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 I Am Out With Lanterns by Emily Gale

This juicy YA novel will grip you from page one. Emily Gale has skilfully brought together the perspectives of multiple characters to create a single cohesive work that investigates the ways in which we misunderstand one another, and sometimes ourselves too. Every one of her six central characters feels fleshed-out and authentic, and I was fully invested in every one of their alternating narratives, which is a real achievement given the book’s ambitious structure. There’s a lot going on in this novel – messy families, tangled love affairs, a haunted portrait, toxic masculinity, cutthroat school politics – and Gale makes it all work together to craft a spellbinding tale.

Not only is this novel incredibly readable, but I especially admired the nuanced manner in which Gale addressed complicated issues, leaving space for readers to be more reflective. An important role of books can be to create empathy and expand our understanding of the world, and this novel does this so well. For example, one of the central characters in the novel is an undeniable bully, and behaves so badly at times that it’s distressing. By giving us their perspective, Gale forces us to think about why they behave this way and how they’re able to get away with it. So while this character never really became ‘likeable’ to me, I sympathised with them and I thought about how their actions reflect the world around them.

Like Gale’s earlier novels, I Am Out With Lanterns packs some big emotions wallops. There’s humour, warmth and love to be found, but there’s also some serious heartbreak. Please, please read this book.

Gabrielle Williams is reading The Peacock Summer by Hannah Richell

The Peacock Summer did not appear to be my type of book. There’s the cover, for one thing: too many flowers. Too much of a ‘commercial fiction’ type vibe to it. (This is a hugely popular genre, so I don’t feel too bad saying any of this – these are the books that sell in the millions, they’re just not generally my cup of tea). But, as I’m interviewing Hannah Richell at Readings Hawthorn on Thursday 16 August, there was an obligation for me to read her novel. However, there was never any obligation for me to love it as much as I did.

I now can’t wait to interview Hannah and ask her all about it – she’s obviously an author who loves history, art, and the human psyche; a sophisticated, complex writer, with just as sophisticated, complex characters. This is a book that I would happily put in the hands of most people who come into the shop. ‘It’s not what you think,’ I might say to the young hipsters who are more into their Murakami Norwegian Wood than their cosy English countryside. ‘It’s different from what you expect,’ I might tell the literati who prefer their covers with earnest gold medals rather than wallpaper and peacock feathers. And ‘It’s exactly what you’re after,’ I’ll be able to happily say to all those readers who want something that’s gentle but heartfelt, beautiful but raw, historical but not sentimental.

Amanda Rayner is rereading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

A few weeks ago I visited the stunning Wonderland exhibition at ACMI and as soon as I returned home, immediately started rereading Lewis Carroll’s classic. I have always been a ‘mad’ Alice fan and have three different editions (although that is quite restrained if you ask other enthusiasts about their own collections). I probably haven’t read the book in its entirety for about 10 years and I was surprised at how vivid the first half was, yet the second half was less familiar. I find it fascinating to revisit a classic; often your memories have become clouded by films, popular culture and commercialism so to go back to the original source can be an enlightening experience.

If Lewis Carroll’s wonderful book holds fond memories for you also, I urge you to visit the exhibition (which has its own accompanying book Wonderland: Alice in Wonderland on Screen) but perhaps even more importantly – reread the book that started it all.