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 Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster

When I was still brand-new at Readings I was chatting to one of my workmates about our mutual love for Anne of Green Gables (Gilbert Blythe 4eva) and she encouraged me to read the classic Daddy Long-Legs. She even brought in her own childhood copy for me to borrow. Well, I’ve been here for almost a year now and I’m proud to say I finally read it.

I got it in my head that Daddy Long-Legs was basically the same story as the story of little orphan Annie so I kept putting it off and putting it off… But as it turns out, this novel is actually a charming love story and I wish I’d realised this sooner. I mean, yes, this is the story of an orphan who gets an amazing opportunity because of a really rich guy but it’s more Little Women than ‘It’s a Hard Knock Life’.

Judy Abbott has grown up in the John Grier Home, but rather than being turfed out at the age of 18, one of the orpanage’s Trustees has offered to send her to college to study writing. If Judy accepts she must abide by certain rules, including penning regular letters to her mysterious benefactor whom she dubs ‘Daddy Long-legs’. It’s these letters that make up the book, and through them the reader becomes acquainted with Judy – the wonderfully funny, witty, irrepressible Judy – as she discovers the world beyond her stark childhood. She delights in pretty dresses, is transported by Shakespeare, makes maple candy and charms millionaires. I’m kind of devastated that I didn’t discover her as a 12-year-old because I think we would have been great friends. Daddy Long-Legs is an engaging read that manages to be both classic and contemporary.

Nina Kenwood is reading Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

I adored this book. In Words in Deep Blue, Crowley writes a love story with the exact right amounts of humour, pain, angst, secrets and miscommunications. Crowley is Australia’s answer to John Green, capturing that same funny-sad self-depreciating tone and the deep longing that Green embodies in his books – while still being written in very much in her own distinctive, delightfully Australian style. I enjoyed this novel from start to finish, and I especially loved all the literary references peppered throughout. If a Words in Deep Blue reading list doesn’t exist, it should, because Crowley gives all her characters great taste in books.

This novel is everything that’s wonderful about LoveOzYA and is one more piece of evidence of how talented YA authors are in Australia, and why we should be supporting them. And continuing on with my LoveOzYA reading trend, next up I shall be reading Gemina!

Chris Gordon is reading Kiffy Rubbo: Curating the 1970s edited by Janine Burke and Helen Hughes

Throughout the 1970s, Kiffy Rubbo managed the George Paton Gallery situated in the library at the University of Melbourne. Under her guidance and over the next 10 years, this gallery space hosted major contemporary artists, created the Women’s Art Register and was a meeting spot for political discussions. Kiffy lived by the adage that the personal is political and by doing so, she changed peoples’ lives. Her vibrancy and generosity allowed for those around her to be their best.

In this book, editors Janine Burke and Helen Hughes have drawn together an impressive array of voices that speak to the life of Kiffy and also to the political landscape of the 70s. As a feminist, I understand how much rewriting of the past needs to happen and this important contribution reveals how much we owe women like Kiffy. The beautifully produced book is a memorial to her, and to the art she loved – a wonderful story of friendship, family, art and feminism.

Bronte Coates is reading Lamingtons And Lemon Tart by Darren Purchese

I recently got my hands on this new cookbook from Darren Purchese, the owner of Melbourne’s Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio, and was determined to test out whether it was ‘accessible’ for the home cook as claimed in the opening pages. I can now report that it 100% is, as long as you own a few essential items listed in the front!

For the recipe I chose to test out – the ‘exploding’ wagon wheels – I needed a standing mixer and temperature gauge and, happily, my housemates own such things. Making all the different elements was time-consuming, but individually, they were all very simple processes, and ultimately, it was so much fun to then put them together and dip in the chocolate. They’re even more fun to eat as they really do explode in your mouth.

I’m keen to try out Purchese’s recipe for ‘Gin and Tonic Tarts’ next.