"It was the day my grandmother exploded" — probably the best opening line I've ever read. Not that he needs my help but I would recommend pretty much anything by Iain Banks. I've only met him once but he's an effusive chap. He writes his sci-fi under the name Iain M Banks by the way.

My wife and I discovered Malcolm Lindsay through the compelling album Solitary Citizen which we stumbled upon on the internet as you do. Since then he has released a number of pieces and is starting to get some well-deserved work in film and from the BBC. He specialises in music for string quartet.

William McIlvanney has been somewhat overshadowed by younger Scottish writers mainly because he has kept something of a low profile in recent years. He gained fame with his trilogy of literary detective novels based around the character Jack Laidlaw. I love his short story collection Walking Wounded. One of the stories was turned into a television play featuring a young Billy Connolly.

Fish first came to my attention with the album Script for a Jester's Tear. At that time he was the frontman with Marillion. I bought the album on the basis of hearing one single from it played once on the radio and have bought everything he had released ever since. A wholly underrated songwriter. Field of Crows is probably my favourite album.

When I was growing up Kes was the coming of age film to see. Lynne Ramsey's bleak, beautifully photographed debut compares well to Ken Loach's film. Ratcatcher unflinchingly portrays life in Glasgow  during the 1973 binmen's strike as seen through the eyes of 12-year-old James Gillespie.

I fell in love with Jennifer Anderson's art the moment I saw it in a gallery on Byres Road in Glasgow. She focuses on single portraits mainly of, to my mind at least, rather sad-looking young women.

Janice Galloway's prose is an acquired taste. It took me a wee while to acquire it but she is worth the effort. Her first novel, The Trick is to Keep Breathing is rightly regarded as a classic. I don't know the last time I so engaged with a character on a bit of paper.