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.

Ruth McHugh-Dillon is reading Chilean Poet by Alejandro Zambra (translated by Megan McDowell)

Alejandro Zambra is a big name in Latin America and I’ve been meaning to read him for a while. Chilean Poet is his latest work and comes with glowing reviews from lots of other trustworthy writers - but, when I finally picked it up, I was still surprised at just how hilarious it is, rather than feeling worthy or overly-literary.

Despite the title and the central premise - a guy trying to make it or at least fake it as a poet in Chile - you don’t need to know anything about poetry or about Chile to enjoy this warm, funny, ironic novel which is really about family and relationships and how we define ourselves through or against them. A tangential anecdote about a boy who snacks on cat food - his mum is proud of his superb oral hygiene before she realises it’s a cover for his Whiskas addiction - had me snorting on the tram. There are some moments that induce an eye-roll about hetero relationships, as told from a man’s point of view, but overall the writing is so fresh, funny and observant that I can forgive the occasional cliche. It’s a book I can’t wait to get back to whenever I have to put it down.

Clare Millar is reading Pure Colour by Sheila Heti

I’ve been in a bit of a slump and have only really read books for review recently, so it was nice to just pick up something from my TBR and start reading the other day!

I was really excited for Pure Colour by Sheila Heti when it came out and wanted to read it straight away but other things got in the way! I absolutely loved Motherhood - but didn’t like How Should a Person Be? - so I was very curious about this one. Heti’s writing is always difficult to categorise, but I’m enjoying how poetically this novel frames ideas of drafting, creation, God, and interacting with each other. I’m looking forward to finishing this one off with a warm bath!

Gabrielle Williams is reading Basin by Scott McCulloch

I’m reading Basin by Scott McCulloch. The narrator is a nameless man travelling across a landscape ravaged by war. There are cockfights, drug deals, strange encounters, rollerblades and Razor scooters in unexpected arenas, and casual sex with strangers.

Writing beautifully about truly horrendous events, the narrator’s numbness to the hell he’s surrounded by feels surreal, but works as an important self-defence mechanism that helps this nomadic human deal with the trauma of his circumstances. Especially with the war going on in Ukraine at the moment, this book feels like it’s incredibly timely and insightful. And the ending is utterly and completely satisfying.