It’s been a while since I discovered any new book tags, so I went on a bit of a hunt to find something different. I always have some trouble with music-related tags because I find they tend to be about songs that would connect with the book, and that’s something I’m just not creative enough to figure out. I found the OMG That Song Book tag just by randomly browsing a variety of blogs to see what kinds of tags were even out there, and it led me to the original video by Katesbookdate (found here). I liked this one because it gave a great chance to think about songs separately from the books themselves, but related by a common theme. It seemed like a lot of fun, so I thought I’d give it a try!
1) My Jam – A song you must listen to every time it comes on, no matter how old or how many times you’ve listened to it, and a book you’ll never get sick of
I don’t really listen to the radio much, so it’s mostly down to my own Spotify favourites playlist. Technically, just about any song on there is one that I’d feel compelled to listen to every time otherwise it wouldn’t be a favourite. I think if I had to pick one, it would have Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart.
In terms of a book I’ll never get sick of, I think I’ll have to go with the obvious and pick the Harry Potter series. I’ve already read this series so many times over the years, and it still feels as fresh to me every time.
2) Throwback – A song that reminds you of the cringey-est time in your life, and a book you read that you wouldn’t like if you read it now
I think the cringey-est time of my life would have to be the years where I decided to have a DeviantArt account with some free verse poetry. I’d always been interested in writing and got completely stuck any time I tried to write a story, so I started writing poems instead. They are absolutely terrible. Like most emo teen poetry, it was mostly about the annoying popular kids at school, and things like that. I was in late elementary school/ early high school at the time, and it was the years where I frequented sites like Habbo Hotel. It’s so embarrassing looking back on it! It’s actually hard to choose a song that reflects this since there were many songs that I really liked those years, and none of them are very strongly associated with the cringiness of it. If I had to pick something, I would say probably Candy Shop by 50 Cent and Olivia. I wasn’t even a huge fan of the song, or of 50 Cent in general, but it is one song that for some reason is strongly associated with those years.
I can’t say for sure whether I’d like this book as much if I read it now, but I absolutely loved Let Me Call You Sweetheart by Mary Higgins Clark when I first read it. It was one of the first adult-level books I read, and I was absolutely blown away by it. I read it when I was in seventh or eighth grade, and thought it was amazing. Unfortunately, I haven’t liked any other book by Mary Higgins Clark as much since, except for the other one I read around the same time. I’ve found the last few underwhelming, and it makes me wonder if I’d like this one as much if I tried it again.
3) Replay – A recent song you have on repeat, and a recent favourite book
I very recently discovered New Rules by Dua Lipa, which isn’t even that recent since it is already a year old. For some reason, I was completely convinced that Dua Lipa was a rapper and didn’t look into anything she had done. I actually discovered this song through Malinda Kathleen Reese’s Google Translate Sings version and decided to look up the original. I love Dua Lipa’s voice, and the video is great!
One of my most recent favourite books in Autoboyography by Christina Lauren, which actually also came out last year so I guess that’s appropriate. I’d been looking forward to reading that one for a while, and absolutely adored it!
4) Gets Me – This song is me, and this book is me in book form
Wow, it’s much easier to come up with books for this one than it is for songs. I’m leaning toward Just Give Me a Reason by Pink and Nate Ruess, because I definitely have that kind of tendency to overthink things. The song is basically about Pink worrying that her partner is losing interest, meanwhile he doesn’t think anything’s wrong. Aside from the fact that Pink is my all-time favourite artist, it just seems like the kind of jumping to conclusions that I might do.
In terms of books, I would have to go for either Fangirl or The Upside of Unrequited. Both main characters have social anxiety, and I related so strongly to them. I also tend to lump these two books together a lot, I’ve just realized, but they are both basically me.
5) Wut? – Weird but I like it, and a book that stuck out to you for whatever reason
I think the weirdest song I’ve ever liked has to be The Night Santa Went Crazy by Weird Al Yankovic. My brother had his albums when we were younger, and we both thought this song was hilarious. It’s actually quite disturbing, but I think part of what was so weird about it is that it was sung so peacefully that it just gets stuck in your head before you realize how weird it really is.
In terms of a book that stuck out to me, that’s pretty vague. I think one of the weirdest books that’s ever stuck out to me is the Lumberjanes series by Noelle Stevenson. I’ve only read the first two so far, but they are really bizarre. I actually didn’t realize going into them that there would be fantasy elements. I thought it was just a straightforward story about friends at summer camp, so it was a bit off-putting at first, but I ended up loving it.
6) Let’s Go! – Best pump-up song, and a book that inspired you
Going for another obvious choice on this one, but I’d go with Eye of the Tiger. It’s actually not really a song that I listen to very often, but it is very motivating. This song was my high school’s theme song since our mascot was the tigers, so it was played fairly often.
In a kind of unusual way, I would say that Jane Eyre inspired me. It was one of the first classics that I read after avoiding them for quite a while, and it very quickly became a favourite. It inspired me to get back into reading classics and give them a fair chance. There haven’t been very many since then that I loved at much (I think Rebecca is the main exception), but this book at least inspired me to try.
7) Chill – favourite chill/relaxing song, and a book you’d curl up and read on a rainy day
I think Ed Sheeran would have to be my go-to relaxing music, especially Photograph. I’ve also recently been obsessed with Happier and Perfect. Even though some of his songs are actually very emotional, his style tends to be so low-key and relaxing.
I’d pretty much curl up with any book on a rainy day. It seems like the perfect time to read! If I had a whole day ahead of me to relax and read, I’d probably pick something very compelling, like Big Little Lies or any of Jodi Picoult’s books.
8) Addicting – A guilty pleasure song (catchy and addicting but not a whole lot of substance), and a guilty pleasure/trashy/fast/light read
When I think of a guilty pleasure song, I tend to automatically think of the 90s boy band songs that I used to love. Honestly, I still like listening to some of my favourite N’Sync and Backstreet Boys songs, like Tearin Up My Heart or I Want It That Way.
This may be my most embarrassing choice here, but for me a guilty pleasure read is the Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park. I can’t say it’s something that I read often, but it was my absolute favourite when I was younger and it’s still really fun sometimes to revisit it. Junie B. Jones is absolutely hilarious as a narrator, and every time I read these again, I have a lot of fun.
9) Nostalgia – Throwback you look back on fondly, and a book you read forever ago that you look back on fondly or reminds you of a happy childhood time
There are many throwbacks that I look back on fondly, but if I had to pick one I’d go with The Boy Is Mine by Brandy and Monica. This was one of my first introductions to R&B, which quickly became my favourite kind of music. It is still one of my all-time favourite songs, and both Brandy and Monica are among my favourite artists.
A book, or more accurately a book series, that I look back on fondly would definitely have to be the Berenstain Bears books. And I am definitely among those people who were completely convinced that it was Berenstein Bears, not Berenstain. I collected so many of these books, and I actually still find them quite fun to read sometimes. I read these so many times!
Abyssal Librarian 