Like many other readers, I am also an avid Swiftie. I love seeing bookish posts that encapsulate how people relate certain Taylor songs/albums/eras to certain books, so I thought I would share some of my Taylor Swift/book correlations, one album at a time. These were all comparisons from my own mind, but as I have seen many of these posts throughout the years, it is possible I subconsciously thought of someone else’s comparison (fully accidentally, of course). Rather than try to capture the vibe of the album as a whole, I picked three songs from each and made bookish comparisons to those. Safe to say there will be some spoilers in this post to make my points, so proceed with caution! Let’s get into book recommendations based on my favorite Taylor era, reputation. :)
Welcome to the reputation era! This album doesn’t have any of my absolute favorite Taylor songs on it, but it is probably my favorite album of hers as a whole. I love everything this album has to offer. The pettiness, the aesthetic, the romance, the vibes in general. What seems like a badass album that calls out those who have mistreated her (which it is), reputation is a lover girl album under the black, slithering mask. Be right back, going to listen to the entirety of the album really quick.
Like I previously mentioned, reputation has some of Taylor’s most romantic songs which is surprising, considering she insinuates that a past version of her died in the album’s first single. While King of My Heart is an iconic romantic song, Call It What You Want is my favorite. The song discusses a couple that is so strong, the comments on the individual person's reputations, or thoughts of them as a couple, don’t matter. When I think of book couples that have this type of love, I think of Piper and Brendan from It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey. This was one of the books I read when I first started getting back into reading as an adult, and it is one of the romance books that I remember the most. The book follows Piper, a socialite, as she is sent to a small beach town and cut off by her stepfather after a public scandal. Used to a life of glitz, glamor, and privilege, Piper’s life completely changes. Her stepfather sending her to this town feels like the intro lyric of Call It What You Want when Taylor sings “my castle crumbled overnight.” Falling in love with a gruff, smalltown fisherman, Piper balances the life and status she previously obtained with the life she may be wanting with Brendan. When I think of Piper’s life in Hollywood surrounded by a community made up of individuals who didn’t love her for her compared to the love and safety she feels with Brendan, I think of the lyrics “all the drama queens taking swings, all the jokers dressing up as kings, they fade to nothin’ when I look at him.” Piper also doesn’t seem quite like Brendan’s type, as he lives a quiet simple life you wouldn’t expect a socialite to fit into. None of this matters to Piper and Brendan; they have each other and a love that they both feel safe in. It may be confusing to others and Piper may have a certain reputation in the public eye, but these onlookers can call it whatever they want. It doesn’t affect Piper or Brendan.
While I Did Something Bad is a highly metaphorical song, I’m taking it at face value for the sake of this comparison. I think there is a case to be made that I Did Something Bad depicts some of the main character of Bunny by Mona Awad, Samantha. Samantha is a student in a prestigious writing program, one in which surrounds her by a clique of mean, popular girls called “The Bunnies.” The Bunnies end up inviting Samantha to their meetings, called Smut Salon. Samantha spends more tme with The Bunnies, getting more and more wrapped up into their world where, oddly, they use rabbits to create idealized versions of men. The Bunnies are violent, disturbed, and twisted, yet Samantha finds herself deep into their world, most likely due to her sense of belonging. Samantha knows The Bunnies are screwed up, but belonging and community is a tempting drug. “They say I did something bad, then why’s it feel so good?”
I am a true crime aficionado, and Morbid is my favorite true crime podcast (and my favorite popcast in general). Obviously, as a reader, I was extremely excited when I heard one of the hosts, Alaina Urquhart, was releasing a novel, The Butcher and the Wren. Though I love true crime, I don’t often read fictional crime or thrillers, but I knew that would change with her book. With experience as an autopsy tech and experience researching true crime, I knew the crimes in the novel would be well thought out, ingenious, and gnarly. Lots of spoilers as to why, but this novel reminds me of Look What You Made Me Do. The novel follows Jeremy, a medical student, who is secretly a serial killer the media has named “The Bayou Butcher” and Dr. Wren Muller, a forensic pathologist who is trying to catch Jeremy. Wren comes to the startling realization that Jeremy is a man who kidnapped her previously, and that his behaviors since have been taunting her as she tries to catch him. The title of Look What You Made Me Do seems like it would be Jeremy’s mindset. Since Wren got away, he may deem it as her own fault that he is on a killing spree trying to get back at her. Jeremy leaves behind creepy signs for Wren to find and know he was there, which exemplifies the “I don’t like your little games” lyric of the song. It is revealed that Wren used to go by Emily before her abduction by Jeremy, changing it after she escaped to try and hide her true identity. In a horrible, heartbreaking way, the old Emily couldn’t come to the phone anymore. “Why? Oh, cause she’s dead.”
I’m a bit sad to be done with my favorite album and no longer have it to look forward to, but I’m excited for some Lover comparisons next time. The drastic change between reputation and Lover is one that not all musicians could pull off, but Taylor does it gracefully.
Add comment
Comments