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.

Chris Somerville is reading Megahex by Simon Hanselmann

I’d been a fan of Hanselmann’s since I came across his tumblr a while back, which followed two unemployed stoners, a witch called Meg, her familiar Mogg a black cat, and their housemate Owl, a kind of playboy loser.

There’s a lot to work with here and the dynamic between the three (and, occasionally, their friend Werewolf Jones) gives the book the bulk of its drive. I find a failing with a lot of webcomics-turned-into-books is that they often feel like they were ‘written for the internet’ still, not quite translating to a book format. However, in this collection Haselmann has avoided this trap by giving us a consistency of character and sometimes - such as in the short strip ‘Megg’s Depression’ - real pathos.

It’s also worth mentioning that Haselmann’s art style is gorgeous without being cloying, and while the plots are quite dark, they are also terribly funny.

Bronte Coates is reading Women in Clothes edited by Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits and Leanne Shapton

I first heard about this project more than a year ago when editors Sheila Heti, Leanne Shapton and Heidi Julavits released a survey to the general (female) public. The idea was that the information gathered by the survey would help them ‘explore the multiplicity of motives that inform how women decide to present themselves, and what style means’. As a fan of all three authors (especially Julavits who oh my gosh, The Vanishers!) as well a someone who worries about what I’m wearing constantly, I was intrigued. I’ve been following the project closely and am so excited to finally hold Women in Clothes in my hands.

While I’ve read some mixed reviews, I fall in the camp of ‘yay’. I wouldn’t recommend viewing the release as a ‘definitive guide’ but rather, as a collection of intimate snapshots into a variety of lives. I feel it’s the kind of book you dip in and out of, as opposed to read cover to cover, and my favourite part so far has been ‘Mothers as Others’ for which the brief was: Send a photograph of your mother from before she had children and tell us about the woman you see. I got a chill reading through the responses here.

Ultimately, Women in Clothes is a beautiful object and happily, it’s also a thought-provoking and revealing exploration of why women dress the way they do, and why this matters.

Mark Rubbo is reading The Bush by Don Watson

I’m reading the latest book by Don Watson. Using his own family’s history as a launching place he examines what ‘the bush’ meant to these Scottish pioneers in Gippsland and what it might mean to us.

Watson’s writing is brilliant and insightful and a joy to read. Not a Weasel word in sight either!

Ed. note: We’re thrilled to be hosting an event with Don Watson on Monday 1 December. Read more