Here at Cityline.ca, we love talking about books and what we’re reading and loving right now. In our weekly feature, Friday Reads, we give you a behind-the-scenes look at what Cityline guest experts and staff members are reading, as well as sharing the current picks of some of our viewers. This week, we’re taking a peek at the bookshelves of Suzanne Gardner and Kate Moore!

Suzanne Gardner, Cityline.ca’s web content coordinator is reading There But For The by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton). This quirky, playful novel starts at a dinner party in London, when a guest leaves the table partway through the meal and locks himself in an upstairs room and refuses to leave. We then learn about this guest through an eclectic group of neighbours and friends, all of whom only somewhat know the oddball in question. “I’m only just starting to get into this book, but I’m already loving Smith’s writing style,” enthuses Suzanne. “She’s so witty and clever, and knows exactly how to craft a winning sentence. Her writing alone will carry this novel for me.”

Kate Moore, Cityline‘s Around The House producer, is reading Chanel by Francois Baudot (Assouline Publishing). This short biography of fashion icon Coco Chanel is one of Kate’s favourite books, and she says that she rereads this book every so often, “not only for the love of fashion and design, but for the love of this woman’s perseverance, creativity and commitment. Born into poverty and raised in a convent, one would not have foreseen Gabrielle Chanel as a visionary and emancipator of women’s fashions. This short bio is barely over an hour’s read, but will captivate you long after with the emotion and images of her life, her men, and her designs.”

What are you reading this Friday? Tell us in the comments what books are currently residing on your bedside table, and we might include your pick in next week’s Friday Reads!