What have we been reading recently?

We've been reading some splendid books over the past couple of weeks. Actually we've barely even looked up from them, except to see our bus stops whooshing by.

We're starting a brand new book column next week, headed up by Kat, but to give her chance to finish thumbing her pages, here's the lowdown on what we've been reading this month.

Sian: I've had a bit of a bumper book month. I kicked off with Beautiful Ruins which was utterly wonderful. It's tragic, romantic and so funny. Then I bought Eve in Hollywood after falling madly in love with Rules of Civility. I read this on a Saturday morning and couldn't help feel disappointed. The short stories felt rushed and the beautiful language I'd adored in the initial book was nowhere to be found.

Most recently I picked up a copy of A Serpentine Affair at a train station and it made my three hour (wedding hungover) trip from Devon to London whizz by. It's one of the most gripping books I've ever read. Part mystery, part friendship-feud-saga, I got home and didn't speak to anyone until I'd finished it.

Frances: I bought a copy of Beautiful Ruins at Bookseller Crow at the same time as Sian. There were lots of emails flying to and fro about how wonderful it is - it really is comically, romantically, tragically marvellous. And the gorgeous cover means it'll last longer on my bookshelf before being given away than the usual paperback. I read a brilliant non-fiction book, Bachelor Girl by Betty Israel, a zippy survey of how single woman have been portrayed from Florence Nightingale through to Bridget Jones.

I'm currently going very slowly through NW. I usually really enjoy Zadie Smith but I'm finding this one tough work.

Sara: I've read two Ira Levin books: Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives. Whether or not you've seen the films, the books are a must-read. He's a master at quietly building an ominous atmosphere. Like the women in the books, you know something is wrong but can't put your finger on what - and with the whole community telling them they're mad, you start to doubt your instincts. Both have utterly devastating endings. Don't read the introductions by Chuck Palaniuk until you've finished them, he gives away the plot. Bad form, Chuck.

Kat: For the last fortnight I have been engrossed in the world of Fables. It's a huge graphic novel series - steady - in which fairytale characters have fled a terrible enemy and set up camp in modern-day New York, with all past sins forgiven under a town compact. So, the witch from Hansel and Gretel leads up the team of sorcerors, Big Bad Wolf is now a shapeshifter and Fabletown's sheriff, while Old King Cole presses the flesh as their mayor, with Snow White doing all the donkey work as his deputy.

The books are ingeniously plotted, filled with derring-do, comedy, tragedy and sarcasm, as though a modern-day Shakespeare decided to go nuts over comics. The main books and most of the side stories are written by the powerhouse that is Bill Willingham, but I also really enjoyed Lauren "The Shining Girls" Beukes' take on Rapunzel in Fairest: Hidden Kingdom, a different story in the same universe.

Fables is a beautiful place to spend time, and you grow incredibly attached to the characters. FYI, Little Miss Muffet is a real bitch.

Want to tell us what you've been reading recently, or recommend a book to Kat? Leave us a comment below.