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.

Leanne Hall is reading Little Paradise by Gabrielle Wang

I rarely re-read books – when you work in a bookshop there are so many tempting new titles that it’s difficult to go back and visit a favourite. But I did pick up the wonderful Little Paradise by Gabrielle Wang again last week, and it was as gripping on my second read as it was on the first. This YA novel is loosely based on the author’s mother’s life, and it tells a story rarely seen in Australian literature. There is almost virtually no historical fiction written at all about Chinese-Australians, and especially set during the dramatic and tragic World War II period.

Mirabel is a young Chinese-Australian woman living in Melbourne who falls in love with a visiting Chinese soldier, and finds herself travelling thousands of miles to be with him. It’s fascinating to read about Melbourne and Adelaide in the 1930s, and equally fascinating to read about Shanghai at a time when Jewish refugees were fleeing there from Europe, and civil war was waging between Chinese Nationalists and Communists. Mirabel is a brave, steadfast, smart and resilient character, and I adore Wang’s painterly and economic language, underscored with just a hint of the supernatural.

Jan Lockwood is reading Jean Harley Was Here by Heather Taylor Johnson

Oh my goodness, I just loved this novel. There’s no getting away from the fact that the story is about a tragedy. Yet the telling of it, through multiple characters, is a celebration of a life, so much so that Jean Harley Was Here is almost a ‘feel good’ book (almost). Each chapter offers insights into those left behind, whose lives had been touched so positively by one person. Hannah Kent is quoted as saying on the front cover: ‘A book to savour.’ I completely agree. For one thing, the writing is beautiful and I found myself re-reading so many passages. In fact, I savoured it so much I didn’t get my chores done this weekend, I just couldn’t put it down. I was engrossed immediately and tearing up by page two; it felt so real. This is a moving portrayal of the power of love and of friendship and it’s wonderful.

Michael Awosoga-Samuel recommends two new music releases

Recently I’ve been listening to Thievery Corporation’s album, Temple Of I & I. Reggae-infused, smooth and wildly palpable – this is a great autumn release for those who are not quite ready to say goodbye to summer yet. I’m also enjoying the new release from the Temples, Volcano. This album is a bolt of difference from their previous release, which was more psychedelic.

Coming up, I’m looking forward to the new Real Estate album, In Mind, which is due for release on 17 March. And I’m hoping to see Snarky Puppy play at the Melbourne Recital Centre on 8 April.

Chris Gordon is looking forward to a long weekend

I love a long weekend – an extra day and night to do whatever I like! Spoken, I might add, like a true delusional mother. Nevertheless here’s my plan…

On Friday night I’ll be listening, rather loudly, to Martha Wainwright’s wonderful album Goodnight City. And while the tunes are pounding, I’ll be cooking up a feast thanks to an early copy of the new cookbook from the Monday Morning Cooking Club: It’s Always About the Food. I love the concept of this club – a group of friends meeting every week to discuss the trials and tribulations of their lives while cooking and eating – though my own friends are less keen to join me on the cooking side. However, they are coming around the table this week so we can all eat together.

The following day, I’m intending to sleep in very late and then amuse myself in the garden with a nod to Beci Orpin’s new crafting book, Sunshine Spaces, which is all about bringing a little of the outdoors into your home. Some of her projects are a little outside of my sphere (A tent! A hammock!) but I am quite good at picking flowers and arranging. Later on, I’ll settle in with my copy of Heather Taylor Johnson’s debut novel, Jean Harley Was Here, because everyone I know seems to have read and loved it.

A perfect long weekend coming my way.