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.

Ed Moreno is reading Ways to Disappear by Idra Novey

I picked Ways to Disappear off the shelf to have a look and it stopped me in my tracks. From the opening sentence, I was intrigued. I bought a copy that night and read it over the next few days. It’s one of those books that is compulsive, and at the same time, the sort of book you want to savour slowly. I did both, rereading passages, chapters and section, going forward and backward over and over again. I wanted to share my copy with friends, but it’s too full of notes and highlighted sections: I was enamoured. Ways to Disappear is full of elegant language, a page-turner, a box of surprises. Bits of poetry and unique forms of storytelling sneak in here and there. A gem. Read and dream, dream and read. Disappear into this text and into another world.

Ellen Cregan is reading The Beach at Night by Elena Ferrante and Mara Cerri (translated by Ann Goldstein)

In late 2015, I got a very severe case of Ferrante fever. Those familiar with the affliction will know that its only cure is to consume as many of Ferrante’s works in the shortest time possible. It’s been a few months since I’ve had a fix, so when The Beach at Night arrived this week I was very excited. This is Ferrante’s first book for children, and has all the beautiful darkness and complexity of her adult works. Mati’s doll, Celina, is an emotionally engaging narrator. Her journey through the dark night is legitimately frightening, especially her encounters with the Mean Beach Attendant of Sunset, who plots to steal her words and sell them at the doll market.

This book isn’t just for children. There are all the hallmarks of a Ferrante novel hidden in this surreal and bewitching tale.

Lian Hingee is reading The Dry by Jane Harper

People around the office have been raving about The Dry for a while now, so I packed a copy to take on my recent holiday.

This literary crime novel is set in the drought-stricken town of Kiewarra where a young farmer, Luke Hadler, has shot dead his wife and son before turning the rifle on himself. His distraught parents refuse to believe that it was a case of murder-suicide, and enlist the help of Luke’s childhood friend to uncover the truth of what happened that day. Aaron Falk, now a Federal Police officer in Melbourne, knows all too well how powerful the gossip mill in Kiewarra is – when he was a teenager he was implicated in the apparent suicide of a girl, and twenty years later the town still isn’t ready to forgive or forget.

The Dry is a quick, compelling and immersive read that snatched me away from the real world and deposited me smack-bang into the story. When I finally emerged I feel like I had to shake the baked earth off my shoes, and the book stayed with me for days.

Jason Austin is reading McTeague: A Story of San Francisco by Frank Norris

Admittedly I first picked up this novel because of its eye-catching cover. The Oxford World’s Classic edition that I’m reading features detail from ‘Tidying Up’, a painting by Isabel Bishop in which a young woman is baring her teeth while checking herself in a mirror.

McTeague itself is quite unlike any other American novel that I’ve read. It’s very European in its style and sensibility. Norris was obviously influenced by the works of Emile Zola in that the novel deals with the lives of people of different classes, their struggles and the challenges of obtaining and retaining a higher place in society. It also deals with their inner lives, the ability to love but also their capability of committing acts of violence.

The titular McTeague is a young dentist who falls in love with his friend’s cousin, Trina. The friend, Marcus is also romantically involved with his cousin, but surrenders his romantic involvement with her, stepping aside to allow McTeague to woo Trina. Just after the announcement of their engagement, Trina wins $5,000 in the lottery, a windfall which turns out to be the undoing of their marriage. The story also weaves within it two other separate sub-plots each with the themes of greed and unrequited love.

Written in 1899, McTeague is a novel of its time. Blatant stereotypes, sexism and anti-Semitism are commonplace, but despite its obviously offensive depictions of some members of society, the novel is extremely readable, riveting even.