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.

Fiona Hardy is reading Fever of Animals by Miles Allinson

I’m currently losing all sense of time and place as I read Miles Allinson’s book, Fever of Animals. This is a story set across Melbourne, London, Berlin, Venice – and it’s a story about about grief and relationships, about searching for meaning and self-doubt. In the present, the narrator Miles broods inside his German house. He’s ostensibly hunting for the son of an artist who mysteriously disappeared years before; mostly he’s just lying in his bed a world away and drinking beer enough to flood the rooms. Earlier, his father died in Melbourne. Earlier than that, his relationship with his girlfriend Alice dissolved as they traversed Europe. This is no linear story, and Allinson has a deft hand at making the ride of time as tangled and tangible as your own rabbit-jump thought processes.

Stella Charls is reading Near and Far by Heidi Swanson

I’ve already written in a previous ‘What We’re Reading’ column (find it here) about my efforts to eat less meat and more vegetables. This task has recently been made easier thanks to the inspiration of Heidi Swanson. Her new cookbook Near and Far hit our shelves earlier this month.

Swanson’s first cookbook, Super Natural Every Day, was my fail-safe Christmas present a few years ago (my mum, step-mother and a dear friend all received copies) because of her nutritional, approachable recipes and lovely pictures. Her new book is even prettier: equal parts coffee-table book and cookbook, with recipes inspired by her home in San Francisco and her travels to Morocco, Japan, Italy, France and India (i.e. my wish-list of dreamy destinations). The personal annotations in Near and Far are utterly endearing, and the book is a beautiful object that will have a home my kitchen for years to come.

Chris Gordon is reading Mietta’s Italian Family Recipes by Mietta O'Donnell

Without going all Pollyanna on you, I feel glad. I feel glad to have an early copy of Mietta’s Italian Family Recipes, a book that was first published 15 years ago and now been (rightfully) republished by Black Inc. There is also some sadness with holding this book in my hands. As many of you know, Mietta (an acclaimed chef and food writer) was killed in a car accident in 2001, shocking us all that such a life could be taken.

The republication of Mietta’s Italian Family Recipes is beautifully produced, with tactile pages just calling out for a tomato stain here, a thumbprint of ragu there. It’s also full of stories that beg for a re-reading and a re-telling. I think some time quite soon, I’m going to cycle down to the North Fitzroy Star and settle in a corner with a dry red wine and cheese while I read some more. (The North Fitzroy Star is owned by Patricia O’Donnell – Mietta’s sister and a force to be reckoned with!)

Bronte Coates is reading Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

The new Robert Galbraith (a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling) arrived a few days ago and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into another twisty, addictive crime fiction featuring detective Cormoran Strike and detective-in-training Robin Ellacott. I really enjoyed the first two books with them!

This week, I’ve also been listening to the audiobook of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic, in which she talks about creative living. While I don’t agree with all her theories on what this entails, I’ve been completely charmed by her calm, wryly self-deprecating, mystically-philosophical attitude. I’ve mostly been listening to the recording while I walk my dog in the afternoons and there’s something oddly comforting and inspiring about having her voice in my head. There’s also plenty of genuinely good advice in the book too and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in creative pursuits.