the spotify wrapped book challenge (2024 edition) | matching books to random songs off my 2024 spotify wrapped
Hello, dear friends, it’s me again! I hope you all are well, and if not then I hope brighter days head your way soon! Well, friends, we are rapidly approaching the end of the year, and you know what that means…It’s Spotify Wrapped season!!
I, for one, love seeing everyone share their Spotify Wrapped—it makes my little musician heart glow! I always think it says so much about a person and how their year has gone to see their top songs and artists of the year. What can I say, I’m a nosy little music gremlin 😂
Anyhoo, to celebrate, I figured I’d do The Spotify Wrapped Book Challenge. This challenge/tag was created by Rosina over at Lace and Dagger Books and involves randomizing your Spotify Wrapped playlist and matching books to the first several songs that come up in the queue. So, without any further ado, let’s get this party started!
🍄 The Spotify Wrapped Challenge 2023
“red wine supernova” by chappell roan
Okay but did you honestly think we’d make it through this list without the queen of 2024 music herself, Chappell Roan, making an appearance?! Of course not! Who do you take me for?! Lol! Anyhoo, “Red Wine Supernova” is definitely my favorite of Chappell’s songs, because her vocals are absolutely breathtaking on the track! As for which book this song reminds me of, it’s definitely The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. In particular, the lyrics “Baby, why don’t you come over? / Red wine supernova, falling into me” remind me of a very specific scene in the book. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is about the life, marriages, and true love of fictional Cuban American 1950s and 1960s starlet Evelyn Hugo. It’s one of my all-time favorite books, and if you’ve yet to read it you should correct that ASAP!
“ibtihaj” by rapsody, d’angelo, & gza
Off Rapsody’s album which celebrates great Black women, “Ibtihaj” is named after Black Muslim fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, who was the first US Olympian to compete whilst wearing a hijab. The song talks a lot about the accomplishments of Black women. Ultimately, though, this song reminds me of On The Come Up by Angie Thomas, because the song has several references to rapping and writing rap music. For example, “Ibtihaj” references Roxanne Shante with the lyric, “Women been leading the way, since Roxanne Shante.” For those unaware, Roxanne Shante is a legendary female rapper who was catapulted to fame in the 1980s, when she became one of the first widely popular female MCs. This lyric plus the lyric “Well written rap, bound to have a great impact / On a listener for the fact it’s well intact / An MC should electrify, beautify, strive to / Empower, inspire, transform a world view” remind me of On The Come Up, which stars a young Black girl trying to hit it big as a rapper whilst also dealing with living in poverty. The book is high up on my TBR, especially as I rarely see books dealing with the topic of living in poverty.
“she wolf” by shakira
One of my favorite songs from Shakira, “She Wolf” is all about giving in to your inner femme fatale (a.k.a. your inner “she wolf”). I had to think for a while about this one, because I honestly haven’t read many books featuring the femme fatale archetype. But worry too much friends—I eventually thought of the perfect book to go with this song: Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin! In this thrilling alternate history wherein the Nazi won World War II, the main character, Yael, is a shapeshifting Jewish girl who transforms into a famous female motorcycle race champion in order to compete in the biggest motorcycle race in the world with a prize of meeting Hitler, in order to assassinate him. And! Yael’s codename is “volchitza,” which allegedly means “she wolf” in Russian! You can see why it’s a perfect fit, right?! Wolf by Wolf is honestly SUCH an underrated gem which deserves so much more love and appreciation than it gets, so go check it out ASAP!
“on” by bts
I’m not a major fan of K-pop (I know, but K-pop stans PLEASE forgive me and don’t come after me to kill me!!), but I do enjoy the occasional BTS song, and “ON” is one of my favorites! So, since this song is one of my few K-pop faves, I figured I’d go with a book involving K-pop to recommend with it. That book would be XOXO by Axie Oh. XOXO is a YA contemporary romance about a girl who’s a cello prodigy and a boy who’s a K-pop star attending the same prestigious academy for music and falling for each other. This book is honestly one of the few YA romances that’s still on my TBR. Usually I feel like YA romance is too juvenile for me at this point in my life, but tbh XOXO just looks too stinkin’ cute to pass up!
“don’t blame me” by taylor swift
Reputation is undeniably my favorite of Taylor’s albums, and “Don’t Blame Me” is one of my favorite tracks off of it, so it doesn’t quite surprise me that it landed on my Spotify Wrapped for this year. It’s actually probably more surprising that I even like this song in the first place, as I usually don’t go for ballads. Anyhoo, since “Don’t Blame Me” is all about the perils of falling in love, it reminded me a bit of Furyborn by Claire Legrand, which is one of my favorite books! In particular, the line “Don’t blame me, love drove me crazy” reminds me of one of the main characters in Furyborn named Rielle, because love and her desire to be loved does kind of lead to her demise. Furyborn is a dual timeline fantasy novel about two young women destined to change the course of history in their world. It’s an action-packed and intrigue-filled whirlwind of a ride with a hint of romance to top it off, and I highly recommend reading it!
“dirt roads” by tia wood
This song by up-and-coming Indigenous American R&B singer Tia Wood is all about staying true to your cultural roots and community. It’s definitely a personal favorite of mine, both because of the lyrics and because Tia has a beautiful voice. Because this song focuses on Indigenous American identity, I wanted to choose a book by an Indigenous American author that has similar themes. Luckily, I have the perfect choice waiting on my TBR: The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava! This book is an Adult contemporary romance all about a Chickasaw woman who lies about her ethnicity to get a corporate job, only to find herself in trouble—and maybe falling in love—when she finds a fellow Indigenous American man works in the IT department of her company. It sounds like this book perfectly embodies the “Dirt Roads” lyric, “Should I take out my braids or leave them in? / They look at me like I’m a Martian.” I know I, for one, can’t wait to find out!
spill the beans, friends!
Did you look at your 2024 Spotify Wrapped? What was your favorite song off of your 2024 Spotify Wrapped? What book would you pair that song with?
