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.

Jo Case is reading Lynch on Lynch by David Lynch and Chris Rodley

My spare time is pretty much entirely absorbed with thinking about Twin Peaks: The Return right now (and anyone who wants to discuss the ending should bail me up). On Monday night, I fell asleep listening to A Twin Peaks Podcast’s post-mortem of the final episode with guest Damon Lindeloff, creator of The Leftovers.

Before I descended into dreams, the panel agreed that the 1997 book Lynch on Lynch provides insight and potential answers. This book has been on my home bookshelf since Readings St Kilda was Cosmos – as the sticker on the back attests – so I fished it out and have been carrying it around all week. I’ve been compulsively reading out stray lines to my film-nerd teenage son, from oddball Lynchian (‘I like mounds of dirt – I really like mounds of dirt’) to the mysteries of the creative process (‘You always have to leave an opening for other forces, you know, to do their thing’) and the lure of ideas (‘To take an idea and translate it into something material is a beautiful process. It’s thrilling to the soul!’).

I could quote lines here all day, but instead I’ll leave you with just one more, on why Lynch refuses to explain what his work means: ‘Magicians keep their secrets to themselves. And they know that as soon as they tell, someone will say, “Are you kidding me? That’s so simple.” It’s horrifying to me, that they do that. People don’t realise it, but as soon as they hear or see that, something dies inside them.’

Ellen Cregan is reading The Town by Shaun Prescott

This week I’ve been reading Shaun Prescott’s fantastic novel The Town. This book is the second novel published by The Lifted Brow and I am so glad they have put it out into the world.

I grew up in the city, but even as a person who has only been a sporadic visitor to regional Australia, the unnamed town Prescott’s narrator has situated himself in was extremely recognisable as an every-town of sorts. The only things that are named in this town are the many corporate chain stores that populate it (and, of course, the pub). Despite its surrealism, this novel feels very real – Prescott’s criticisms of contemporary Australian life are at once razor sharp and very subtle. I kept finding myself bursting into laughter at moments that, while hilarious, were very grim. This is probably one of my favourite aspects of the novel – it has such a kooky sense of humour regarding the darker and more depressing sides of life in regional Australia.

The Town is weird and wonderful, and I highly recommend reading it.

Isabel Baranowski is reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt

It’s rare to find a book that draws you in with a psychological thrill, but Donna Tartt’s The Secret History lives up to its high praise. I picked this great piece of literature a few weeks ago after a colleague recommended it to me. Told from the perspective of the unassuming and well-crafted protagonist, Richard, we’re shown how easily humans can be persuaded into unspeakable actions. A group of school kids, infatuated with Ancient Greek and philosophical ideas, isolate themselves in their own ideals and interpretations of reality. The further they disconnect, the more tumultuous things become. Yet this narrative isn’t abrupt or forceful – instead, it weaves the reader in and out with a gentle and intelligent hand.