Here at The Gazelle, we work hard to bring you interesting, informative content that you can enjoy and engage with. But what do we read when we aren’t in production every Saturday, working late into the night? The Weekly Graze is a series in which The Gazelle’s staff members pick their favorite written reads from the past week, in the hope that you might discover some interesting reads too.

Connor Pearce Co-Editor in Chief

The Watch Tower, Elizabeth Harrower

Set on the glistening shores of Sydney Harbour in the 1940s, Elizabeth Harrower writes of two sisters, Laura and Clare, who are abandoned by their mother after their father's death and who come to live with Felix Shaw, Laura's employer and husband. Shaw is a cruel husband who takes away anything the two women have, and psychologically and physically abuses Laura until she becomes a shell. Clare, the younger sister, is luckier and is able to escape Shaw's clutches, but she is unable to save her sister. The Watch Tower is an outstanding work of Australian feminist literature that expertly captures the way in which a patriarchal society hides the constant threat of violence and female subjugation beneath a glittering veneer.

Jocilyn Estes Opinion Editor

Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, Gilbert King

In this Pulitzer Prize-winning piece of nonfiction, Gilbert King delivers an incredible account of one of the most important civil rights cases in U.S. American history. The book follows Thurgood Marshall through the humid swamps of Florida during his career with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, years before his days working on the Supreme Court. King, assisted by newly released FBI case files, follows Marshall as he enters the Jim Crow South to take on the Klu Klux Klan. This powerful narrative is a gripping description of what former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson called "one of the best examples of one of the worst menaces to American justice." If you’re excited by law, U.S. American history or social justice movements generally, this one's for you.

Pranav Mehta Research Editor

Remember Me?, Sophie Kinsella

When a friend caught me giggling at a physics problem because of its intricate story arc, said friend recommended this novel so that I could regain some semblance of so-called normal fiction. And that's exactly what happened — I have never been more invested in a fictional character's life than I was in Lexi's. Waking up brooding in a hospital and remembering you don't conform to society's ideals of beauty and also have a subpar love life can be tough, but hey, she realizes she's aged three years, has an enviable figure, straight teeth and a millionaire husband. The complex plot that follows — marriage problems, retrograde amnesia and attractive men — renders this literary gem a page-turner. What happens next? Will Lexi unravel the truth? I, as I'm sure you too, asked these questions, perched on the periphery of my seat.

Hannah Taylor Managing Editor

And the Mountains Echoed, Khaled Hosseini

I bought this book during a layover in Amsterdam that was unexpectedly lengthened by a flight delay. I went for the safe bet, choosing Hosseini because of his incredible popularity and my love for The Kite Runner. The book was the only thing that kept me awake long enough to catch my flight. As always, Hosseini conveys incredible honesty and insight that makes the reader feel as though they’re sitting with the dysfunctional families and friends portrayed in their living rooms, sipping tea and eating biscuits. The running themes were bonds and love with a focus on family dynamics, and unlike in his earlier works, Hosseini focuses on multiple characters and stories. Most of the story threads intertwine only at brief moments, but throughout the book there is a humane truth that everyone can relate to and learn from. I was actually nicer to my mother after reading this book.