Reading is an essential part of the writing life, but few writers tackle the pleasures of this personal, insular act in their work. In this week's podcast, the novelist and essayist Siri Hustvedt reads a piece from her latest collection which addresses the subject directly. Ben Lerner explains how his reading led to his novel Leaving the Atocha Station and, in a musical first for the Guardian Books podcast, we're joined in the studio by The Bookshop Band, who turn their reading into literary songs.

Reading – and listening – list

Living, Thinking, Looking by Siri Hustvedt (Sceptre)
Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner (Granta)
The Bookshop Band