Australian children’s writers in their own right - and in fact I remember reading some of Forysth’s books when I was younger - and naturally in a long line of storytellers in the family, they are related to Charlotte Waring Atkinson. The story becomes not just a biography of Charlotte, but also of their whole family and of how stories pass through generations. Forsyth and Murrell’s research process fascinated me, as does the idea of writing a book with someone else - they alternate chapters. I can’t wait to finish this one!

Lucie Dess is reading A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas.

It’s finally here. The highly anticipated next book in Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Of course, I bought it on release day! A Court of Silver Flames is my favourite book in the series so far. I loved the mental health representation and was cheering for the incredible female empowerment. There are some amazing new characters introduced in ACOSF who become a ‘found family’ for the main character, Nesta. This is a trope that’s woven through many of Maas’s books, and she excels at portraying these dynamics.

Maas also delivered on the promise that this would be her steamiest book yet. This series has aged with its readership and is now firmly in the adult category. Bring on the next book! Now excuse me while I start my reread.