Music and books are two things that I love from the bottom of my heart.
I love each one for the same reasons: they have the special ability to surround you with a thick cloud of emotions, and can simply change your life in a heartbeat.
I know that I couldn’t live without either of these forms of art, and I’m constantly looking for ways to shove my favorites into everyone’s faces… so that’s why I’m here today to pair 8 songs I love with 8 books I love (while I gush about all of them)!
Before I get started, please use these resources to support the Black community and demand justice for everything that has been going on. Remember to always show your support, even when social justice isn’t “trending.”
– Sign Petitions
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Overall: this site has many links including petitions, funds to donate to, organizations to support and more.
Please also use these resources for the Palestine conlict here and here, and for the Yemen crisis here.
Like the song Ribs by Lorde? Read the book Radio Silence by Alice Oseman!
(click the album cover to listen to the song on YouTube, click the book cover to see the book on Goodreads)
“This dream isn’t feeling sweet
We’re reeling through the midnight streets
And I’ve never felt more alone
It feels so scary, getting old”
“You’re the only friend I need
Sharing beds like little kids
Laughing ’til our ribs get tough
But that will never be enough”
(all featured quotes are lyrics from the song)
Lorde is one of my favorite musical artists of all time, and for good reason: her songs are guaranteed to drown you in feelings. If you’ve listened to Ribs, you know that its’ melancholy, nostalgic tone matched with lyrics speaking of the constant fear that arises from getting older are extraordinarily unique.
Radio Silence is a beautiful book that involves many of the same messages! It follows Frances: a girl who has recently graduated from college and isn’t quite sure what she wants to do with her life anymore. She creates strong bonds with many people and together they face the daunting pressure that comes from growing old.
This song and book pair so perfectly that if Radio Silence were to be a movie, I can clearly imagine Ribs playing in the opening credits! (And if you’ve read the book, you know how perfectly the song lyrics featured above fit!)
Like the song Burned by Grace Vanderwaal? Read the book A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi!
(click the album cover to listen to the song on YouTube, click the book cover to see the book on Goodreads)
“You don’t play with fire
Unless you wanna get burned,
Wanna get burned”
A Very Large Expanse of Sea is a book that I will always love, although I certainly haven’t talked about it enough! I was swept up in its story of Shirin, a Muslim girl who has to deal with constant Islamophobia in the aftermath of 9/11. In fact, I was moved to tears while reading about her journey and the horrifying prejudice and lengths people went to tell her that she wasn’t wanted.
The song that instantly comes to my mind when I think of this book is Grace Vanderwaal’s Burned: her raspy, aching vocals and the thrumming piano powerfully paint a scene similar to Shirin’s struggle. This pairing is mostly based on the overall feeling of the song and book rather than the lyrics, as both are drenched in anger, frustration and despair.
Like the song Crush by Tessa Violet? Read the book A Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai!
(click the album cover to listen to the song on YouTube, click the book cover to see the book on Goodreads)
“And I’m just tryna play it cool now
But that’s not what I wanna do now
And I’m not tryna be with you now, you now”
Tessa Violet’s playful voice and the peppy, upbeat track simply define Crush as the ‘😊’ emoji in song form. You can’t help but smile when listening to this song, especially because the lyrics are so catchy!
I chose A Match Made In Mehendi to go with this song because they’re are filled with a plethora of adorable, blush-inducing moments. While I had a few problems with the actual story of A Match Made In Mehendi, it fits the vibe of Crush perfectly. In fact, the book follows Simi as she develops a matchmaking app to help make her place in high school and climb the social ladder. (Also, the Indian representation warmed my heart so, so much — anytime chai or samosas were mentioned I just melted!!)
Listening to this song or reading this book just sparks the hopeless romantic in me, and I’m sure that I’m not the only one!
Like the song Florets by Grace Vanderwaal? Read the book I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn!
(click the album cover to listen to the song on YouTube, click the book cover to see the book on Goodreads)
“I wanna dance in the air
Blowing florets
And just not care about anyone or anything but you and me
So don’t let go of me”
(Yes, we’re featuring another Grace Vanderwaal song because these two just fit perfectly!)
Florets is the kind of song that makes you feel like traveling to a flower field in the middle of nowhere and dancing your heart out. If this song were a color, it would be pastel pink: soft, sweet and the exact shade I imagine those flowers in the field would be!
And not only does I Love You So Mochi boast pastel pink flowers on its’ cover, but it also fills me with the happiest feelings! This book is all about Kimi and her journey traveling through Japan as she looks for her one true passion. It features lovely family bonds as well as an adorable romance: I can definitely see all the characters having a wholesome, albeit rather spotaneous dance party together.
♡ You Might Also Like: My Mini Review of I Love You So Mochi ♡
Like the song Marilyn by Alice Kristiansen? Read the book We Are Okay by Nina LaCour!
(click the album cover to listen to the song on YouTube, click the book cover to see the book on Goodreads)
“I need you more than I want to
You need me more than you say you do
Tell me now what happens in the end
Tell me now what happens in the end”
At the surface, Marilyn seems like a simple song, but when you take a minute to look at the lyrics, you realize that Alice Kristiansen is singing with a certain sadness in her voice. This reminds me so much of We Are Okay: a contemporary novel that follows Mabel and unfolds layers of her past as the story goes on.
Marilyn and We Are Okay both are filled with longing, sadness, but also curiosity of what will happen next. They also have such a winter-y aesthetic to them that I can’t think of one without being reminded of the other!
Like the song What If by Rhys Lewis? Read the book What I Carry by Jennifer Longo!
(click the album cover to listen to the song on YouTube, click the book cover to see the book on Goodreads)
“But what if, what if we’d held on for longer
And what if, what if breaking made us stronger
Either way I’m contemplating
If there’s a way to get you back”
What I Carry is an underrated gem of a novel; it quickly rose to the title of one of my favorite books of 2020 after I read it, especially after the beautiful characters and strong themes latched onto my heart and ended up staying for a while. This novel follows Muir, a girl aging out of the foster care system, as she finds people she loves for the first time and dares to dream of a family.
Muir’s internal struggle between wanting to only fend for herself and realizing that it’s okay to let people in is perfectly reflected in Rhys Lewis’s song What If — both speak of regret and the quiet power of might-have-beens. While the tone of this song and book can be disheartening at times, both also end with the sparkling promise of hope.
Like the song you should see me in a crown by Billie Eilish? Read the book You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson!
(click the album cover to listen to the song on YouTube, click the book cover to see the book on Goodreads)
“You should see me in a crown
I’m gonna run this nothing town
Watch me make ’em bow
One by one by, one”
(This pairing is different because I’m pretty sure that the author of You Should See Me In A Crown was inspired by Billie Eilish’s song, but I’m still including it because I’m too excited to talk about both.)
You Should See Me In A Crown (the novel) is a recent favorite of mine, especially because it’s the kind of book that slowly creeps up on you — in the best way possible. I loved the characters’ relationships, how the plot played on common tropes, and most importantly, the main character Liz’s journey in realizing that she was worth so much more than what others tried to tell her.
The song you should see me in a crown is bold, assertive and ebbs of confidence. This pairing is based more on its’ lyrics, though, as they match quite well with the book!
Like the song Idle Town by Conan Gray? Read the book Famous In A Small Town by Emma Mills!
(click the album cover to listen to the song on YouTube, click the book cover to see the book on Goodreads)
“Yeah, I think that we’ll all be okay (In our idle town)
The idle town will stay as it stays (In our idle town)
And everyone I love’s in this place (In our idle town)”
We’re ending these pairings with a soft, comforting song and an even softer, comforting book! I’m sure you all know by now that I always read an Emma Mills contemporary when I’m in need of a pick-me-up: her formula to crafting lovable characters, adorable romances, and beautiful friendships has (almost) never let me down.
I absolutely loved Famous In A Small Town for so many reasons, especially the small-town setting and Sophie’s amazing friend group! The moment I finished it, I realized that it reminded me so much of Conan Gray’s Idle Town. This song features the most gentle, tender melody, and speaks nostalgically of living in, well, an ‘idle town’.
If that doesn’t make it a perfect pairing already, here’s more proof: both the lyrics of the song and the characters in this novel come to the realization that the most important part is that they’re surrounded by everyone they love!
what are some of your favorite songs? do any songs you know remind you of books? did you agree with any of the song + book pairs i made?
(also, i was trying a semi-different writing style in this post, so let me know what you thought of it!)
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