December 21, 2020

Custom Taylor-ed: Taylor Swift, Fearless + Speak Now


It's no secret that I'm a Taylor Swift fan. Her music has been the dominant soundtrack for many of the biggest, most memorable moments in my life, and I'm always admiring her creativity and cleverness with every new release. I've seen her in concert (three times when she was on tour, and once when she made a surprise appearance during an Ed Sheeran show), lined up for her merch pop-ups in New York and had listening parties with my usual gang of Swifties for years now. And I'm pretty sure she'll be a stable part of the soundtrack of my life for years to come!

Since we were blessed with not just one but two new albums from her during 2020, I figured it was high time I finally sat my butt down and did a series of just for fun posts that I've been meaning to do for a while highlighting her albums, my 5 favorite tracks (and you get the bonus of seeing the top 3 tracks from Macky, my sisters Mel & Rachel and my cousin Carmela too) and, in the spirit of my former Tunes & Tales posts, share some matching book recommendations. (This is by no means an original idea, as I've seen variations of it all over the web, but I wanted to share my own list of faves!)


I can't say that I was a Taylor Swift from day one, since I didn't necessarily count her debut album Taylor Swift among my favorites when it came out. It's a country pop album, emphasis on country, and I didn't listen much to that musical genre (and still don't). I did, however, go back and listen to it after I fell in love with her sophomore release. And it's lucky I did, because there are definitely some tracks on this one that I fell head over heels in love with!

My Favorites & Book Recs
If you like Tied Together with a Smile... read Anna K: A Love Story.
If you like Mary's Song (Oh My My My)... read 10 Blind Dates.
If you like The Outside... read Little Universes.
If you like A Perfectly Good Heart... read How to Love.
If you like A Place in this World... read The How and the Why.

Macky's Favorites: A Perfectly Good Heart, Mary’s Song, Tied Together with a Smile
Mela's Favorites: Our Song, Mary's Song, Tim McGraw
Rachel's Favorites: Our Song, A Place in This World, Tied Together with a Smile


I fell so hard into the Taylor Swift fandom the year Fearless came out. There was something about this album that really resonated with the teenager I was then, and I really genuinely felt like Ms. Swift had captured the roller coaster of emotions I'd been experiencing, whether it was as a college student coming into my own or a young woman falling in love. I always feel nostalgic whenever I put this particular album on! (Also, one of my favorite tracks was actually the song we used in our pre-nuptial video.)

My Favorites & Book Recs
If you like Fearless... read American Panda.
If you like Jump, then Fall... read Shuffle, Repeat.
If you like The Way I Loved You... read Sinner.
If you like You Belong With Me... read The Start of Me and You.
If you like Love Story... read Lady Midnight.

Macky's Favorites: You Belong With Me, Fearless, Breathe
Mel's Favorites: Fearless, White Horse, You Belong With Me
Mela's Favorites: You Belong With Me, The Other Side of the Door, White Horse
Rachel's Favorites: You Belong With Me, Fearless, The Best Day


Speak Now was the first Taylor Swift album I anticipated as a fan, and was able to experience here in the USA since it was released the same year that I moved back. It still breaks my heart that I didn't get to see this tour live, since there are a number of tracks on this album that really hit hard for me! It felt like Ms. Swift was definitely starting to swerve in a decidedly more pop direction with her work, and I was definitely here and ready for that to happen!

My Favorites & Book Recs
If you like The Story of Us... read These Violent Delights.
If you like Haunted... read The Bone Season series. This song pairs with The Mime Order.
If you like Enchanted... read An Offer from a Gentleman.
If you like Long Live... read the Throne of Glass series. This song pairs with Kingdom of Ash.
If you like Sparks Fly... read The Happy Ever After Playlist.

Macky's Favorites: Sparks Fly, Enchanted, Long Live
Mel's Favorites: Sparks Fly, Enchanted, Long Live
Mela's Favorites: Long Live, Mine, Ours
Rachel's Favorites: Sparks Fly, Enchanted, Long Live

2 Comments:

  1. I love this! I'm excited for you to get to my favorites!(1989/Reputation/Red)

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's no secret that I'm a Taylor Swift fan. Her music has been the dominant soundtrack for many of the biggest, most memorable moments in my life, and I'm always admiring her creativity and cleverness with every new release. I've seen her in concert (three times when she was on tour, and once when she made a surprise appearance during an Ed Sheeran show), lined up for her merch pop-ups in New York and had listening parties with my usual gang of Swifties for years now. And I'm pretty sure she'll be a stable part of the soundtrack of my life for years to come!

    ReplyDelete

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