One of the most mythologised and endlessly discussed men in popular culture is also one of its most awarded. Over half a century Bob Dylan has won everything from three Grammys to an Oscar for best original song to a Pulitzer Prize and now the Nobel Prize in Literature. The announcement of his most recent accolade last week saw thousands of words produced about whether a singer should be awarded a literature prize and whether Dylan was a pop singer or a poet or whether he was too white or too male and whether he could really be compared to Homer and Sappho.While Dylan has written only two books - the stream-of-consciousness ramblings of his novel Tarantula and his much more accomplished memoir Chronicles - interest in the singer and his influence on popular culture has spawned hundreds of volumes. Whether you're a die-hard Dylan acolyte, a fan only of the acoustic period, just curious or even a sceptic, there's something in the literature for everyone.CHRONICLES PART ONE (2005)In his own words Dylan is poetic, enigmatic and determined to maintain the air of mystery that has made him the subject of so much speculation. However, there are a few small revelations to be had in what must count as one of music's more memorable memoirs and it provides insights into the mind of its author.BOB DYLAN BY GREIL MARCUS: WRITINGS 1968-2010Pop music's most erudite and intelligent writer, Marcus has written two books on Dylan - Invisible Republic, a brilliant examination of the artist's legendary collaboration with The Band on The Basement Tapes and the other on Dylan's electric break-out, Like a Rolling Stone. Over 40 years Marcus has been both Dylan's most ardent champion and one of his fiercest critics. This collection provides not only a fascinating struggle by a critic to understand himself and his changing relationship to his subject but also a survey of an ever-changing, sometimes frustrating but always inventive artist's successes and failures and downright embarrassing moments.BEHIND THE SHADES BY CLINTON HEYLIN (2011)Originally published in 1991 to coincide with Dylan's 50th birthday, Heylin's biography was reissued for his subject's 70th birthday. Often lauded as the definitive account of Dylan's life, the book makes use of interviews with hundreds of people who knew the artist to paint a picture of its elusive, shape-shifting and unique subject. The revised edition includes material on Dylan's 21st century albums, his memoir and his late career dabbles into painting. Heylin is also the author of an excellent two-volume critical analysis of every song Dylan wrote from 1957-2008 - Revolution in the Air and Still on the Road.DYLAN'S VISIONS OF SIN BY CHRISTOPHER RICKS (2003)If there's someone that doesn't need to be convinced of whether Dylan is deserving of a Nobel Prize in Literature, it's humanities professor Ricks. In this groundbreaking analysis of Dylan's songs, Ricks analyses the work according to the seven deadly sins, the four virtues and the three graces to argue that Dylan is as much a poet as Tennyson, Shakespeare and Milton. It's closely argued but intriguingly enticing and often difficult to disagree with.BOB DYLAN: THE ESSENTIAL INTERVIEWS EDITED BY JONATHAN COTT (2006)For a notoriously difficult subject, Dylan has given thousands of interviews and this chronologically arranged and carefully chosen selection offers not only a picture of Dylan's prickliness in the presence of journalists but also a window into Dylan's changing thoughts on life and music. Overall it's a useful and rewarding collection that paints a picture of a man whom Cott aptly describes as "a playful expositor of his munificent and inspiring thought-dreams".WICKED MESSENGER: BOB DYLAN AND THE 1960S BY MIKE MARQUSEE (2003)The late journalist and cultural critic Marqusee locates Dylan within the social and political circumstances of his early years to better understand the singer as a prophet for his times, if not exactly the voice of his generation. Excellent on the big picture and elegantly written, it's a testament to Marqusee's piercing intelligence and advances an interesting thesis that contrary to what he may have said, Dylan continued to be a political singer well into his later career.POSITIVELY 4TH STREET: THE LIVES AND TIMES OF JOAN BAEZ, BOB DYLAN, MIMI BAEZ FARIÑA, AND RICHARD FARIÑA BY DAVID HAJDU (2001)Hajdu delivers an energetic portrait of the world of Greenwich Village in the 1960s and how the lives of his protagonists intersected to produce some of the era's most memorable music. It's more gossipy than other books but Hajdu has a flair for incorporating delicious titbits into his account and sweeping the readers off the page and into the streets that were home to the coffee-shop culture that led to the folk revival. The book also documents the folk scene's personal rivalries and love affairs as well as its long-lasting effects on the counter-culture...