Hey there guys, today I would like to introduce you to a new idea I had, and that is to give you three books to read that I think you might like if you enjoy listening to these artists. I will start with some of my favourite singers of all time, and if you like this format, maybe I will do others in the future.
I will say, buckle up and let’s get started!
Taylor Swift
Of course I had to start with my favourite singer of all time, Taylor Swift. She has such a vast catalogue, that it would be quite reductive to just offer you three books, but I will try for the sake of this article. If you would like more specific recs, I have various articles on this blog where I give a recommendation for every single song of various Taylor’s albums. For this time being, in honour of her career, I decided to split the recs as one for her country era, one for her pop era, and one for her indie folkmore one.
For the country category, what could be better than the Chestnut Spring Series by Elsie Silver? I think this romance series could really well reflect Taylor’s first albums, where romance was a huge part of the narrative. For her pop era, I decided to go with basically anything by Emily Henry, but in particular her book People We Meet on Vacation, it has that energetic and romantic vibe that Taylor’s pop albums tend to have, and a part of this is even set in New York, so win win. And for the folkmore era I decided to go with my favourite classic book of all time, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. The moors, the drama of it all, the big emotions, this book has it all. And also, a lot of rain. What better than that to associate with these albums?
Harry Styles
Here we go with another one of my favourite singers of all time. I’ve been a big fan of Harry for years now, I’ve seen him live a bunch of times, and his music really has got me through a lot.
The three books I would like to associate with Harry’s music are The Binding by Bridget Collins, Call Me By your Name by André Aciman and Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
“The Binding” is maybe the less obvious of them all, but in my eyes it really encompasses a lot of Harry’s mellower songs vibes, the imagery is quite beautiful and convoluted, and it reminds me for example of songs like Little Freak. “Call Me By Your Name” is a book I simply had to include because in my eyes it is really tight with Harry’s songs, there’s something about the poetry but at the same time the angst that both convey, that really makes these two pieces of media similar in my eyes. And I think Daisy Jones is quite self-explanatory, right? I mean, we could discuss that Harry is maybe the most rockstar-y pop-star of our time, and his looks and antics really resemble the ones of a 70s band. That’s just how it is in my eyes.
Hozier
Listen, Hozier is per se maybe one of the best songwriters of our generation, so his lyrics alone are a work of art, but if you would like to associate his wonderful songs with some books, I will give you my recs.
In my eyes Hozier’s music encompasses three big macro-areas of themes/aesthetic and they are literature references, mythology (in particular Greek) and the folkloristic nature feeling of being in the woods with magical creatures. So I have a book for everyone of these categories.
Let’s start with the literature one: what better than a classic dark academia book? The staple of it all? The Secret History by Donna Tartt is the book for you if you enjoy talks of poetry, glory and a mesmerizing writing style. I swear I think about this book on a daily basis and it’s been years since I first read it.
For the mythology area I had of course to go with The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, I think it is a staple in the Greek mythology retellings genre, and I think its lyricism and the way it’s written, with an otherworldly delicacy, really declares it the best in the sector.
And finally, for the folkloristic area, I think the best choice might be Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier, an historical fantasy novel where nature is its own character and the cottagecore vibes are very present and set the tone for the whole story.
Phoebe Bridgers
And last but not least for this article we have a singer that also doubles as my therapist lol. Phoebe Bridgers is one of the best singers/songwriters of our generation, and I think she so well encapsul the struggle of being a woman in her twenties and thirties. For this reason, if you like Phoebe I can only recommend a bunch of books from the “hot girl literature” trend of the last few years:
First and foremost, a book I truly think well encompasses Bridgers’ lyrics is Milk Teeth by Jessica Andrews, a coming-of-age story, a love story and an ode to Europe all in one. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I would highly recommend it. If you want something more glamorous, I could recommend you Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors. This story is set in New York and it follows a girl in her twenties as she struggles with friendship, love, and a sadness that never seems to go away (like Phoebe perfectly says: “Jesus Christ, I’m so blue all the time”).
And last but not least, I think really resembling some of Phoebe’s earlier stuff, Bunny by Mona Awad is a very fitting choice. It’s something a little bit more unhinged and over the top, with some dark academia vibes and a deep dive into womanhood.
Okay guys, these were my book recs if you like the same artists I listen to. Please let me know your advice and recs, and if you liked this kind of article. I could always do more with other singers.
Thank you for reading and for your time.
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