Book and Song Tag: 2026 edition

Something that has always been just as important to me as my love of books, is my love of music. It might just be my biggest passion in life. There is not a day that I don't listen to music. This is a tag I created in 2022 on this blog: Book and Song Tag- Original. Each question has you giving a book and a song as the answers. I decided to redo it this year and have mostly all new answers. 

I hope everyone enjoys doing this along with me.

Here's a link to my playlist I made with all the songs in this post: Books and Song Tag Playlist

1.) COLORS EVERYWHERE- A book/song you like with a color in the title:
📖: Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston- Had to pick this one since there are three colors in the title.

 

🎵: "Big Yellow Taxi" by Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton

2.) LET'S COUNT THEM TOGETHER- A book/song you like with a number in the title:
📖: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut- One of my favorite classics.

🎵: "Ten Minutes Ago" from the Cinderella Musical sung by Aaron Tveit- Aaron Tveit is one of my absolute favorite singers from Broadway and this song is everything to me.

3.) AND I AM TELLING YOU... I'M LEAVIN'-Your favorite post-breakup book/song:
📖: The Weight of it All by N. R. Walker

🎵: "So What" by P!NK- Cannot tell you how many times I used to rock out to this song in my teenage years. P!NK is one of the best.

4.) GO THERE- A book/song you like with a location in the title:
📖: Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies

🎵: "Portugal" by Walk The Moon- I was obsessed with Walk The Moon's album Talking is Hard in college. Still love it to this day.

5.) FORGET YOU- A book/ song that reminds you of someone you'd rather forget:
📖: Honesty by Seth King

🎵: "You're In Love" by Wilson Phillips

6.) DANCE, DANCE, DANCE!- A book featuring characters dancing/ song that makes you want to dance:
📖: The Once and Future Queen (The Lives of Guinevere #1) by Paula Lafferty

🎵: "Sorry I'm Here for Someone Else" by Benson Boone- I cannot help but dance every time I hear this song.

7.) LET'S GO ON A ROADTRIP- A road trip book/ A song to drive to:
📖: Thirty Things by Cate Ashwood

🎵: "Devils in the Canyon" by The Strike- The Strike's songs sound so good in the car, especially this one.

8.) ON THE BIG SCREEN- A book that has been turned into a movie/ A song that you like that has been used in a movie:
📖: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

🎵: "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship (from Mannequin)

9.) HAPPINESS- A book/ song that makes you happy:
📖: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

🎵: "Holy Ground" by Taylor Swift- My favorite song by my favorite singer.

10.) PLAY IT AGAIN- A book/ song you never get tired of:
📖: Caught Running by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux

🎵: "Good Old-Fashinoned Lover Boy" by Queen- Queen is one of my favorite bands and this is my favorite of their songs. I will never stop listening to this.

11.) TEARJERKER- A book/ song that makes you cry:
📖: The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

🎵: "For Good' from Wicked- This song has always made me cry ever since I first heard it in an episode of Glee. It is one of my favorite songs from any musical. It is just stunning!

12.) GEM FROM YOUR AWKWARD YEARS- A book you read in your preteen/middle school years/ A song from your preteen/middle school years:
📖: Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares- I first read The Sisterhood of the Traveling series back in eighth grade (there were only 4 books at the time). This was my favorite from the series and I read it a bunch of times the next couple of years.

🎵: "Who I Am" by Jessica Andrews

13.) DECADES- A book/song you like from the 60s/ 70s/ 80s/90s/00s/10s/20s (You can pick one or do them all):
📖: Books

    1940s: Animal Farm by George Orwell- 1948

    1950s: The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings #1) by J. R. R. Tolkien- 1954

    1960s: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle- 1968

    1970s: 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff- 1970

    1980s: The Lives of Christopher Chant (Chrestomanci #2) by Diana Wynne Jones- 1988

    1990s: The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear (Zamonia #1) by Walter Moers- 1999

    2000s: Night Watch (Discworld #29) by Terry Pratchett- 2002

    2010s: Insanity (Insanity #1) by Cameron Jace- 2013

    2020s: The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix- 2024

🎵: Music

    1940s: "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" by Vera Lynn- 1940
    1950s: "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard- 1955
    1960s: "Hey Jude" by The Beatles- 1968
    1970s: "Make Your Own Kind of Music" by Cass Eliot- 1973
    1980s: "Freedom" by Wham!- 1984
    1990s: "Any Man of Mine" by Shania Twain- 1995
    2000s: "So Close" by John McLaughlin- 2007
    2010s: "Centuries" by Fall Out Boy- 2014
    2020s: "Can I Call You" by David Archuleta- 2025

14.) WEDDING MARCH- A book about characters getting married or that has a wedding/ A song you'd like to be played at your wedding/was played at your wedding:
📖: The Princess Bride by William Goldman

🎵: "Crash the Wedding" by Busted- Lol, this is such a joke answer. But I do love this song.

🎵: The actual answer- "All About You" by McFly

15.) OVER AND OVER IT REPEATS ON- A retelling/ A song you like that's a cover by another artist:
📖: Lava Red Feather Blue by Molly Ringle- LGBT retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" that I love

🎵: "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston- Originally by Dolly Parton

16.) YOU'RE THE NEW CLASSIC- A classic you love/ A song that's a classic favorite:
📖: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë 

🎵: "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen

17.) IT TAKES TWO- A book that's by two authors/ A song you'd sing a duet with someone on karaoke:
📖: This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone- I want to read this book soon.

🎵: "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing sung by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes

18.) THE YEAR WAS... 1993- A book/song from the year you were born:
📖: The Giver by Lois Lowry

🎵: "Two Princes" by Spin Doctors

19.) THAT'S LIFE- A book/ song that makes you think about life:
📖: The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

🎵: "Brand New" by Ben Rector- This is an absolute favorite for me. It always makes me smile and dance whenever I hear it. 

20.) GIVE ME THE MEANING- A book/ song that has many meanings for you:
📖: Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

🎵: "Mockingbird" by Rob Thomas- God, I love this song! Rob Thomas and his band Matchbox Twenty

21.) NAMES SPEAK VOLUMES- A book/ song that you like with a person's name in the title:
📖: Peter Darling by Austen Chant

🎵: "Peter" by Taylor Swift

22.) A STEP FORWARD- A book/ song that moves you forward:
📖: The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson

🎵: "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol

23.) WHEN THE FIRST IS THE BEST- A book you love that's the start of a series/ A song you love that's the opening track of an album:
📖: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

🎵: "The First Time" by Boys Like Girls- This song brings me back to the summer before I started college (2012). Boys Like Girls has been one of my favorite bands ever since middle school. They have always written music I have related to on so many levels. Love this song and the album so damn much. My favorite from the album was definitely "Be Your Everything" it was...everything. Reminds me of someone very special. :)

24.) READ/ LISTEN TO THIS NOW- A book that you think everyone should read/ A song that you think everyone should listen to:
📖: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

🎵: There's too many of them. One of my choices would definitely be "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman. Such an incredible song.

25.) GOODBYE IS THE HARDEST WORD- A book/ song you like by an artist no longer alive:
📖: Wyrd Sisters (Discworld #6) by Terry Pratchett

🎵: "Burning Love" by Elvis Presley- Elvis's music always makes me think of my grammy, because he was her favorite singer. This was definitely a favorite for us both.

26.) I LOVE THEIR LOVE- A book/ song that makes you want to fall in love:
📖: A Flowering of Ink by K. L. Noone- A recent favorite

🎵: "Come What May" sung by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman from Moulin Rouge- Quite possibly the most beautiful song that I have ever heard. Also, one of the best movie musicals ever. Ewan is so damn good in it.

27.) HEARTBREAKER- A book/ song that breaks your heart:
📖: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

🎵: "Who Knew" by Pink

28.) BEAUTIFUL WORDS- A book by an author whose writing you love/ A song by an artist whose voice you love:
📖: A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

🎵: "Can't Stop Loving You" by Phil Collins

29.) CHILDHOOD FAVORITE- A book/ A song you remember from your childhood:
📖: Disney's Wonderful World of Knowledge Volume 10: Myths and Legends- I read through this book a lot as a child. Absolutely adored it.

🎵: "I Won't Say I'm in Love" from Disney's Hercules

30.) PLAY IT SO LOUD SO THE WORLD CAN HEAR ITS AWESOMENESS!- An audiobook you want everyone to listen to/ A song you always want to play loud:
📖: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo- One of the best most recent audiobooks I listened to in February. It is read by the author and is stunning!

🎵: "Do You Hear the People Sing" from Les Misérables- This is my favorite song from my favorite musical. Everytime I listen to it, I just want to blast it.

31.) LOVE IS LOVE- A LGBT book that you love/ A LGBT song that you love:
📖: Dear Milton James by N. R. Walker

🎵: So, I tried to keep each of these to one song, but I couldn't for this one.

"Say You Love Me" by Steve Grand

"Boys Who Like Boys" and "Young Love" by Eli Lieb

"If They Only Knew" by Alfie Arcuri

"The Subway" and "Good Luck Babe" by Chappell Roan

32.) SOUNDS OF THE SEASON- A book with a season in the title or a book that makes you think of a certain season/ A song with a season in the title:
📖: The Dragons of Winter (The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica #6) by James A. Owen

🎵: "Endless Summer Nights" by Richard Marx 

Books Written in Verse

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Genre Freebie: Books Written in Verse

One of my favorite types of books has been books written in verse ever since I was in middle school. I still vividly remember when I found my first of these books in my middle school/high school library and reading it as soon as I was done with my homework that night. That book is in this list. 

As a poet, I was obsessed with the idea of writing a book through poetry. Someday I hope to write my own. This year, I am going to be working on a blog series where I read/talk about 26 books in different categories. The first of these posts is books written in verse that I'm reading throughout this year. 

 Here is a list of some of my top favorites from over the years. 

1. Amber & Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz

    -  Amber & Clay has an intricately woven format with a mix between prose and verse. The story focuses on Rhaskos and Melisto, whose story is narrated by the Greek Gods, their mothers, Sokrates, many other people in their lives, and also themselves. Along with the prose and verse, there are illustrated artifacts preceding a section of the story. Laura Amy Schlitz gives more historical context in her author's note at the end of the book. I highly enjoy her explanation about Greek Verse and how she used it throughout the entire book. This is such a wonderful story. 

 

2. Death's Country by R. M. Romero

    - R. M. Romero's novels written in verse are some of my absolute favorites, especially this beauty. She blends magical realism with a realistic world to retell the myth of "Orpheus and Eurydice" in the present day. Many of my favorite myths deal with the Underworld. Romero does a brilliant job taking the original myth and breathing new life into it with the characters of Andres, Renee, and Liora. I also love how important music is in the novel. 

 

3. One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones

    - This was my first book written in verse, which I read for the first time back in eighth grade (2007/2008).  I have read and loved many of Sonya Sones's books over the years. The story focuses on a teen named Ruby, who moves in with her father after her mother passes away and how it uproots her life. It has been a very long time since I picked this up (reread it in 2016) but I remember how much it touched me at both times in my life.  

 

4. Bull by David Elliot

    - I've read all of David Elliot's novels in verse and this is my favorite of them. This is based on the myth of the Minotaur in the Labyrinth on Crete, which is one of my all-time favorite Greek myths. My favorite aspect of this was how David chose to have each of the characters in the book speak in different types of verse. He goes into detail about this at the end of the book. It is one of the most beautiful examples of books written in verse that I have ever read. 

5. Red Butterfly by A.L. Sonnichsen

    - A heartbreaking and heartwarming story about a young orphaned girl who finds the meaning of family in modern-day China. I love how the book is in Kara's voice. It is a stunning middle grade book that I highly recommend. 

6. Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lita Judge

    - A young adult biography about Mary Shelley and how she created Frankenstein, told through verse and over 300 illustrations. Lita Judge used Mary Shelley's journals to write this book. It's perfect for fans of the novel and anyone wanting to find out more about the author. A fabulous book inside and out. What I really loved about this book, was the fact of seeing where all of Mary's ideas came from to create Frankenstein. She became the mother of science fiction for a reason. The fact that she started writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen years old, just amazes me. 

 

7. Enter the Body by Joy McCullough

   - Enter the Body was an interesting take on many of Shakespeare’s plays and heroines. I really enjoyed the way Joy used verse and also dialogue between Juliet, Cordelia, Ophelia, and Lavinia. Though, I do wish that Lavinia would have been given some way to voice her opinions, I think that it was powerful to see her silencing throughout the entire book. Speaks volumes. 

- One of my favorite aspects of this book was the fact that we got the original versions of the plays told in the words of each of the characters. Then, in the second half we got the versions that the girls wish they would have gotten. This was a beautiful book with deeply heavy messages that hit hard. 

 

8. Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson 

   - One of the most beautifully heartbreaking novels I have ever read. I love how this book was written in ZJ’s voice, through verse. There are so many lines that stood out, especially from ZJ’s daddy. Not only was this book heartbreaking, but it was also heartwarming. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. Guy Lockard does an incredible job creating ZJ’s voice and giving emotion to such a hard subject. This had me in tears multiple times.

 

9. Octopus Moon by Bobbie Pyron

   - Both this and the final book on this list were two of my favorite books from last year. They both made it on my top 20 of the year. Octopus Moon is a book I didn't know I needed in my life, but I'm so glad I found it. It is about a young girl named Pearl who is dealing with many changes in her life as she starts fifth grade. She is having a difficult time finding the energy and the willpower to do what she needs and wants to do. The story is written from her perspective in verse as she navigates her life and deals with depression.

- I cannot recommend this book enough. It will be great for the middle grade readers in your life, but I also believe adults should read it too. Pearl's story is one I'm sure many people will relate to and one I think needs to be read. Definitely, one of the best middle grades I have read in my life.  

 

10. Hekate: The Witch (Goddesses of the Underworld) by Nikita Gill 

   - Nikita Gill is my favorite poet and Hekate is a character that I enjoy quite a bit from mythology since she is the Goddess of Witches among many other things. I did not know much of her backstory before she becomes the formidable Goddess I have come to love in stories. Nikita uses her beautiful lines of verse and prose to tell Hekate’s story. 

- We see Hekate from a young girl and see her coming of age story in this book. It was interesting to read another book about a daughter of Titans from their own perspective, there aren’t many of them. Many Greek Myth stories focus on the Olympians. Hekate’s story includes many famous events we have come to know from Greek Mythology, such as: the Titanomachy (the war between the Titans and the Gods), among so many others. I enjoyed reading about these from Hekate’s perspective as she comes into her powers. This is a wonderful book for fans of Greek Mythology, novels written in verse, and powerful female stories.