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.

Lian Hingee is reading In My Defence, I Have No Defence by Sinead Stubbins

My toddler is going through some kind of dreadful sleep regression thing at the moment and I actually can’t remember the last time I slept through the night (2018?) so my usual bedtime routine of cuddling up with a book and reading for a solid half hour has turned into three minutes of staring blearily at the page and trying to remember what happened in the pages preceding it before falling asleep with the lights still on. Luckily Sinead Stubbins’ hilarious collection of essays In My Defence, I Have No Defence is the perfect antidote.

Witty and warm, painfully relatable, and snort-laughingly funny Stubbins has managed to capture the very essence of modern-day existence, from socially-awkward interactions with your barista (there are certain coffee shops I can never return to) to decoding dresscodes, the fleeting joy of online shopping, excruciating pilates classes, and the indefinable nature of ‘coolness’. These short, witty pieces seem to have been lifted directly from my brain, wrangled into something funnier than I could ever dream of, and printed into book form for the rest of you to enjoy.

Joanna Di Mattia is reading Writers & Lovers by Lily King

My reading is usually dictated by my mood and after being lucky enough to get my eyes and hands on an advanced copy of Sally Rooney’s forthcoming third novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You, my mood was rather introspective and emotional. I was keen to spend more time with people figuring out their place in the world, via the work they do and who they love and how they live, so I picked up Writers & Lovers by Lily King, a novel that has been waiting patiently on the shelf for me to choose it for over a year. I’m glad I did.

It’s centred on Casey, a 31 year-old writer working intermittently on a novel she started six years ago, dealing with the sudden death of her mother, and the aftermath of the end of an intense love affair, and a general feeling that her life is spiralling out of control. And then she meets and falls for two very different men simultaneously, complicating her personal and creative life even further. King writes perceptively about desire and despair, and about what it takes to be a woman and pursue a creative path. Halfway through Writers & Lovers and I’m halfway in love with this smart, romantic, sexy book.

Teen Advisory Board member Aurelia Orr is reading Where We Begin by Christie Nieman

A complex and beautiful novel of lies, betrayals, secrets and the threads that tie families together. Right from the start, something’s not quite right, and slowly the layers unravel - gently at first, but from halfway through this book I could not put it down, and devoured it in a night.

Although it is less than 400 pages, Where We Begin still manages to raise awareness and encourage discussion of a whole plethora of issues relevant today. Although the narrative is harrowing and poignant – dealing with topics including (but not limited to) racism, family violence, and alcoholism – Where We Begin is written with compassion, detail, and tenderness. A powerful novel.