Five Great Reads: female fantasies, coping with grief and a nuanced take on a plagiarism scandal

‘I am still, in so many ways, that little boy, bringing my work to the quiet room in the back of the library, asking what my teacher thinks.’ Photograph: Isabella Moore/The Guardian

Good morning, and happy Saturday. I saw mid-January described as “the 7am of the year”, which by my read makes this … 8am? 8.30? Somewhere in the morning, and still very much the summer, anyway. A nice time to make yourself a coffee and settle in somewhere (window seat, maligned beach cabana, elusive patch of floor free of Lego) for a good read. Five of them, in fact – Kris and I are nothing if not consistent. We’ve also added a must-listen special podcast at the end – Katharine Murphy’s one-on-one with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese.

1. The John Hughes take you should read