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 The End of Vandalism by Tom Drury

Last year we saw, finally, the re-issue of the strange and wonderful novels of Tom Drury, mostly set in the small hamlets that make up the (invented) Grouse County in Iowa. 1994’s The End of Vandalism, his first novel, interweaves the narratives of town sheriff Dan Nolan, small time criminal Tiny Darling and Louise Darling, Tiny’s ex-wife.

While written in the flat and unassuming descriptions of small town life we’ve come to associate with small town America, what truly sets Drury apart is his gift for small, strange events that resonate like disaster – the owner of a photo print shop being gently hit by a car, say, or a committee meeting over whether a local dog should be kept chained in a yard, a group of teenagers writing Armageddon on the town’s water tower – along with his incredibly precise ear for dialogue.

The End of Vandalism is one of the funniest books I’ve read, and luckily once you’re finished with it, there’s two short sequels Hunts in Dreams and Pacific for you to read on with.

Lian Hingee is reading All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

I read of review of this novel where it was described it as being the love child of Diana Wynne Jones, Douglas Coupland and Neil Gaiman. ‘Well,’ I thought, ‘I’m sold’. They’re very, very, (very) big shoes to fill, and while I’m not entirely sure that Charlie Jane Anders has quite managed to do it All the Birds in the Sky is proving to be quite a romp.

Patricia is a witch who discovers she can communicate with animals, and Lawrence is an engineering whizz-kid who manages to build a less-useless-than-you’d-think time machine that can teleport the user two seconds into the future. When the Earth is threatened with extinction by, well, us the two must combine their skills to save the world. This blending of fantasy and sci-fi isn’t something I’ve come across before, and I’m getting a kick out of it. It hints at environmental issues, and Lawrence and Patricia stand on two opposing sides of the climate change solution: Try to heal the damage, or admit that it’s too far gone and just carry on and hope for salvation. The portrayal of the technology of the near future is satisfyingly plausible, plus the novel’s set in my second favourite city, San Francisco, so it gets bonus points for that.

Bronte Coates is reading Avalanche by Julia Leigh

I read this powerful memoir in one sitting a few nights ago and it left me feeling quite shaken. Novelist and screenwriter Julia Leigh documents her experiences of trying to become pregnant through IVF treatment, and her story is a harrowing one. In short, evocative passages she describes the practicalities of her treatments – the injections, the surgeries, the scans, the tests, the surplus of vitamins – as well as her changing emotions throughout. She openly talks of how her highly-charged perspective begins to impact on her relationships with others, and recounts painful interactions and conversations with friends, family, former lovers, nurses, doctors and more.

Avalanche is a gripping read; I almost felt like covering my eyes at certain tense moments. And while it’s a deeply personal story – following just one woman’s experiences – it also offers compelling insight into the the IVF industry as a whole and suggests the need for more stories to come to light.