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 Gordon is reading Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

I just could not help it. I had to know. My social media feed was full of it: ‘Is Lena Dunham crazy?’ ‘Is her book any good?’ ‘Why is everyone talking about her sister?’

I just could not help it. I had to read her book.

I’m a huge fan of Durnham’s television series Girls and not only because it makes me so grateful to be older – a feat not many shows pull off – but also because it’s funny and clever. Now I can also say, so is Not That Kind of Girl. I’m already planning to pass the essay collection onto my 16-year-old daughter to read next.

Ann le Lievre is reading A Painter’s Progress: A Portrait of Lucian Freud by David Dawson

Not so much ‘what I am reading’ this week, as ‘what I am visually feasting on’ this week. And that is a breathtaking new compilation of photographs depicting scenes from the life of Lucien Freud.

David Dawson was Lucien Freud’s assistant, companion and model for nearly 20 years, up until Freud’s death in 2011. He was in a unique position to be able to capture moments in Freud’s life – scenes in Freud’s studio of works in progress, of his models and sitters (clothed, some unclothed), of his everyday life. It is through these scenes that we build up a rare picture of Freud’s life, his routines and how he worked. By the end of this visual feast I felt I had shared a small piece of time with this illustrious artist. As we come to the end of the journey, we see achingly empty scenes in empty lived in rooms, and a single pair of leather work boots photographed on an empty studio floor.

A suggestion for a Christmas wish list, to give or receive.

Nina Kenwood is reading The Last Days of California by Mary Miller

I was recommended this debut novel by a colleague, who said it was one of best books he’d read this year. And he’s not wrong. The Last Days of California is a coming-of-age story about fifteen-year-old Jess, who is travelling across the US with her parents and older sister. Jess’s religious father believes the Rapture is coming, and he wants his family to be in California when it happens. Jess’s teenage sister has her own dramas, of a very different kind, and Jess’s mother is trying to hold the whole family together. The novel is short, told in Jess’s first-person narration, and takes places over a period of several days.

Miller writes with tenderness and empathy for all her characters, and she gets inside Jess’s head so well, perfectly capturing her teenage angst and uncertainty about her place in the world. The novel can swing from funny to heartbreaking in the space of a page. A deeply satisfying read.

Bronte Coates is reading ‘All Dressed Up For Mars and Nowhere to Go’ by Elmo Keep

Elmo Keep’s long-form essay about the realities of the Mars One project is smart and fascinating, and I can attest to the fact that it makes for addictive reading on your commute. If you weren’t completely flummoxed by the Mars One project before, then you will be after reading this. This article is also beautifully presented in a digital format which is something I really love.

Keep’s article is yet another indication that non-fiction writers in Australia just keep on getting better and better. This year saw a flurry of terrific debut books from non-fiction writers (such as Sam Vincent’s Blood and Guts, Erik Jensen’s Acute Misfortune and Lorelei Vashti’s Dress, Memory).

And just a few days ago, the announcement of the 2014 Scribe Nonfiction Prize for Young Writers shortlist filled me with anticipation for what’s to come! (Melbourne literary journal The Lifted Brow recently posted a ’tasting platter’ of the shortlistees’ work.)

Seriously so many exciting books in the future!