Books with playlists: A new trend among contemporary authors?

My interest in music has been my father's contribution. He introduced me to a world where the Beatles, ABBA, Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears sang and performed. He didn't shy away from us watching the music videos together even when they were technically not age appropriate for me. Regardless, we enjoyed it and shared our love for English music, whether it was on the television, the CD player, or the computer.

My love for Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul Geeti, however, began from school. We had a compulsory music class where we had to write the songs down in our "music diary" and practise in parts every day. Sometimes, our teacher would explain the meaning of the songs. When I was a seventh grader, we rehearsed the Bengali folk song "Mon amar deho ghori" in chorus for days, until one random day, she asked us if we understood what it meant. We were all stumped. We had no idea the song resonated with a philosophical meaning. With a smile on her face, she explained it to us, verse by verse. And my perspective on music was never the same again.

Up until then, I considered music to be poetry embellished with various musical instruments. I was oblivious to the fact that songs had hidden, deeper meanings that could be relaxing and inspirational at the same time. I felt as if I had discovered a world where music and literature were friends and complemented each other in more ways than one. From that point on, instinctively, I had developed a habit of being able to think clearly and critically whenever I had my earbuds plugged in.

My constant search for a musical and literary fusion was put to rest when I stumbled upon Red, White & Royal Blue (St Martin's Griffin, 2019) by Casey Mcquiston, which has a Spotify playlist bearing the same title. Apart from the characters, story, and the cute cover, listening to the songs and reading the book simultaneously was an unexpectedly cool experience! This was the first time I had come across something of this sort, and it inspired me to start an extensive Google research on books with playlists.

I then found that Goodreads had this amazing list of 111 contemporary books with playlists. All the books in the list were fairly new releases, and my internet research indicated that this was a trending feature among contemporary authors.

The first question that comes to mind is why does a book even need a playlist? There are two solid answers. One, some writers put together a playlist to capture the spirit of the story. Two, other writers share the songs they listened to while writing the book and make them a part of the playlist. However, the intention behind sharing the playlist is the same in both instances—it helps connect the reader and the author deeply and profoundly, creating a more personal and intimate connection.

For example, for Celeste Ng's second novel, Little Fires Everywhere (Penguin Press, 2012), her playlist for Book Notes captured the mood and tone of the story with the intention of helping her readers connect with the narrative in a deeper way. Ng said, "Little Fires Everywhere takes place in 1997 and 1998, so how could I resist the opportunity to put together a playlist of the '90s music I grew up with? Each main character in the book would have listened to very different music, so here is a song for each—one that they'd both listen to and that captures their personality."

I am one of those music fanatics who is always on the lookout for some fresh pop music. During a Physics class in high school, I learned how the high beats break the alignment of molecules in our bodies. This explains why we tend to involuntarily move our limbs to a disco song. Music is so much more than just a combination of lyrics and melody.

As a writer, I would never have the courage to share my playlist with my readers; I love both popular and unpopular English tracks, as well as songs in Bangla, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Arabic, Spanish, Latin, French, and more. I would prefer for my readers to connect me with my words. Although music is universal, I am the type who would prefer to have her words to speak of her universality. Having said that, music has helped me navigate my way towards writing thoughtful literary pieces. If you haven't read a book with a playlist, it is high time you grab one and experience this new literary trend.

Salwah Chowdhury is a bookworm and a toddler mom who works full-time at an NGO. She loves the rush of thinking, reading and writing and takes on freelance projects every now and then. Please follow her on Instagram @salwah_chowdhury and share any book recommendations or your thoughts on the article.