We Think Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department Pairs Perfectly With These Books

By now, you’ve probably already listened to Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department. You’ve picked apart every line to find the Easter Eggs and that one group chat has been buzzing over who each song references for hours. You’re now an expert on Clara Bow and if you didn’t listen to The Starting Line before, you do now.

Because PEOPLE can’t stop, won’t stop all things Taylor Swift, we’ve rounded up the perfect pairing of books to read after you’ve listened to every, single track. Disagree with our choices? Well, good news: Debating fellow Swifties is half the fun.

Happy Taylor day to all who celebrate.

‘Fortnight’ (Featuring Post Malone) and ‘All-Night Pharmacy’ by Ruth Madievsky

All-Night Pharmacy.

Catapult

A toxic familial relationship and a whole lot of bad decisions turns one debaucherous night into a living nightmare for a woman who’s just trying to figure out who she is and how to be in the world. This novel feels both too real and dreamlike all at once, kind of like our favorite Taylor songs.

‘The Tortured Poet’s Department’ and ‘All Fours’ by Miranda July

All Fours.

Riverhead Books

When an artist of some renown decides to take a solo cross-country road trip, her husband and child are happy to let her go. But she only makes it a short ways from home before she finds a totally different kind of adventure. Atmospheric, sexy and totally unexpected.

‘My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys and ‘Poor Things’ by Alastair Gray

Poor Things.

Mariner Books

Bella was reanimated to serve her benefactor but, as women tend to do, she has her own ideas about what her life should become. This twisted, serpentine novel became a film of the same name. Read the book first, then check out the movie.

‘Down Bad’ and ‘Trust Exercise’ by Susan Choi

Trust Exercise.

Henry Holt and Co.

Students at a performing arts high school in the 1980s obsessively strive to be the best in music, academics, but especially theater. When two of them fall in love, it sets off a topsy-turvy chain of events that wouldn’t be out of place in one of Taylor’s own tracks. Maybe she’ll take on this story next?

‘So Long, London’ and ‘The London Seance Society’ by Sarah Penner

The London Seance Society.

Park Row

In this sapphic, occult-leaning historical mystery, one woman seeks a well-regarded spiritualist to find out what happened to her murdered sister. But she soon finds herself wrapped up in more than she bargained for, taking on powerful men and their nefarious intentions.

‘But Daddy I Love Him’ and ‘The Divorcees’ by Rowan Beaird

The Divorcées.

Flatiron Books

In the 1950s, women who wanted to get divorced were often sent to “divorce ranches” in Nevada before they could start fresh—and single. “Scandal does funny things to pride” in this book, for sure.

‘Fresh Out the Slammer’ and ‘Confidence’ by Rafael Frumkin

Confidence.

Simon & Schuster

Two boys meet at a camp for troubled kids who need to turn their lives around—it’s not the slammer, but it’s the last stop before it—and they start a scheme that indeed changes everything. Is it love? Is it lust? It’s a good time, that’s for sure.

‘Florida!!!!’ (Featuring Florence and the Machine) and ‘Swamplandia!’ by Karen Russell

Swamplandia!.

Vintage

We can almost feel the humidity trickling down our spines reading this delightfully bizarre novel about a feral girl growing up at a decrepit alligator-wrestling theme park. When her world descends into even further chaos and she has to save them all, the climax feels a little bit like this song does.

‘Guilty as Sin?’ and ‘Ninth House’ by Leigh Bardugo

Ninth House.

Flatiron Books

When a survivor of a multiple homicide finds herself thrust into a world of occult secret societies at one of the country’s most prestigious academic institutions, you expect things to get weird. But nobody expects necromancy. These “fatal fantasies” will keep you turning pages long after you descend into the vault.

‘Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?’ and ‘The Wife Upstairs’ by Frida McFadden

The Wife Upstairs.

Dreamscape Media, LLC

With shades of Jane Eyre, this is a mystery about a woman who’s confined to the top floor of her beautiful home after a terrible acci. When a hired caretaker arrives, we learn more about what happened to her — and the story she’s desperate to tell.

‘I Can Fix Him (No I Really Can)’ and ‘Acts of Desperation’ by Megan Nolan

Acts of Desperation.

Little, Brown and Company

You’ll be shaking your head sayin’ “God help her” as you tear through this book that’s been called a “blistering anti-romance” about a woman who falls deeply for a novelist who sends her spiraling after a brutal rejection.

‘Loml’ and ‘Fire Season’ by Leyna Krow

Fire Season.

Viking

A conman comes to town just after a devastating fire rips through 1889 Spokane, but his usual tactics are interrupted by Roslyn, a woman driven to drink by her ability to see the future. As their paths converge and the story plays out in a way that eerily echoes this track, you’ll find yourself humming along.

‘I Can Do It With A Broken Heart’ and ‘Magnolia Parks’ by Jessa Hasting

Magnolia Parks.

Dutton

To quote a classic, “She wears short skirts, he wears T-shirts.” A mildly uptight British socialite falls for a London bad boy and the dysfunction that results is worthy of a whole new album.

‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived’ and ‘Ghosts’ by Dolly Alderton

Ghosts.

Knopf

Nina has a lot going for her: An apartment of her own, a new book coming out, a busy social calendar. So when she gets ghosted by a guy she really likes and has to confront what’s really going on beneath the surface, it throws her for a loop. Funny, brutal and perfect for anyone who’s muttering, “Now you know what it feels like.”

‘The Alchemy’ and ‘Head Over Heels’ by Hannah Orenstein

Head Over Heels.

Atria Books

Chalk up your hands and get ready for the Olympics with this rom-com set in the high-stakes world of competitive gymnastics. Just like on the field or the mat, dreams get made and shattered, good athletes make bad choices and everyone’s left out of breath at the end (especially the reader).

‘Clara Bow’ and ‘Famous in a Small Town’ by Viola Shipman

Famous in a Small Town.

Graydon House

Now that we have all (re)discovered Clara Bow, step into a small town with this cozy fiction. It’s got an octogenarian shop owner, a woman having a bit of a crisis on vacation, and all of the summery sensations you could possibly want. This town is not fake, despite the twee name, and neither are the feel-good vibes.

‘The Black Dog’ and ‘The Daydreams’ by Laura Hankin

The Daydreams.

Berkley

If this song has you nostalgic about a certain era of music (and you’re not too young to know The Starting Line), you’ll also love this novel about the stars of an early-aughts teen show that flamed out in spectacular fashion and what happens when they reunite years later.

‘Imgonnagetyouback’ and ‘Queen Move’ by Kennedy Ryan

Queen Move.

Blue Box Press

The grand madame of second-chance romance doesn’t miss with this steamy, spicy take on what happens when star-crossed lovers reunite and sparks don’t just fly: They ignite. Grab a nice, cold glass of water before starting this one. You’ll need it.

‘The Albatross’ and ‘Circe’ by Madeline Miller

Circe.

Little, Brown and Company

Take an Odyssey with this modern retelling of the myth of Circe, who has to decide whether to side with the gods or mortals after her father, Zeus, banishes her to a desert island. Dare we say, “You’re on your own kid?”

‘Chloe or Sam Or Sophia or Marcus’ and ‘You’d Be Home Now’ by Kathleen Glasgow

You’d Be Home Now.

Delacorte Press

Emory has always been told exactly who she is, and her place in her well-established family, town and school all feel set in stone. But after a terrible accident reveals the depth of her brother’s drug habit and she realizes everything has changed, she has to—or gets to—decide who she’s going to be, too.

‘How Did It End?’ and ‘Rouge’ by Mona Awad

Rouge.

S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books

This dark and twisted take on the beauty industry and our obsession with appearances takes the line “We were blind to unforeseen circumstances” to sinister new depths. We won’t spoil the ending, but this is another one that works a little too well with this track.

‘So High School’ and ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ series by Jenny Han

We’ll Always Have Summer.

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

If you’re looking for a book that feels like high school between two covers, this is it. Read the whole series, then watch the TV show, then listen to the track. Rehydrate, rinse, repeat.

‘I Hate It Here’ and ‘The Secret Garden’ by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Secret Garden.

Sky Publishing

Yes, there’s a secret garden reference in the track but if you’ve never read this classic, do so now and you’ll see it goes deeper than that. A lonely little girl named Mary finds respite and rejuvenation in a long-neglected garden and brings it back to life with the help of two companions who need saving in their own ways, too.

‘I Look in People’s Windows’ and ‘If Only I Had Told Her’ by Laura Nowlin

If Only I Had Told Her.

Sourcebooks Fire

Finn has always loved Autumn, but he’s with Sylvie so Autumn can’t know his true feelings. But Finn’s best friend Jack can see what Finn can’t: that their chemistry is impossible to deny. This is a book that’s tangled up in truth, tragedy, destiny and who gets to make choices for whom.

‘The Prophecy’ and ‘On the Rooftop’ by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

On the Rooftop.

Ecco

Women, in particular, have always been limited: By society, by expectations someone else set out for them, by prophesies that determine their destiny. In this music-filled novel, three sisters must confront their own dreams and their mother’s dream for them, and decide which ones they’ll follow.

‘Cassandra’ and ‘Magic Lessons’ by Alice Hoffman

Magic Lessons.

Simon & Schuster

Trace the Owens bloodline of Practical Magic fame back to the 1600s in this magical novel that takes us back to the witching hour in 1600s Salem, Mass. We all know how that saga went, but this book is as full of surprises as our pop heroine.

‘Peter’ and ‘The Light We Lost’ by Jill Santopolo

The Light We Lost.

G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Lucy and Gabe meet at a pivotal point in their lives, and when they cross paths again a year later, it feels like fate. But life has other plans, and they spend over a decade on a journey that crosses continents, boundaries and hearts. You know, much like this album.

‘The Bolter’ and ‘Family of Liars’ by E. Lockhart

Family of Liars.

Ember

If we’ve learned one thing from novels, it’s that nothing good ever happens on private islands off the coast of New England. Especially not when that island is populated by an unpredictable heiress with a temper hotter than the summer sun, a boy with a magnetism she can’t ignore and enough secrets and betrayals to populate another Taylor double album.

‘Robin’ and ‘What the Fireflies Knew’ by Kai Harris

What the Fireflies Knew.

Tiny Reparations Books

Secrets “buried down deep” will destroy the people holding them, and no one knows that as well as KB, the young protagonist of this heartwrenching novel. Her father has died and his memory been tainted, her mother is gone and so is everything she knows. If this album hasn’t shattered your heart already, this book will.

‘The Manuscript’ and ‘Just Last Night’ by Mhairi McFarlane

Just Last Night.

William Morrow Paperbacks

Lifelong friends who can finish each other’s sentences (and fries), a secret love and a moment that sends Evie’s life careening in a direction she never expected are at the center of this novel that will make you laugh, then cry, then laugh again. If “lookin’ backwards might be the only way to move forward,” this book will convince you “what the agony had been for.”

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