Hi friends! I hope you all are doing okay ?
This idea for a post had been sitting in my drafts for like, half a year or something, but…. I haven’t tackled it properly, because I was a little scared of messing it up. Still, I loved the idea so much, I couldn’t give it up.
So… after spending long hours, searching for the perfect fit, here it is. I’m happy (and a little nervous) to share with you all 10 books I adore and the songs on my playlist I picked out for them! This was no easy feat, let me tell you, but in the end, I’d say I am pretty happy with the final result, sooo I hope you’ll enjoy it, too!
Also for those of you who were a bit curious about my musical taste, well… here you go!
? My Books & Songs Pairings ?
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid
The song I’m pairing it with ? Taylor Swift – The Man
“I’m so sick of running as fast as I can
Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man
And I’m so sick of them coming at me again”
Why I’m pairing them together ? Two ultimate favorite need to go together, am I right?
Evelyn Hugo is that character I can’t stop thinking about. Her fierceness, determination, her living in a cruel, unforgiving Hollywood world dominated by white men. I adore and really recommend reading this book and Taylor Swift’s song, The Man, is perfectly fitting for her.
“Make them pay you as much as they would a white man.”
▶️ listen to the song – ? find it on goodreads – ? read my review
The Last Thing You Said, Sara Biren
The song I’m pairing it with ? Coldplay, The Scientist
“Nobody said it was easy
It’s such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh take me back to the start“
Why I’m pairing them together ? The Last Thing You Said is an incredibly moving story about grief and trying to find your way back to each other despite the obstacles and weight of the past. I really enjoyed this book and The Scientist is a beautiful song that fits with it!
▶️ listen to the song – ? find it on goodreads – ? read my review
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Michelle Hodkin
The song I’m pairing it with ? Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper, Shallow
“And in the bad times I fear myself
I’m off the deep end, watch as I dive in
I’ll never meet the ground“
Why I’m pairing them together ? Mara Dyer is such a… messed-up book, I want to say. I don’t want to spoil it too much if you haven’t read it at all, but it’s an addictive mystery with stunning writing and characters and one of my favorites for sure. Mara is one of the most complex characters ever and the song Shallow completely represents her feelings thorough the book.
▶️ listen to the song – ? find it on goodreads
Nothing Left To Burn, Heather Ezell
The song I’m pairing it with ? The Veronicas, You Ruin Me
“‘Cause you play me like a symphony
Play me till your fingers bleed
I’m your greatest masterpiece
You ruin me“
Why I’m pairing them together ? Nothing Left To Burn is one of my favorite books EVER, okay, so go read it please. More seriously, this book is about a toxic relationship, told in between past and present, with incredible writing and tension and I adore it. The song, You Ruin Me, is so fitting to illustrate the messy, toxic relationship of the story.
▶️ listen to the song – ? find it on goodreads – ? read my review
When The Stars Lead To You, Ronni Davis
The song I’m pairing it with ? Jonas Brothers, Hesitate
“Pull me close and I’ll hold you tight
Don’t be scared ’cause I’m on your side
Know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you“
Why I’m pairing them together ? I love this book and I love this song. That’s why.
Okay, more seriously, When The Stars Lead To You is a consuming first-love with someone dealing with depression and I really loved it. Hesitate is a song that makes me bawl like a baby and they’re both really great okay.
▶️ listen to the song – ? find it on goodreads – ? read my review
A Thousand Perfect Notes, C. G. Drews
The song I’m pairing it with ? Marina Kaye, Homeless
“Heavy steps on hardwood floors
Into my room trough broken doors
Try to leave this day behind me
But peace will never find me“
Why I’m pairing them together ? A Thousand Perfect Notes is about Beck, hating his home and his abusive mother and it’s an emotional, stunning debut I really enjoyed. Marina Keye’s song, Homeless, fits the book perfectly, about trying to find a home and losing yourself and I love this song so much.
▶️ listen to the song – ? find it on goodreads – ? read my review
Permanent Record, Mary H. K. Choi
The song I’m pairing it with ? Snow Patrol, Chasing Cars
“If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?“
Why I’m pairing them together ? I feel like Chasing Cars goes perfectly with Permanent Record. I mean, Pablo is a university drop-out struggling with money and… well, life, and Leanna is an international star. They meet randomly at 4 a.m in Brooklyn and I feel like their entire relationship could fit in these couple verses from the song. It’s a wonderful song and book, really.
▶️ listen to the song – ? find it on goodreads – ? read my review
The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas
The song I’m pairing it with ? Emeli Sande, Read All About It
“I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream ’til the words dry out
So put it in all of the papers,
I’m not afraid“
Why I’m pairing them together ? If I found one perfect fit in this post, it’s that. I could only fit a couple lines, but Emeli Sande’s entire song perfectly encompasses The Hate U Give and the voice Starr needs to find and dare using, to speak up for the best friend she lost because of police violence.
“What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”
▶️ listen to the song – ? find it on goodreads – ? read my review
We Used To Be Friends, Amy Spalding
The song I’m pairing it with ? No Doubt, Don’t Speak
“I really feel that I’m losin’ my best friend
I can’t believe this could be the end
It looks as though you’re lettin’ go“
Why I’m pairing them together ? A book about friendship, yes! I loved We Used to Be Friends, because it’s an incredible story about friends growing apart and it’s very relatable and I love it. No Doubt’s song is just so, so good and so fitting for the book, too.
▶️ listen to the song – ? find it on goodreads – ? read my review
You’d Be Mine, Erin Hahn
The song I’m pairing it with ? Selena Gomez, Vulnerable
“If I hand you my emotions, would you even want to take it?
If I give you all my trust, then would you fumble it and break it?
If I let you cross my finish line, then would you wanna make it?“
Why I’m pairing them together ? You’d Be Mine has one of my favorite romances ever. Annie and Clay are country artists finding themselves on tour together, slowly falling for each other but not really wanting to leave themselves vulnerable enough to get hurt. I love this and Selena Gomez’s song goes perfectly with that!
▶️ listen to the song – ? find it on goodreads – ? read my review
What do you think of my picks? Did you read any of these books? Do you like any of these artists?
Let me know in comments!
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Wow! What a lovely post!
Thank you so much!! 🙂
This is such a fun idea!!
The Bookish Life Of Tiffany
Ahhh thank you, so happy you enjoyed it 😀
Those are all amazing pairings!!! Usually, I rarely know songs, but I actually knew the majority and even if I didn’t read all the books, I definitely understand why you grouped them together. So fun!!!
Ahhh thank you Kat, I’m so happy to hear that and that you know the songs, too 😀
Thank you! <3
Plenty of interesting books on your list.
Thank you so much! 🙂
This was SUCH an interesting idea, props for creativity! And I loved the suggestions!
Ahhh thank you, so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
I like Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez. Love this post.
Ahhh yay! Thank you so much 🙂
Chasing Cars and Permanent Record are the perfect pair <3
The Man pairing makes me want to read Evelyn Hugo even more. I must get around to it!
This was such a cool idea, Marie!
Ahh thank you, I’m so, so happy you enjoyed it. I hope you can read Evelyn Hugo soon, it’s incredible 🙂
This was such a great post idea Marie!! It sounds fun to pick out a song for your favorite books. I usually make a playlist everyday depending upon how I’m feeling for something to listen to. Music is a nice accompaniment to everything <3
Oh thank you so much, so happy you liked this post! 😀
Love this post!! So many great song and book recommendations–can’t wait to listen to all of them <3
Oh thank you Holly!! I hope you’ll enjoy them 😀
I just read this and I hope you don’t mind if I use this for an article inspiration, and tag you in it! ❤️
OH I’d love to see your blog post, yes please tag me in it, so I won’t miss it <3
Thank you! 🙂
Absolutely! Thank you for writing inspiring posts! ❤️
Awww, thank you!! <3
Absolutely! ❤️
Oh, I love this post, it’s such a great idea ? A lot of the songs definitely filled me with SO much nostalgia – like The Scientist, Chasing Cars and Read All About It – me and my friends loved them so much back in the day ? I also think that ‘The Man’ fits perfectly for Evelyn Hugo – she’s a badass ?
Ahh thank you, Caro! Same here, I have a thing for “old” songs ahah 🙂 and the Man, ahh that was the most obvious choice of them all 😀
Ooh these are such great pairs – I’ve only read a couple of books on the list but listening to what songs you’ve chosen, I can definitely see the connection! This is also just such a fun idea!
Oh thank you so much, I’m so happy you liked it 😀
This is a great post! Fun and creative! ?
Oh thank you Carol!! 🙂
This is a really cute idea! Thanks! x
Thank you, happy you enjoyed it 🙂
These are some great pairings. Gosh, I need to get into the Mara Dyer series!
AH YES I hope you will, it’s an amazing series!! 😀
AMAZING post idea, love!! ❤️ Seeing The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer makes me feel SO nostalgic OMG, I love that trilogy ???
Ahh thank you Sofi, so glad you liked it! Mara Dyer makes me feel so nostalgic as well, I love that series. <3
Not only is this a super clever blog post idea, but now I have all kinds of new music to listen to! I’m not familiar with all of these, but I do love your choices for A Thousand Perfect Notes and The Hate U Give. And because I love “Chasing Cars,” now I need to read Permanent Record. I love this!
Oooh this makes me so happy, thank you so much! <3 <3 I hope you'll find some new songs you'll love <3
And ahh read Permanent Record please! It's such an incredible read 😀
OMG Evelyn Hugo + The Man and Permanent Record + Chasing Cars are SUCH great picks. Especially Chasing Cars has that wintery/longing/nostalgic/slightly emo feel that the book also has!!
AH I’m glad you agree with my picks ahh these were tough! Thank you, Tiffany!! <3
Love this post!! Also SUPER hard to do!! I tried to do something like this for a top ten tuesday years and years ago and it was way harder than expected!! You did a fab job.
Oh thank you Michelle! <3 It was so much harder than I expected it to be, I spent hours on it ahah 🙂
I love this!
Ahh thank you!! 🙂
You’re welcome!
I’m really digging your first two choices. I need to go listen to that Selena Gomez song to see how it fits with the last book (just read and loved it). I’m also more curious about Mara because of that song choice.
Ahh thank you! I’m so happy you like my choices. I hope you’ll give Mara Dyer a try, this book is so, SO good, I was so addicted ahah 🙂
I own it, so I’m sure I will at some point!
The Permanent Record pairing is perfect, so I will assume the rest are as well!! (I really need to get reading these books!!)
Oh thank you so, so much!! Ihope you can read some of these soon 🙂
ahh… I love music so much so this was such a fun post to read !! It can be hard to match them to books but you did so well!! The Man and Evelyn Hugo really do go so well together, I think Evelyn would definitely be empowered by that song. I always thought primadonna by Marina went well with Evelyn as well (although I find a reason to match a Marina song to every book haha)
I love that you paired Chasing Cars with Permeant Record and your reasoning. It has definitely made me very excited to pick it up!! I CAN’T WAIT!!
I haven’t read THUG yet but I can see how it would go with Read All About It, such a great song. I love it so much and Emeli has such a stunning voice, I love it !!
Great post, I loved reading it so much and the way you set it out was wonderful !!! <3
Ahh thank you, I’m so happy you enjoyed this post Sophie! 😀
I’m so glad you like my picks and I’m so excited for you to read Permanent Record, I hope you’ll enjoy it 🙂
Thank you! <3
Oh, I love the song “You Ruin Me.” And I still need to read Evelyn Hugo, but “The Man” seems like a great fit. Fun post! I love matching up books with songs when I can think of something. 🙂
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
AH LAUREN! I’m so happy you like The Veronicas, they’re wonderful singers <3
Thank you so much! 🙂
What a fun idea for a post! I’m horrible about knowing popular songs, so I’m always in awe of people who can put posts like this together. 🙂
Ahh thank you Nicole! <3 <3
These were great pairings!! The first one is even super special to me, because I loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and I’m obsessed with Taylor’s last album, and The Man is one of my fav songs ??
Ahhh thank you, I’m so happy you liked my pairings! YES AHH I ADORE TAYLOR SWIFT ahh we can scream about her songs together!!!!! 😀
PLEASE! I’m having such a blast with her latest album, I can’t stop listening to it. I even try to go back to some old favourites, and everytime I end up listening to Taylor 😛
Ahh I get that, I adore her so much!!! <3
This was such a fun post!! The song for hate u give was PERFECT. and I also got so many song recommendations haha ❤ thank you for that! ❤
Ahh I’m so happy you liked it, thank you so much! 🙂 <3
I LOVE this idea for a post! I usually end up relating whatever music I’m listening to to books, so it’s right up my alley 😀 I can tell you put a lot of thought into all of your choices, and I love what you’ve come up with!
Your choice for Evelyn Hugo is PERFECT. I’ll admit that I have an entire playlist dedicated to that book, and there is a lot of Taylor Swift on there. Great minds think alike!
Wow, I hadn’t heard the song you paired with THUG before now, but it’s so spot-on that I have chills. Was that song written specifically for Starr?? I love it!!
And the song you’ve picked with We Used To Be Friends really captures the mood of the book. It’s amazing when a song can give you that same feeling!
Wonderful post, Marie, I really enjoyed all of your song and book pairings! 😀
Ahh thank you so much, I’m so happy you enjoyed this post <3
OH I want to see that entire Evelyn Hugo playlist, I'm sure it's PERFECT ahhhhhh that would be so awesome. <3
Thank you so, so much, I'm so happy you liked my pairings! 😀
Here’s the link to my Evelyn Hugo playlist if you’re interested 😉
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Awjw3NyMYM8wdCYYHEQkj?si=jF-n-kI7SD–kL1KjR7cLw
OH MY GOD I am in love with this playlist?
This is such a fun concept, Marie!!! I love it, and I think the Jonas Brother’s pairing with When the Stars Lead to You is calling my name :’)
Ahh thank you, I’m so happy you liked this! 😀
This is so fun! ? I don’t know any of these songs or many of these books, but I’ll have to check both out!
Ahhh thank you! I hope you will 😀
Ooh, I won’t lie I actually haven’t read any of these books! You always have some amazing contemporary picks, so I have to read it sometime soon!! 🙂
I love the idea of this post too – music and books always go well together!
Ahhh yes! I hope you’ll pick some of these up, they’re so lovely <3
Thank you!! <3
It’s so exciting to me seeing someone talking about The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer in 2020 😀 I loved the trilogy so much – it really is addictive. I think you chose the perfect song for it too!
Even though I haven’t read most of the books, I can tell you put a lot of thought into your song choices for them. Awesome post!
AHHHHHHH YES! I’m so happy you loved this trilogy, I feel so nostalgic just thinking about it <3
Thank you so much! <3
I love this so much! I just picked up More than Maybe by Erin Hahn, but You’d Be Mine sounds adorable too! I will definitely have to check that one out! Great list & pairings!
You’d be Mine was amazing! I hope you’ll give it a try 🙂
Thank you! <3
Totally love this. You totally nailed “The Hate you give” with that song. I love that book so much, I watched the movie and now I have this song. Thanks for putting this up.
ahh thank you! I’m happy to hear this 😀
This is such a fun post! While some of these books have been on my TBR list for a while, the songs you compared them to make me want to read the book even more. Great post xxx
Melina | http://www.melinaelisa.com
Ahh thank you, this makes me so happy! <3
This was so fun to read, and I love your song/book pairings. 🙂
ahhh thank you Ashley! <3
I actually love this idea so much! (hi, I’m Germaine, I’m new to your site!) I’ve barely read any of the books on this list, but I really appreciated that A Thousand Perfect Notes is on here — it’s just so underrated 🙂
Ahh thank you! I agree, it’s such a wonderful, underrated read 🙂
Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment Germaine! <3
This is such a fun idea for a post! Some tunes in this post and some books I havent read.
Thank you, happy you liked it 🙂
You’re so creative, I loved reading this post! I realy want to read Permanent Record now, it sounds great!
Oh thank you so much! <3 I hope you'll get around to reading it sometime soon, it's so good! 🙂
I’m so so SO late, but I’m catching up on the end of my feed at this point, and I still wanted to say that I *love* this post! I love Taylor Swift and Evelyn Hugo, so that pairing is my favorite and such a great pick. The other that I adore the most is THUG with Read All About It – I love both the song and the book, and you’re right, they fit each other perfectly. Lovely post! 🙂
Ahhh thank you so much, I’m so happy you loved this post!! <3
I need need need to read Mara Dyer! I’d kind of forgotten it existed until you mentioned it here but your summary of it makes me really want to read it now. I love that I know a lot of the songs here haha and also that you had little excerpts; I actually wrote a similar post matching five books with songs a while ago that I’m planning on posting in the next two weeks haha but I just love how you picked the excerpts and talked about how the lyrics matched the story!
Ooooooh, I’d be SO CURIOUS and so eager to hear your thoughts on Mara Dyer if you ever decide to read the series. I really loved it 🙂
Ahh that’s amazing! I’ll be looking forward to your post! 😀
Libraries aren’t open sadly but yes I need to read it! We’ll see 🙂