Books and Music

I’m someone who can’t read in silence. There needs to be some other noise, preferably music, but if that isn’t possible then the sounds of other people or rain outside is a must. Something about having to force my mind to focus on the book instead of the music helps me to read, though if the plot is particularly complex then the low-fi beats are what I choose.

Sometimes though, I end up listening to one song on repeat while reading and whenever I read that book or hear that song, I think of the other.

This has happened memorably with three books and songs.

The first was The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. Reading this series as a teen, I was deep in my Panic! at the Disco phase and so the whole time I read this series I was listening to ‘The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage’ from their first album. Does this relate to the series in any way? Not really, though I suppose connections can be made by the story that the song tells and it saying to not trust those in power which the series explored to some extent. Still, whenever I hear that song, I think of the Iron Fey series.

The second was The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, and while I was reading those three books I was listening to ‘Bloom’ by The Paper Kites. To me, the song is quite magical, and it put me right into the historical, Russian-esque setting. Despite all the action in those books, listening to that song and having it as my reminder of them makes my memory of the series take on a calm and relaxing nature. I’m sure if I reread them, I would be taken aback by how unlike that they are.

And finally, and most recently, while I was reading Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell, I was listening to Harry Styles’ Fine Line album, which soon switched to just my favourite song from that album, ‘Golden’. Now all I can think of when I listen to that song is Simon, Baz and Penelope taking their road trip across America. I think of all the songs that I’ve made a connection to books with, this one holds the strongest connection in terms of fitting the themes of the book. To me, it symbolises how Simon and Baz think of each other, how they’re scared of being with each other and how much they really like each other. I think without this connection to the song, I wouldn’t have enjoyed the book half as much and it makes me more invested in their relationship than I was before.

Review: Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Whilst there’s no doubt in my mind that after reading this book I’ll be picking up the next when it comes out, Wayward Son didn’t amaze me. The premise of this book was promising. I think the idea of looking at what happens after a hero’s journey “ends” was good because it’s true, we get to the end of a book series, film or TV show and just accept that it’s over and everybody has their happily ever after. Seeing Simon’s mental health improve throughout the course of this book definitely helped lift my own spirits and having the group together again to fight off forces meant this book was hard for me to put down, for sure.

The large fight at the end wasn’t a satisfying climax to this book. The quick switches between the characters that were narrating instead of making the scene fast-paced meant that I kept losing track of where each person was in the fight and the general progress of it. I think without the switching narration and with fewer components to the fight, it would have been much easier to grasp and made a more fitting conclusion to the book.

This next point might make it seem like I’m knit picking, but as a British person, the way Penelope, Baz and Simon spoke really bugged me. Things like Penelope not knowing what a tornado was and Simon saying he was “shagged out” (I know shagged can technically mean tired, but no person, British or otherwise, that I know uses it in that way and let me tell you, no one in this book was having the experience of the main meaning of this word from my recollection) really drew me out of the story. It was made more annoying because it was something that could have easily been fixed by switching phrases.

[Goodreads parallel]