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.

Nina Kenwood is reading The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop

I’m going to be annoying and write about two novels that aren’t out yet (sorry). Right now, I’m reading an advance copy of The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop, an upcoming Australian novel that’s out in July. It’s a beautifully written examination of a couple who move from England to Perth in the 1960s. Bishop’s descriptions are extraordinary – from the blustery cold of England to the intense heat of Perth, I feel right there beside Charlotte and Henry in every moment. Bishop’s prose has a quiet intensity to it that reminds me a little of the work of Richard Yates. I’m about a third of the way through the book, and so far, I adore it.

Before this, over the long weekend, I read an advance copy of Dietland by Sarai Walker (out in June). Dietland is an ambitious, delightfully funny and thoroughly enjoyable novel that’s unlike anything else I’ve read recently. It delves deeply into issues of body image, weight, self-acceptance, feminism, friendship and so much more. Two thumbs up.

Emily Gale is reading Mothermorphosis edited by Monica Dux

I’ve been snatching odd moments during the school holidays to read (rather fittingly) Mothermorphosis, an Australian anthology about motherhood edited by Monica Dux, whose Things I Didn’t Expect (When I Was Expecting) I really enjoyed a couple of years ago. Fortunately, stolen moments are exactly what you need for these essays as I imagine that reading them all in one go could be overwhelming. The experiences here are so varied and most require at the very least an inner debrief session, or preferably a chat with someone else who is reading it. I hasten to add that my debrief chats have been with women who are not mothers and that this is definitely not a book just for mothers. And further, several of my favourite essays in the anthology have been about experiences of pregnancy, birth and motherhood that are entirely different from my own. That in itself was pleasing because one of the uglier features of becoming a mother seems to be a cultural – and individual – need to form cliques according to experience, as if you couldn’t possibly be moved by, or understand, a woman who chose or was forced down a different path.

Highlights for me so far include George McEncroe’s witty and highly energetic story of her nightmare delivery, ‘I Wore My Red Lips and Pretended I Was Fine’ (I burst into happy tears during the last paragraph), and Hilary Harper’s incredibly moving ‘Motherhood, Despite the Evidence’ about the many years of IVF treatment that she and her partner have been through. I felt reassured by Cordelia Fine’s excellent ‘The Impostor Mother’ and by Jane Caro’s wise ‘The Me I Had Been’. If I have to join a club I’ll join Caro’s, please, which simply means being fun and not caring too much about housework.

I’m relishing this opportunity to think about how my view of motherhood has changed shape over the years. In Jane Caro’s essay, a comment about people stopping in the street to make a fuss over your beautiful new baby, while completely ignoring you, made me pause. Yes, I thought, this happened to me and I felt invisible and miffed at the time. But recently I’ve discovered that the exact same thing happens when you get a dog! Particularly one like mine with shaggy fur and a permanently please-pat-me expression. Strangers stop me in the street to admire, stroke, and talk to my dog, often (not always) avoiding eye contact and conversation with the human being on the end of the lead. It now strikes me that this is because humans are socially awkward, sometimes hilariously so. Perhaps stopping to coo over a baby could be less about mothers being invisible than I previously thought. In any case, I can foresee that many of the issues raised in Mothermorphosis will give me a generous stockpile of food for thought.

Alan Vaarwerk is reading The Adventures of Holly White and the Incredible Sex Machine by Krissy Kneen

Krissy Kneen has written memoir, erotica and literary fiction, and in her fourth book with Text she turns her hand to something else entirely – the rollicking story of a chaste young woman whose glowing blue private parts and sexual awakening has the potential to save, or destroy, the world. Holly White smashes together suburban Brisbane and cosmopolitan Paris, chastity vows and secret societies, orgone energy and classic literature, in an orgy of sci-fi, surrealism and lots of sex. Gloriously weird and heaps of fun, with an ending that’s absurd, hilarious yet strangely devastating. (Ed note: The Adventures of Holly White and the Incredible Sex Machine will be released on 22 April).

Emily Harms is reading Orient by Christopher Bollen

Not being a usual reader of thrillers, I was instantly lured into reading Orient when Christopher Bollen’s new book was likened to Lionel Shriver and AM Homes’ dark take on the American Dream. Set in what was once a sleepy village at the eastern edge of Long Island, Orient is quickly, yet reluctantly, becoming the place to be for wealthy weekenders and artistic types escaping the hustle and bustle of New York City.

On the last day of summer, the peace in this isolated community is shattered when a young man with a hazy past arrives, triggering a series of strange events, making the village one of shady secrets and where no one feels safe. Orient is a dark and pacy read complete with haunting characters and tragic suspense. I highly recommend getting absorbed in this sinister plot.