It's Book Week at BBC Northern Ireland, and to celebrate, the lovely team at ATL Introducing have asked me to share some of my favourite reads. 

My little Ikea bookshelves are almost at breaking point, because I am a lowkey hoarder with a spending problem and an English literature degree. So, it was lots of fun to rifle through my library and pick out some of my favourite books. Hopefully this can provide you with some inspiration if you're looking for some reading material this Autumn! You can hear me talking about these books on last night's episode of ATL Introducing on BBC Radio Ulster, available to stream now on BBC Sounds.

What are you reading right now?

At the minute, I am making my way through Ask Again Yes by Mary Beth Keane. It's a juicy fiction novel exploring family dynamics, pain, grief and above all else, love! It's also set in New York. (My younger sister likes to remind me that I went to NYC on holiday once and I have decided to make it my entire personality ever since.) I came across this title at a second hand bookshop, and I was immediately intrigued by the title. I'll admit that this isn't my usual style or genre, as it's a sprawling drama that spans thirty years. It took a while to warm up, but I'm now fully invested in the exploits of the Gleeson and Stanhope families—a reminder that it's good to go out of your comfort zone and take a chance on a charity shop find.

One book that you can't go on tour without?

I always pack books with me when I head out on tour with my band Brand New Friend. Short story collections are ideal, as you can dip in and out of them in between shows. I love Dance Move by Wendy Erskine, a compendium of tales that manages to take mundane situations and make them seem so poignant and powerful. Many of the stories are set in Erskine's native East Belfast, and I love the way she brings Northern Ireland to life through her dialogue. It's a total gem.

What book have you never read but would love to read?

On my trip to New York earlier this year (I'm starting to see what she means...) I stopped by the Strand, a beautiful independent bookstore in the East Village of Manhattan. One of the books that I picked up was Ulysses by James Joyce, as it has been on my bookish bucket list ever since I studied Dubliners at university. It's famously complex, and it often comes up in lists of books that people lie about having read. I'm a notoriously slow reader, so hopefully one day I will have made my way through this cardinal text in the modernist canon.

Best music book/biography?

Whilst it doesn't specifically focus on music, Elizabeth Gilbert's 'Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear' is a book that I recommend to all of my artist friends. It focuses on the act of creating without judgement, and it gives practical tips on how to step beyond the blocks that can inhibit production as a writer. Reading it helped me overcome a lot of anxiety and imposter syndrome around songwriting. An honourable mention must also go to 'Fangirls' by Hannah Ewens. It's a non-fiction book that explores the transformative power of fandom in the lives of young women, deconstructing the stigma that so often comes with the term 'fangirl'. I came across this whilst researching for my Master's dissertation on the representation of One Direction fans in the media, and it was such a great read.