Don’t know what your next book should be? As your resident BookTok viewer and sad-girl music lover, I’ve curated a list to help you decide what your next book should be based on your favourite album. Before reading these books, please read the content warnings associated, because some of these books have dark tones and heavy content.
If you liked Stranger in the Alps by Phoebe Bridgers → Read Normal People by Sally Rooney
If you loved Stranger in the Alps by Phoebe Bridgers, you should definitely read Normal People (if you haven’t already). Normal People is a beautifully written book about the complex relationship two people can have with one another, themselves, and the world around them. Centred around Marianne and Connell and following them through time, this book will make you feel whole and rip your heart out all at the same time. Here’s a funny connection: in the TV show adaptation, Connell is played by Paul Mescal, who is Phoebe Bridgers’ fiancée.
If You liked Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles → Read The Girls by Emma Cline
This classic Beatles album holds fan favourites like “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Hello, Goodbye.” This album was originally released at the same time that The Girls takes place: the late 60s to early 70s. The Girls will transport you right into our main character Evie’s mind. Innocent and fresh, it will make you feel as if you’re a teenager in 1969, navigating new friends, danger, and cults. Magical Mystery Tour is trippy and fun with a touch of eerie naivety, an undertone that is echoed throughout The Girls.
If You liked Tidal by Fiona Apple → REad My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
This sad-girl classic will always be at the top of my list. Fiona Apple takes us on a dark journey accompanied by beautiful piano tracks that put you in a trance. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell is nothing short of beautiful, and similarly, also manages to put you in a trance. Jumping between the past and present, the book helps us learn about Vanessa. Throughout her troubled past, she was groomed by one of her teachers and had a “relationship” with him, and in the present, she has to come to terms with the fact that she was abused. It’s a dark and real story, and Russell does a perfect job illustrating what it feels like to be a victim of that nature.
If you liked Soft Sounds From Another Planet by Japanese Breakfast → REad Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
It’s no surprise that I would recommend Michelle Zauner’s book if you like her band’s album. Soft Sounds From Another Planet is a beautiful, transformative album that takes you on a journey with just one song. If you want more of Zauner’s melancholic lyrics, you definitely should read this book. Crying in H Mart is one of those books I gobbled up. As an Asian girl myself, I felt what Zauner was talking about when she described her connections with family and food. Crying in H Mart is a beautiful memoir about Zauner and her mother as Zauner deals with grief and identity.
If you liked Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers → read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Both are classics in their own sense. Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers is full of existentialism, beauty, and deep tones. Both pieces of media talk about longing and wanting. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is a 1960s classic about a young writer, Esther Greenwood. Semi-fictional and semi-autobiographical, it’s a really deep and sad coming-of-age story. Even though the book is about 60 years old now, it still feels fresh and like a real insight into common emotions a young woman goes through.
If you liked Pure Heroine by Lorde → read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
This is an interesting match-up, but let me explain. Even though The Song of Achilles takes place in ancient Greece and Pure Heroine was released in the peak of the 2013 grunge-Tumblr era, they share similar themes: falling in love, dealing with pressure, experiencing new emotions for the first time, and acknowledging the inner turmoil of becoming your own person. This might be the weirdest pairing on here, but somehow the two make sense together—just like Achilles and Patroclus.
If you liked Fetch the Boltcutters by Fiona Apple → read My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
This album is a masterpiece altogether. Each song is beautiful, full, emotional, and unhinged! These are exactly the words I would use to describe the main character of My Year of Rest and Relaxation. This whole book is clever and limited, and we are swept into the world of our favourite unnamed narrator. She has damaging relationships and crippling depression, and her solution is to try and sleep for a year. A well-paced read, this is a staple for your TBR.
All in all, every one of these albums and books is great. Read what you want to read and listen to what makes you happy! Happy reading and listening!