If Hozier's touchdown on Australian soil has left you not just listening to Unreal Unearth on repeat, but wanting to make forests, whisky and pining your whole personality, then this is the reading list for you. Whether you're just looking for vibes, or you want to dive a bit deeper into the themes and influences behind his music, this list will have something for you to pick up and get lost in – until concert time roles around.

For those who share Hozier's love of pollinators

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All the Bees in the Hollows by Lauren Keegan

This book combines a reverence for bees with superstition and creeping dread, making it a perfect combo of Hozier vibes.

Marytè is a devoted beekeeper. She lives by the old rules: work with fellow beekeepers, be a good Christian and a good harvest will follow. These rules help her cope with her grief when she inherits her husband's tree hollows. But as harsh conditions and tax increases threaten the harvest, Marytè begins to question her faith, her community and her own sanity . . .

For something both gothic and wild

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Isolation, obsession, secrets and a dense, sprawling woodland – name something more appropriate to read while listening to Hozier. I'll wait.

Eighteen-year-old Merricat may or may not be a mass murderer

Six years ago everyone in the Blackwood family was poisoned by sugar laced with arsenic – everyone, that is, apart from Merricat and her elder sister Constance. They live in peaceful, ordered isolation, away from prying eyes in the nearby village, until one day boorish cousin Charles arrives with designs on their father's fortune. Whether by practical or magical means, Merricat will do whatever is necessary to protect their home.

If 'Francesca' is your favourite song from Unreal Unearth

Inferno: The Divine Comedy I by Dante, translated by Robin Kirkpatrick

Delve into the literary references in Hozier's lyrics with the classic that inspired the heart-wrenching story of 'Francesca'.

Describing Dante’s descent into Hell with Virgil as a guide, Inferno depicts a cruel underworld in which desperate figures are condemned to eternal damnation for committing one or more of seven deadly sins. As he descends through nine concentric circles of increasingly agonising torture, Dante encounters doomed souls including the pagan Aeneas, the liar Odysseus, the suicide Cleopatra, and his own political enemies, damned for their deceit.

For those interested in Irish history

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Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

'Eat Your Young' was inspired by the Troubles' legacy of violence in Ireland – dig deeper into the conflict with the award winning Say Nothing.

One night in December 1972, Jean McConville, a mother of ten, was abducted from her home in Belfast and never seen alive again. Her disappearance would haunt her orphaned children, the perpetrators of the brutal crime and a whole society in Northern Ireland for decades.

Through the unsolved case of Jean McConville’s abduction, Patrick Radden Keefe tells the larger story of the Troubles. A gripping story forensically reported, Say Nothing explores the extremes people will go to for an ideal, and the way societies mend – or don’t – after long and bloody conflict.

For more romance and tragedy

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

If listening to 'Francesca' (or reading about Paolo and Francesca in Inferno) has left you in the mood for star-crossed tragedy, this is a must.

A young man and woman meet by chance and fall instantly in love. But their families are bitter enemies, and in order to be together the two lovers must be prepared to risk everything. Set in a city torn apart by feuds and gang warfare, Romeo and Juliet is a dazzling combination of passion and hatred, bawdy comedy and high tragedy.

For anyone drawn in by pagan magic or dark forests

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Deep Is the Fen by Lili Wilkinson

Bogs, swamps and magic – there's not much more on-theme for Hozier.

Merriwether Morgan likes her life as it is: simple, happy, and with absolutely no magic. Magic only ever leads to trouble.

But Merry's best friend, Teddy, is joining the Toadmen – a magical secret society – and she is determined to stop him. Even if it means teaming up with her academic arch-nemesis, Caraway Boswell, an ice-cold snob who hides his true face behind a glamour.

An ancient Toad ritual is being held in the nightmarish Deeping Fen, and if Merry doesn't rescue Teddy, she'll lose him forever. But the further she travels into Deeping Fen's foul waters, the more Merry wonders if she can possibly save her friend – or if she's walking straight into a trap.

If 'Too Sweet' still gets stuck in your head

The Whisky Dictionary by Ian Wisniewski

If you're new to drinking whisky but want to develop the palette for it, this is a great place to start. Before long you too will be enjoying your coffee black and your whisky neat . . .

This is the drinker’s guide to every aspect of whisky, from Scotch to Japanese, rye to bourbon and beyond. With hundreds of entries covering everything from history, ingredients and distilling techniques to flavour notes, cocktails and the many varieties of whisky from all around the world, renowned whisky expert Ian Wisniewski explores and unlocks the wonderful world of a drink like no other.

For those curious about the musicians name-dropped in 'Nina Cried Power'

Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday

Billy Holiday, Nina Simone, James Brown – they're just some of the groundbreaking blues musicians that have inspired Hozier's music. Learn more about the iconic 'Lady Day' with this memoir of her life and music.

Lady Sings the Blues is the inimitable autobiography of one of the greatest icons of the twentieth century. Born to a single mother in 1915 Baltimore, Billie Holiday had her first run-in with the law at aged 13. But Billie Holiday is no victim. Her memoir tells the story of her life spent in jazz, smoky Harlem clubs and packed-out concert halls, her love affairs, her wildly creative friends, her struggles with addiction and her adventures in love.

If 'I, Carrion' has left you craving Greek tragedies

The Greek Myths: The Complete and Definitive Edition by Robert Graves

Discover the tragedy of Icarus' flight, amongst this collection of timeless myths and legends from Ancient Greece.

Including many of the greatest stories ever told – the labours of Hercules, the ambition of Icarus, Theseus and the minotaur, Midas and his golden touch, the Trojan War and Odysseus’s journey home – Robert Graves’s superb and comprehensive retelling of the Greek myths for a modern audience has been regarded for over fifty years as the definitive version.

To discover the poet that inspires Hozier himself

100 Poems by Seamus Heaney

Hozier has referenced Seamus Heaney's poetry in his lyrics, talked about him in interviews and even has a tattoo of the poet's last words! Pick up this book to immerse yourself in the work of this incredible Irish poet.

Seamus Heaney had the idea to form a personal selection from across the entire arc of his poetry, small yet comprehensive enough to serve as an introduction for all comers. He never managed to do this in his lifetime, and no edition exists which has such a broad range, drawing from first collection to last. But now, at last, the project has been returned to, resulting in an intimate gathering of poems chosen and introduced by the Heaney family.