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 Taylor's most recent album, The Tortured Poets Department.
The time has come for Taylor’s final album! The Bolter was my most listened to song in 2024 and will have a special place in my heart forever, but I’ve found myself taking a break from The Tortured Poets Department this year due to how much I listened to it in the months after its release. I loved the album’s lyricism so much that I absolutely devoured the album for weeks and weeks, to the point that I overlistened and haven't been able to revisit it with the same excitement as the previous albums. That being said, I think this album contains some of her most interesting, mature work and a song from this album is why I decided to write this series!
The first comparison I thought of when I went down the Taylor Swift/book comparison rabbit hole was I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can) and Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings. This novel follows socialite Magnolia Parks as she navigates her relationship with the boy that broke her heart, BJ Ballentine. Their relationship is the definition of a girl hoping she can fix the boy she loves, even though he causes her nothing but pain. BJ is boisterous and arrogant, a prime example of “the jokes that he told across the bar were revolting and far too loud.” London’s high society is BJ’s playground, with him behaving how he wants with no regard for others. Falling in love as teenagers, BJ and Magnolia had a deep romance until Magnolia ended it due to BJ’s infidelity. While she seems to be making the right decision by breaking up with him, she continues to spend time with BJ because of their friend group and the fact that she can’t quite stay away from their attraction. A woman that lives with the Parks family, Marsaili continually encourages Magnolia to guard her heart when she notices BJ coming around. This reaction feels like “they shake their heads saying ‘God, help her’ when I tell ‘em he’s my man.” Taylor’s lyrical response to this is similar to Magnolia’s mindset towards BJ, “I can fix him, no really, I can.” Though Magnolia and BJ don’t spend this book being a couple, Magnolia secretly believes that they will end up together again at some point and, probably, that she can fix him.
Since this album is The Tortured Poets Department, my next comparison is also about a complicated relationship with a girl that loves a boy that is less than ideal. I feel like But Daddy I Love Him has no proper comparison besides Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I think we all know the plot of Twilight by now, but the simple plot is that a girl, Bella, falls in love with a vampire, Edward. Though falling in love with a vampire is obviously dangerous, Bella can not be persuaded to do anything but love Edward anyway. There are points where even Edward tries to protect Bella from continuing a relationship with him. She truly lives a “they slammed a door on my whole world, the one thing I wanted” relationship as a teenager. Bella’s dad, Charlie (the Internet’s favorite DILF), isn’t a huge fan of Edward from the beginning. Naturally, a father will be concerned if his teenage daughter is spending a vast amount of time with an interesting, to say the least, boy who seems to be with her in precarious situations (like a car accident). Though Charlie doesn’t necessarily approve, Bella cannot be separated from Edward. I picture the scene of Edward and Bella laying in the field similar to how I picture the “runnin’ with my dress unbuttoned, screaming ‘but daddy I love him’” lyric of the song. Though the specific lyrics of this song and the specific plot points of the novel may not line up perfectly, I feel as though the vibes couldn’t be closer to the same. I can just imagine Bella thinking “I know [it’s] crazy but he’s the one I want.”
Last but not least, So High School gives me the same vibes as To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han. In this book, 16year-old Lara Jean writes a note to each boy she loves as a way to express her feelings, though she never plans on sending them. One day, the letters get out. The one written for the popular athlete at Lara Jean’s school, Peter, ends up in his possession and he confronts Lara Jean. To show good face to other letter recipients, and so Peter’s ex-girlfriend gets jealous, they agree to pretend to be dating. As To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is a romance novel, this fake dating eventually becomes real. Their relationship takes Lara Jean to the “bittersweet sixteen suddenly” period of teenagedom. There are depictions of high school infatuation, first kisses, and movie nights that are very reminiscent of the “watching American Pie” lyric of the song. Depicting the quintessential opposites attract romance trope, Lara Jean is the perfect student while Peter is the high school’s star lacrosse player. “You know how to ball, I know Aristotle” couldn’t describe them better. Lara Jean and Peter’s high school love story is full of the “truth, dare, spin bottles” energy, and the movies actually hold up to the books pretty well.
Finishing this series only means one thing to me: Taylor needs to drop her 13th album. Though I am pretty confident very few people read these from week to week (hi, Gabby!), I loved writing these. It gave me the ability to write every week without having to decide what to write about, and it allowed me to remember why I love Taylor’s music and why I love so many of these books.
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