The confessions of a 1990s alt-rock heroine Carrie Brownstein

By any measure, Brownstein has an unusual background

Carrie Brownstein: the co-vocalist with US indie-grunge outfit Sleater-Kinney, and writer and actress for Portlandia, has produced a candid memoirPicture: Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times

Memoir; Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl; By Carrie Brownstein; Virago, €23

Not so long ago, it was difficult to locate more than a handful of music memoirs in bookshops that were written by women: for generations, the rock memoirs game, like rock music itself, was dominated by a fleet of axe-wielding men.

But in the past five years, a welcome sea-change has taken place, with absorbing offerings coming from Tracey Thorn (Everything ...