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.

Lian Hingee is reading Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

Like several of my workmates I recently dived headfirst into Carmen Maria Machado’s debut book, which is due to hit our shelves in February. This collection of short stories sits in the sweet spot of the ‘Lian’s Favourite Things to Read’ Venn Diagram. It’s got magical realism, feminism, dark fairytales, body image, comedy, horror, and Law and Order: SVU – and it’s all kinds of brilliant. Each story is a perfectly constructed little kernel, and I’m hard pressed to pick my favourite, but every single one of them deserves revisiting more than once. If you love Angela Carter, or Margaret Atwood, or Kelly Link, or Naomi Alderman, make sure to pick this one up when it arrives next month.

Bronte Coates is reading Warcross by Marie Lu

I picked up this YA novel from Marie Lu following a rave review from Tracy Hwang – one of the members of our Teen Advisory Board. The story is centred on Warcross – a renowned, multiplayer online role playing game that takes augmented reality to the next level. When teen bounty hunter Emika Chan takes a risk and hacks into the opening ceremony of the international Warcross Championships, she accidentally glitches herself into the screen and becomes an overnight sensation. Instead of being thrown in prison, she’s hired by the game’s creator – the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka – to be a spy on the inside of the tournament.

Tracy wrote: ‘Lu conjurers up an exhilarating world intertwined with virtual reality, that will leave readers gasping for breath. Warcross is packed with thrills and simmering with romance.’ I agree! The world Lu creates in this cyberpunk virtual reality thriller is terrific. Warcross is fast-paced, gripping and enjoyably over-the-top. A great book to pick up if you’re in a reading funk.

Leanne Hall is reading Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan by Shigeru Mizuki

On a recent trip to Japan I came across Shigeru Mizuki’s epic graphic novel history of the Showa period (1926 – 1989, the years reigned by Emperor Hirohito). Mizuki has penned four chunky and detailed volumes that cover this tumultuous period of Japan’s history, but to avoid feeling overwhelmed, at this stage I’m only committing myself to the first volume, Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan. It was with some trepidation that I cracked open this rendition of the lead-up to World War II and the second Sino-Japanese war, but so far I feel that Mizuki takes an extremely frank look at Japan’s actions at this time.

Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan is a hybrid graphic novel that alternates dreamy childhood recollections with political, economic, historical and military events – just when I’ve had enough of cold, hard facts he’ll introduce the odd little bug-eyed, open-mouthed character of his childhood self. The episodic structure of the book has allowed me to dip in and out of it with regularity, and so far it is incredibly engrossing and informative.