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.

Chris Gordon is reading Jean Harley Was Here by Heather Taylor Johnson

I read Jean Harley Was Here is one sitting. Heather Taylor Johnson tells the story of what happens to the friends and family in the aftermath of the titular character’s death. It’s a clever novel which somehow manages to avoid being overly emotional despite the premise. This said, the story did make me laugh and cry, and reminded me of people I know. In some ways, Jean Harley Was Here is an ode to living well. If you are looking for a calming novel about contemporary life, then this is my top pick.

Michael Awosoga-Samuel recommends two music releases

The Cactus Blossoms’s most recent album is called You’re Dreaming. The harmonising vocals of these two Minnesota brothers are reminiscent of the wonderful Everly Brothers, and their gentle songs of love and loss will transport you to an imagined simpler time. I’m also listening to French pop band Francois & the Atlas Mountains. Their sound is infectious and optimistic, often carrying an AfroPop beat. They reminded me of fellow French pop band Phoenix, though Francois & The Atlas Mountains sing mainly in French instead of English. (Phoenix are the other way around.)

Amy Vuleta is reading The Secret Science of Magic by Melissa Keil

I’ve just finished an advanced reading copy of Australian YA author Melissa Keil’s forthcoming novel, The Secret Science of Magic. It’s a story about a couple of teenagers, Joshua and Sophia, who are both misfits in their mainstream high school, and yet self-assured, centred and accomplished individuals in their own rights. The Secret Science of Magic explores friendships and family, anxiety and self-esteem, and all of the decisions, both huge and tiny, that we make in our lives. I haven’t read young adult literature in years and I’m so glad to be reminded of how great it can be – SO great.

With this in mind, my next stop is Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking series, which starts with The Knife of Never Letting Go. This series has been on my ‘to read’ list for a couple of years now, and I recently read an BuzzFeed article from Ness about his forthcoming novel, Release. Due for release in May, Release takes place over one day, and tells the story of a teenage boy who has to keep his queer sexuality and his boyfriend a secret from his incredibly religious family. Reading about this book helped me realise that Ness is a writer I want to know more about immediately.

I’d better get started on this ‘to read’ list, because it just keeps growing!

Bronte Coates is reading One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

In recent weeks, I’ve become totally hooked on Riverdale, CW’s gritty reboot of the Archie comics. (The comics themselves have also been rebooted with a darker edge for teens – find volume one here.) While the show is still finding its feet, it’s shaping up to be a very enjoyable blend of weird, campy and soap. This week I also read an early copy of Karen M. McManus’s debut YA novel, One of Us is Lying, which just so happened to be the perfect accompaniment to this show. This book’s premise is all kinds of terrific. Five teenagers enter detention; four teenagers leave detention. The question of how exactly the fifth teenager was murdered has everyone guessing, and it’s looking increasingly likely that one of the other four was involved. I stayed up past midnight to finish this novel. Look out for it in June!

Jo Case is reading Things That Helped by Jessica Friedmann

I’m usually a serial monogamist when it comes to books: I like to finish one before I start another. But lately, I’ve fallen into polyamorous reading habits, partly because I’m juggling work-reading, but also because I just can’t resist the alluring new titles appearing on the shop floor, or on my desk.

My primary relationship this week has been with Jessica Friedmann’s forthcoming essay collection, Things That Helped. These essays explore post-natal depression, the intricacies of relationships, building a creative life, and being shaped and soothed by cultural consolations – dance, literature, art, craft. I love personal essays as a form, especially when they blend memoir with an engagement with the wider world. It’s a genre that I feel has been under-published in Australia. Publishers say they don’t sell, and readers are unable to prove them wrong, as there’s nothing to buy. Instead, the small but loyal band of personal-essay-readers have been devouring US authors like Meghan Daum (who I slavishly adore) and Leslie Jamison. With Friedmann’s book following the critical and commercial success of Fiona Wright’s excellent collection Small Acts of Disappearance, I hope this might be the beginning of a change in Australian publishing opinion.

Oh, and my other flings? I CANNOT put down John Safran’s forthcoming book Depends What You Mean by Extremists, his most Jon-Ronson-like work yet. Safran infiltrates the fringes of Australia’s far-right and far-left warriors with his characteristic curiosity, candour and commitment to thinking outside prescribed boundaries when the facts take him there. I also keep dipping in and out of Emily Witt’s Future Sex. This is a fascinating collection of essays exploring sex and the single woman in the 21st century through her own and observed experience: immersing herself in online dating, orgasmic meditation, and the set of an internet porn video, among other things. I recommend you listen to the latest podcast episode from The Re-Readers for a great discussion of this work.