Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.
I am back today with a new listicle. A listicle full of book recommendations. This time around I have curated not one, not two, but nearly a dozen lists for your reading pleasure. And they’re all based on what Taylor Swift era you’re in. Should this post have come out a year ago? Or was I just waiting for The Tortured Poets Department to drop? The world may never know.
I have lost my mind over the past few weeks. Below you will find every single Taylor Swift era, a description of the era, and five reads that match the vibes. I have once again become this Squidward meme:
Now for the reason you’re all here. From my suffering has come a thing of a beauty. Enjoy my aesthetic eras photos and find your next read.
Debut
Let’s go all the way back to 2006, Taylor Swift drops her self-titled debut album. Taylor Swift is an overnight success. Full of young love and angst this album has songs for teens to scream-sing and to cry to. If you’re looking for books full of young love, first love, and angst then look no further to the titles below.
· Heartstopper: Volume One by Alice Oseman
· Some Mistakes Were Made by Kristin Dwyer
· Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
· Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting
· This Love Story Will Self-Destruct by Leslie Cohen
Fearless
Fearless, Fearless, Fearless, where do we begin. This album is not about being without fear, it’s about things that scare you and doing them anyway. Still full of young love and a touch of angst, this era also encompasses taking chances and adventure. And those are the aspects I want to focus on: chance and adventure. That’s why you’ll find some fun adventurous reads right below.
· A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell
· Not Another Vampire Book by Cassandra Gannon
· Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
· The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers
· What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez
Speak Now
Our pretty, purple princess has arrived. One of my personal favorite eras, you will find love and fantasy this time around. Also speak your truth. That’s it, that’s the tweet. Also, if you want books that feel like Speak Now, the romantasy genre is what you’re looking for. There are five recs down below, but any romantasy book will do.
· Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
· The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
· The Tearsmith by Erin Doom
· Lightlark by Alex Aster
· Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Red
Next up we have the Red era. We are back to the romance, not that we ever left romance, but we have entered into our fun, no strings attached romance era. We have also entered the kinda toxic romance era. There’s jealousy, the romance seems fun at the time but looking back the relationship wasn’t the greatest, there's intense love but also some intense hatred, and angst, angst, ANGST! Below are some reads that have all those emotions.
· Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren
· The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid; try to tell me this read doesn’t scream “The Lucky One.”
· The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
· Furious Love by Nancy Schoenberger and Sam Kashner
· Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki
1989
The pop star album has arrived! We are here for a good time, not a long time. To me this era is all about being bold, being yourself and not caring who’s watching. Below are five reads that encompass those thoughts.
· Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
· Legendborn and Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn; they both give “Out of the Woods” energy and I will stand by that.
· Once More With Feeling by Elissa Sussman
· Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian
· The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman
Reputation
Truly look what you made me do. I do not know what I can say about this era that hasn’t already been said before, but I’ll try. There is such a duality to this era. You have straight up vengeance and then you have vulnerability. You once again have love but you also have instances of revenge. Below you shall find five books that toe the line between genres, that toe the line between vengeance and vulnerability, love and hate, and maybe some that simply match the aesthetic.
· Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington
· Version Zero by David Yoon
· Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian
· These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
· The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange
Lover
We are now in the bubblegum pop era. Barbiecore before Barbiecore. All that glitters is more glitter. We are once again talking about love and romance, this time with the reminder to not take oneself so seriously. We are reminded to enjoy the ride while being grounded in reality.
· Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers
· Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire
· Passion on Park Avenue by Lauren Layne
· The Breakup Tour by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
· Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
Folklore
This one is for all you Cottagecore girlies. Stay dreamy, be nostalgic, escape to your happy place.
· My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier
· This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron
· The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoriada Córdova
· The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
· Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Evermore
Again for all you Cottagecore girlies out there. This time around though there is much more focus on sadness and loneliness. Things are still dreamy but only because we are using escapism to hide from depressive thoughts and feelings of loneliness.
· Little Sister by Gytha Lodge
· The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff; can you tell “No Body, No Crime” is my favorite song from this album.
· The Proposal by Jasmine Gullory
· Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
· Ghosts by Dolly Alderton
Midnights
Firstly, if you’ve made it this far, thank you! Now back to your regularly scheduled program. There is a lot going on in the Midnights era. You have the vengeance of Reputation, the bold freedom of 1989, the dreaminess of multiple past albums; it’s hard to pinpoint one thematic overture to latch on to. What I think of when it comes to this era is the following: vulnerability. Dreams, love, vengeance, bold freedom. To discuss those topics you need to be vulnerable and sure of one’s self. That thought is what led me to pick the following five books.
· The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
· Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
· The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
· Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
· The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by Victoria Schwab
The Tortured Poets Department
Alright, we have reached the end. We have reached the most aesthetically pleasing era to me. The newest era is full of melodrama and I love it for that. The Tortured Poets Department is full of intense emotions. Intense love, relationships crashing and burning, the aftermath of said relationships. It’s all about how intense emotions can be maddening. Also, there are some strong witchy vibes in this album and you cannot tell me otherwise. Now let’s see what books encapsulate this era.
· “The Salt Grows Heavy” by Cassandra Khaw
· Weyward by Emilia Hart
· A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
· The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
· Babel by R.F. Kuang
Thus endeth our list. I guess I should says lists. Thus endeth our lists! Thank you very much for joining me today. I do so hope you’ve found at least one new book to read. Yes, I have indeed lost my mind after working on these lists so I’m gonna go take a very long well deserved nap. I shall see you all again next week with a new review that’s not a book review. Stay tuned for that.
Until then, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.
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