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.

Isobel Moore is reading The Town in Bloom by Dodie Smith

I just finished this novel from the always delightful Dodie Smith, which tells the story of a young actor and her first summer in London. It’s beautiful – of course it is, thank you Dodie – and sublimely written. Everything that I’ve ever read by Smith has felt like drinking a warm sweet drink. I’m always hoping to replicate the feeling of reading I Capture the Castle for the first time. The Town in Bloom didn’t quite match up to those great heights, but it has been a vastly pleasurable read.

Holly Harper is reading Front Lines by Michael Grant

Michael Grant’s name might ring a bell if you’ve got a teenager at home – his Gone books were phenomenally successful, and the gripping dystopian series won him legions of fans. His latest, Front Lines, is a tale of an alternate history: it asks the question of what life would be like if women were allowed to enlist in WWII to fight alongside male soldiers.

Admittedly, I wasn’t that excited to give this one a go. I’m much more of a fan of dystopias than alternate history, but after reading the first chapter I’ve realised that Grant’s storytelling is superb, regardless of genre. Part of the draw of a series like Gone was the way he crafted his characters – all of them felt real and alive on the page, and the same goes for Frontlines. We’re introduced to a range of girls from all walks of life who are preparing to join the war, and even though I’m only a few chapters in, I already feel like these characters are friends I’ve known my whole life. Given that this is a book about war, though, I’m slightly dreading to see how it all turns out…

Fiona Hardy is reading The BFG by Roald Dahl

Recently a dear friend sent me a link to the trailer of the upcoming adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The BFG saying: “Let’s go see this movie!” My response was all: “OMG! YES! :D”. But all these exclamation marks were actually a smokescreen for my shame. For I’ve never read this book. I’ve read Matilda repeatedly, The Witches constantly, and, in fact, all of Dahl’s other works bar The BFG and James and the Giant Peach. (I now wonder if I have a subconscious dislike of giant things?)

I knew I had to smash the book before I saw my friend next, and I’m currently doing so with pleasure. The story of young orphan Sophie who catches sight of a giant is a typical Dahlian delight – with engaging pictures, endless nonsense words (“switch on the telly-telly bunkum box”), and moments that are making my heart soar. Such as when the BFG asks Sophie if she is fridgy-cold in her nightie, or tells her that his giant ears can hear faraway music coming from the stars in the sky. (I will admit that there are a few archaic views about other countries that made me let out a bit of a pained sigh.)

While The BFG is probably too alarming for my four-year-old – some of the giants have non-Sesame-Street names like Bloodbottler and Childchewer – now that I’m some three decades on from being four myself, it is just about perfect.