Song Recommendations Based on Five Books

Another post inspired by my love for reading and my love for music, but this time? I’m going to be recommending you songs to listen to based on five different books that I’ve read this year. I really enjoyed putting this post together, so please let me know if you’d like to see future similar posts and if you’d like any more song recommendations based on the books mentioned in this post. Please also note that not all of these songs are in English but please don’t let that put you off listening to them and you can always google the English translations if you want!

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Firstly, can I just say how much I loved this book. Secondly, here are two songs I think you should listen to after reading ‘Felix Ever After’:

·         Brutal – Olivia Rodrigo

‘They say these are the golden years, but I wish I could disappear, ego crush is so severe. God, it’s brutal out here.’

It’s safe to say that Felix definitely faces some brutal times, and this song also perfectly encapsulates teen feelings which is perfectly fitting for Felix and his story.

·         Kuch To Hua Hai – from the movie ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’

‘Kuch To Hua Hai, Kuch Ho Gaya Hai’ translation: ‘Something surely is happening, something has happened’

This song focuses heavily on an unexpected romance and, without giving any spoilers, if you’ve read the book – you’ll know that it works well.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Yes, this book has a chokehold on my life and no I’m not sorry for including it again. Moving on… here are two songs to listen to if you have read it (obviously you can still listen to these songs even if you’ve not read the book)

·         Pehli Nazar Mein – from the movie ‘Race’

‘Yeh dooriyan, jeene na de’ translation: ‘These distances between us won’t let me live now’

I think that lyric, in particular, really captures why it fits so perfectly for this book. It’s also one of my most favourite romantic songs and it seemed so right for the story that I had to include it as a recommendation.

·         Bad For You – The Hunna

‘You know if you need me to care then I will be there’

Okay so this song is also so completely fitting for this book that I dare you to listen to it and not think of [redacted] and [redacted]. (Names removed to keep it spoiler free) Beautiful song for a beautiful couple.

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

A beautiful brown and queer book; I love it so much. Here are a couple of songs I’d suggest listening to after reading this wonderful book.

·         Mendhi Laga Ke Rakhna – from the movie ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’  

Translation of title: ‘Put your henna on’

This song was an obvious choice to include, even if you haven’t read the book yet. It’s the perfect Mendhi party song and it’s also the perfect song to include after reading a book that has a big focus on henna.

·         Headaches – Raveena

‘Don’t play with my heart, I’m tryna be smart but I can’t control this. Hold on, I’m dizzy with headaches.’

This book is laced with a sapphic ‘enemies to lovers’ trope and for me, this song captures the essence of the relationship perfectly.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Y’all, I truly love this book so much. It’s an amazing read and I think I struggled to pick just two songs to recommend for it but here’s what I came up with:

·         Parents – Yungblud

‘High hopes are getting low because these people are so old. The way they think about it all, if I tried I would never know. […] It’s alright, we’ll survive, ‘cause parents ain’t always right.’

I think Yadriel could definitely tell you that parents aren’t always right, and this song really played a lot through my mind when I was reading this book and thinking of its characters.

·         My tears ricochet – Taylor Swift

‘Cause I loved you, I swear I loved you, ‘til my dying day.’

Okay, I can’t really delve into too much without spoiling it for people who haven’t read the book but if you have read it then I think you’ll get why I chose this song and that lyric in particular…

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

·         Mujhse Dosti Karoge – from the film of the same name

‘Kehdo ki tum mere dil mein rahoge. Kehdo ki tum Mujhse dosti karoge’ translation: ‘Tell me that you’ll live in my heart. Tell me that you’ll be friends with me.’

For a book that involves fake dating and a loose ‘friends to lovers’ trope – this song really stood out for me in relation to the story.

·         Falling – Harry Styles

‘What if you’re someone I just want around. I’m falling again…’

Again, this song really jumped out at me when thinking of the dynamics and the relationships within the story.

 

Click here for a Spotify playlist containing all the songs mentioned in this blog post. It was super difficult to narrow it down to just two songs per book but I hope you enjoy reading this post and getting some song (and maybe book) recommendations. Obviously, these are all my personal opinion and you may not agree with the songs that I chose for certain books and that’s more than okay! Please feel free to let me know your thoughts and if you’d like to see more posts like this.