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.

Bronte Coates is reading The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas’s debut YA novel has generated a lot of buzz, and it’s definitely deserved. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, The Hate U Give is the story of 16-year-old Starr who is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. This is a heavy topic to tackle, but it’s all too important for teenagers who are seeing this same story play out in real life, over and over again.

Like the main character of Jane Harrison’s wonderful debut, Becoming Kirrali Lewis, Starr is someone who straddles two worlds. In her case it’s represented by actual locations – Garden Heights, the poor neighborhood where she lives and Williamson, the fancy suburban prep school she attends – and her struggle to balance her two separate identities is heartbreaking:

‘Williamson Starr holds her tongue when people piss her off so nobody will think she’s the “angry black girl”. Williamson Starr is approachable. No stank eyes, side-eyes, none of that. Williamson Starr is non-confrontational. Basically, Williamson Starr doesn’t give anyone a reason to call her ghetto.

I can’t stand myself for doing it, but I do it anyway.’

Thomas’s book is raw and honest, but it’s also accessible and has moments of genuine warmth that made me glow inside. I highly recommend.

Lian Hingee is reading The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

I was a huge Star Wars fan in my youth. (And my early adulthood. And now.) A lot of that early love came from my adoration of a certain sarcastic, sassy, tough-talking Princess. As a teenager, my adoration of Princess Leia led me to discover Carrie Fisher’s semi-autobiographical novel Postcards From the Edge, and I was delighted to discover that the famous buns bracketed the brains of a wickedly funny and clever writer. I was as devastated as the rest of the world when the news came that Fisher had died. In recent years I’d become more and more aware of what a remarkable advocate she was for a number of issues close to my heart.

Fisher’s final book, The Princess Diarist, comes full circle by chronicling her time as a naive teenager filming Star Wars. She reflects on this period of her life with her usual acerbic wit, though it’s tempered with gentle nostalgia. It wasn’t as tight as her earlier novels – the meandering narration has a stream-of-consciousness feel to it – but there were still plenty of moments that surprised me into laughter. And as a fan, I also enjoyed all the stories from behind the scenes of making the films.

Chris Gordon is reading Coastline by Lucio Galletto and David Dale

This past week I’ve been envisaging life on the Mediterranean coast thanks to a beautiful food and travel book, Coastline. I’m one of those people who flourish in the balmy eves of peak-summer Melbourne, and so the end of the season is always a sad time for me. I love it when the air is heavy with heat and sits on me like a protective blanket. I especially love the food of summer – the salads, the seafood, the BBQ, the spritz of cool drinks. Reading Coastline reminds me that in some places it’s summer all year round. Places where they are always blue skies, meat on the coals and seafood – pickled, fried or lightly flavoured with lemon juice. Places with sea breezes on that coastline that make you think anything is possible. And this pleasing book lets me dream that I am there. It’s filled with the aromas and recipes from gatherings that take place along the coastlines of Spain, France and Italy. This book has plenty of humour too as the regions fight it out for the best fish dish or rice dish; ‘Paella is just burnt risotto’ is one argument to be found.

Coastline is perfect for those who are longing for a trip away or for a return to summer days with families and friends sitting around tables groaning with dishes. It’s also for home cooks who love simple recipes with fresh ingredients. I just cannot seem to put this book down.

Ed. note: Coastline is due for release on 29 March.

Stella Charls is looking forward to the 2017 Oscars

This weekend I’ll likely just be reading the internet in anticipation of the 2017 Oscars on Monday. Since the US election, I’ve tried to stop spending so much time clicking through my Twitter feed and 100+ open tabs but I’m feeling excited about so many films in the running this year and, well, obsessing over predictions. I enjoyed reading Richard Brody’s take on the nominations, especially his thoughts about Moonlight’s chances in light of the new American political regime.

If you haven’t seen this movie yet, I could not recommend anything more highly. I thought it was flawless – heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure, with one of the most impressive ensemble casts I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen it multiple times already. I really appreciated fellow Readings staff member Joanna Di Mattina’s SBS article about why this film is so significant.

I’m also hoping Isabelle Huppert takes the Best Actress gong for Elle, that Hidden Figures comes away with Best Adapted Screenplay and Hell or High Water takes Best Original Screenplay – though I’m simulateously preparing myself mentally for La La Land to clean up in every category it’s nominated in. I guess I’ll have to wait and see!

Daniel Carroll is reading the Mekong Review

After months of emails and chats with the editor and publisher of the Mekong Review, Minh Bui Jones, I’m very happy to announce that we finally have copies of this remarkable literary journal available at our Carlton shop.

Published in Phnom Penh in Cambodia, Mekong Review is a literary quarterly that publishes fiction, essays, reviews and poetry from and about Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The journal features terrific writers who’ve contributed strong, sustained and admirable pieces that cover history, politics, literature, travel and everything in between. The journal’s backstory is an interesting one and involves a small crew of writers, editors, artists and friends, as well as a writers festival. You can read a bit more about the publication’s history on their website.

Mekong Review is now in it’s second year and the edition we have on our shelves is Volume 2, Issue 2. This journal looks good, feels good, and reads very, very well. Plus, at $7 it’s as cheap (and as wonderful) as hot chips! We only have a limited quantity too…