The musician and author of the memoir “Girl in a Band” is a fan of Joan Didion: “How cool is it that Céline chose her for their new ad campaign? I want those sunglasses.”

What books are currently on your night stand?

“The Argonauts,” by Maggie Nelson, and “Becoming Westerly,” by Jamie Brisick. Jamie’s book is a biography of a famous Australian surfer who’s transgender, man to woman, and still surfs. Jamie is shooting a documentary on her now. I also have Jo Nesbo’s latest, “Police.” I’ve read all the others in the series. I’m learning about Norway’s relationship with the Nazis and a lot of other things about that country. I like the protagonist, Harry Hole; it’s a ridiculous name, but it works. He’s grizzled, alcoholic, surrounded by a lot of corruption, so he’s working against the police and trying to find the serial killer at the same time.

Who is your favorite novelist of all time? Your favorite novel?

I don’t have a favorite, but I like the way Jonathan Lethem writes about music, and in one of his books he has an amazing description of a band practicing. Mary Gaitskill is another one. She introduced modern female sexuality into contemporary literature. I also love Henry James and Gustave Flaubert, who wrote the first feminist novel in “Madame Bovary.” I love that period of literature; it’s like hyper-elegant gossip. I like James’s mysterious and detailed writing, and how he’s not afraid of taboo subjects. Of course I’ve always liked Philip K. Dick.

Whom do you consider the best writers — novelists, songwriters, journalists, poets — working today?

For poetry, Ariana Reines and Elaine Kahn. They’re both risk takers. For music, I like Stephen Malkmus, and also Sibylle Baier. I really love Baier’s sweetly melancholy melodies. She wrote one record, and it’s stunningly beautiful. Hilton Als is so intuitive — he writes from the heart and the head at the same time. I’m a recent convert to Joan Didion, whom I’ve been meaning to read for years and finally got around to. She’s a woman writing in a man’s world, but her voice isn’t girlish, but it’s not a man’s either. How cool is it that Céline chose her for their new ad campaign? I want those sunglasses.