Pitch Perfect Reads...

Books With A Musical Theme

It’s hard for me to find a rapt, or is it trapped, audience to whom I can extol the passion I have for books. Music however, what kind of monstrous being doesn’t like music? So, books that have a musical backdrop? This could be my in people! Unsuspecting music devotees are soon to be lured in by my book loving ways.

Music and literature, and the deep unshakable love they inspire, are connected in a myriad of ways. They both provide an endless bounty of ammunition for snooty fans to judge one another by. Don’t deny it, we have all judged and been judged. Neither fan can answer the question what is your favourite book or album without subjecting the questioner to a backstory worthy of a novelist. They always have recommendations for their friends, even if they aren’t being asked. Maybe especially so. And without question, they have meticulously curated playlists or reading lists for every possible occasion or mood.

In the spirit of shared passion, I have gathered for you these masterful mashups. They offer the reader a story told in two languages, one formed in prose, the other in melody.

Enjoy!

The Essentials

High Fidelity – Nick Hornby

Rob is a pop music junkie who runs his own semi-failing record store. His girlfriend, Laura, has just left him for the guy upstairs, and Rob is both miserable and relieved. After all, could he have spent his life with someone who has a bad record collection? Rob seeks refuge in the company of the offbeat clerks at his store, who endlessly review their top fives of pretty much everything. A must read for any music lover!

We Sold Our Souls – Grady Hendrix

Every morning, Kris wakes up in hell. In the 1990s she was lead guitarist of a heavy-metal band on the brink of breakout success until Terry, the lead singer, embarked on a solo career and rocketed to stardom, leaving his bandmates to rot in obscurity. Now Kris works as night manager of a Best Western; she’s tired, broke, and unhappy. Then one day everything changes, a shocking act of violence turns her life upside down, and she begins to suspect that Terry sabotaged more than just the band.

Songs In Ursa Major – Emma Brodie

Raised by a mother that wrote songs for famous musicians, Jane is singing in her own band before she learns how to read music. When folk legend Jesse hers about her a partnership is formed, musical and romantic. Blinded by the audience and her adoration for Jesse, Jane is not prepared for the heartbreak that awaits her. If you’re getting A Star is Born vibes, me too! Based on a couple of real-life musicians popular in the seventies, you will have to dive in to see how it plays out!

Space Opera– Catherynne Valente

A century ago, the Sentence Wars tore the galaxy apart. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented, something to bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity and understanding. Once every cycle, galactic civilizations gathered in a concert extravaganza. One they must compete in to have a hope of being recognized as a new species. Can you picture it? It’s like Ziggy Stardust riding on the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. Absurd and fun!

More Than Maybe – Erin Hahn

Growing up in his punk rocker dad’s spotlight, Luke knows fame and wants nothing to do with it. His real love isn’t in front of a crowd, it’s on the page. Hiding his talent and secretly hoarding songs, he prefers the anonymous podcast co-hosting gig with his twin brother Cullen. And that’s not his only secret, he has an unrequited crush on music blogger Vada. Having just been accepted to a prestigious music journalism program and scoring an internship managing a summer rock and roll concert series, flirting with Luke is not on her list of things to do. A wonderful mixtape of a novel with a sweet romance that will hook you!

Fever House – Keith Rosson

When leg breaker Hutch rolls up to a rundown apartment to collect overdue drug money, a severed hand is the last thing he expects to find stashed in the refrigerator. When he discovers that the hand induces uncontrollable madness, things really start to get weird. And a lot of people are desperately hunting for the hand, including a shadowy government agency and a has been rock star. A crazed and bloody cat and mouse pursuit ensues. Unsettling and cryptic!

The Farewell Tour – Stephanie Cllifford

Lillian, jaded from her years in the music business, is heading out on the road for the last time. Perpetually hungover and battling vocal problems, she has cobbled together a farewell tour that will reunite her with old friends. Told in current times as well as flashbacks, we see her star rising in the male dominated world of country music. A wonderful story of a hardworking, hard lovin’, balls to the wall woman who never backs down.

Girl – Blake Nelson

Meet Andrea, straight-A high school student, thrift-store addict, and princess of the downtown music scene. In the midst of the 90’s, where the music scene was experiencing the deep impact of the grunge movement, Andrea’s passion for music merges together with first love to lead her down a unique, yet universally relatable coming-of-age road.

Cuttin’ Heads – D.A. Watson

Aldo is a desperate man. Fired from his job and deeply in debt, he struggles to balance a broken family life with his passion for music. Luce is a troubled woman. A rhythmic perfectionist, she is haunted by trauma and scorned by her devotedly religious mother. Ross is a wise ass. Orphaned as an infant his interests include game shows, home grown weed, occasional violence and the bass guitar. Together they are Public Alibi a rock band going nowhere fast. But when the devil arrives in the guise of a smooth-talking producer, all their dreams might come true. More likely, they're nightmares

Bootleg Stardust– Glenn Dixon

It’s 1974. The music world is rockin’ bellbottoms, platform shoes and lots of drugs. Downtown Exit is this year’s sensation and about to welcome Levi, a down on his luck rock star wannabe looking for his big break. When he aces his audition, he thinks he’s made it! Turns out he’s not really in the band, he just needs to play in the wings to cover for their hot mess of guitarist, who is prone to tripping out on stage. A unique and charming read steeped in my favourite decade!

Gone To The Wolves – John Wray

Kip, Leslie, and Kira are misfits and outcasts. In their deeply conversative town in the late 1980’s, just listening to metal can get you arrested, but they are willing to take the risk. Brought together by their love of music, their relationship begins to crumble as they make the pilgrimage to Hollywood. With unexpected twists and turns, the author lays bare the intensity and tumultuous nature of friendships formed in adolescence, all with an homage to heavy metal music.

Old Records Never Die – Eric Spitznagel

As he finds himself within spitting distance of middle age, journalist Spitznagel feels acutely the loss of something vital. Coolness? Could be. Vitality? Maybe. The records he sold in a financial pinch? Definitely. He sets out on a quest to find the original vinyl from his past, not just copies, the exact same records. As he embarks on this hero’s journey, he shares stories about the actual records, the music and the people he listened to them with. The perfect read for a music lover of any genre.

The Deep Cuts

The Vinyl Underground – Rob Rufus

During the tumultuous year of 1968, four outcasts find sanctuary in "The Vinyl Underground," a record club where they spin music, engage in deep conversation, and escape the stifling norms of their small southern town. Reality sets in as one of them nears their 18th Birthday and together they hatch a plan to keep him from being drafted. When a horrific act of racially charged violence rocks the gang to their core, they decide it's time for an epic act of rebellion.

This Song Will Save Your Life – Leila Sales

Making friends has never been Elise’s strong suit. Approaching her sophomore year of high school, she’s desperate to fit in.  When a final attempt at popularity fails, she almost gives up.  Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her as well as Char and Pippa who share her love for DJing, a love that Elise has long kept hidden.  Wonderfully refreshing and funny!

The Music Shop – Rachel Joyce

It's 1988. The CD has arrived. Sales of the shiny new disks are soaring across England. Meanwhile, down a dead-end street, Frank's music shop stands small and brightly lit, jam-packed with records of every kind. It attracts the lonely, the sleepless, the adrift. There is room for everyone, and Frank has a gift for finding his customers the music they need.  One day a curious woman shows up at his shop and it might be time for Frank to get what he needs.   

Destroy All Monsters – Jeff Jackson

An epidemic of violence is sweeping the country: musicians are being murdered onstage in the middle of their sets by members of their audience. Are these random copycat killings, or is something more sinister at work? Has music itself become corrupted in a culture where everything is available, everybody is a "creative," and attention spans have dwindled to nothing?  With its cast of ambitious bands, yearning fans, and enigmatic killers, this book tells a haunted and romantic story that will resonate with anybody who’s ever loved rock and roll!

The Vinyl Detective – Andrew Cartmel

He is a record collector, a connoisseur of vinyl, hunting out rare and elusive LPs. His business card describes him as the “Vinyl Detective” and some people take this more literally than others. Like the beautiful, mysterious woman who wants to pay him a large sum of money to find a priceless lost recording on behalf of an extremely wealthy, and rather sinister, client. Given that he’s just about to run out of cat food, this gets our hero’s full attention. So begins a painful and dangerous odyssey in search of one of the rarest records of them all…

Guitar Notes – Mary Amato

On odd days, Tripp uses a school practice room to let loose on a borrowed guitar. Eyes closed, strumming that beat-up instrument, he escapes to a world where only the music matters.  On even days, Lyla uses the same practice room. To Tripp, she's trying to become even more perfect, she's already a straight-A student and an award-winning cellist. But when Lyla begins leaving notes for him in between the strings of the guitar, his life intersects with hers in a way he never expected.  What starts as a series of snippy notes quickly blossoms into the sharing of interests and secrets and dreams, and the forging of a very unlikely friendship.

Every Anxious Wave – Mo Daviau

Karl is a thirty-something bar owner whose life lacks love and meaning. When he stumbles upon a time-travelling worm hole in his closet, Karl and his best friend Wayne develop a side business selling access to people who want to travel back in time to listen to their favorite bands. It's an ingenious plan, until Karl, intending to send Wayne to 1980, transports him back to 980 instead. What could possibly go wrong? You have no idea…

Spin – Colleen Nelson

Fifteen-year-old Delilah “Dizzy” Doucette lives with her dad and brother above their vintage record store, The Vinyl Trap. She’s learning how to spin records from her brother’s best friend, and she’s getting pretty good. But behind her bohemian life, Dizzy and her family have a secret: her mom is a mega famous singer. When this secret is revealed to the world, Dizzy’s life spins out of control. She must decide what is most important to her, the family she has or the family she wants. 

How to Kill A Rock Star – Tiffanie DeBartolo

Eliza, a young music journalist, is finally getting her footing in New York when she meets the talented songwriter and lead singer of the band Bananafish. They soon realize they share more than a reverence for rock music and plunge headlong into love.  When Bananafish is signed by a big corporate label, and her paramour is on his way to becoming a major rock star, Eliza's past forces her to make a heartbreaking decision that might be the key to his sudden disappearance.

Reservation Blues – Sherman Alexie

One day legendary bluesman Robert Johnson appears on the Spokane Indian reservation, in flight from the devil and long presumed dead. When he passes his enchanted instrument to Thomas-Builds-the-Fire; storyteller, misfit, and musician, a magical odyssey begins that will take them from reservation bars to small-town taverns, from the trails of Seattle to the concrete of Manhattan. An odyssey that is a must read!

Signal To Noise – Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexico City, 1988. Long before iTunes or MP3s, you said "I love you" with a mix tape.  Meche, awkward and fifteen, has two equally unhip friends, Sebastian and Daniela, and a whole lot of vinyl records to keep her company. When she discovers how to cast spells using music, the future looks brighter for the trio. The three friends will piece together their broken families, change their status as non-entities, and maybe even find love...