We can’t get enough of Lana Del Rey’s new album ‘Lust for Life,’ so we’ve put together the ultimate reading list with a book to match every song!
1. Love: The Girls by Emma Cline
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Emma Cline’s ‘The Girls’ would be the perfect accompaniment to this dreamy ballad. The song’s nostalgic tone and heart-beat rhythms echo the air of memory and conjure up the cool sixties Californian setting of Cline’s debut. Though the book is much darker, dealing with the protagonist Evie’s past as a teenage member of a dangerous cult, we think the eerily sweet vocals and repetition of “crazy, crazy, crazy” could definitely hint at the frightening themes of secrets, possession, and the past in this stunning book.
2. Lust for Life: Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
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This song, featuring The Weeknd, is a pretty straightforward love song as Lana demanda that The Weeknd ‘take off all [his] clothes.’ There’s no denying the somewhat sexual element to this duet and we think the famously raunchy ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ would be the perfect partner for this track!
3. 13 Beaches– The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum by Heinrich Böll
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Del Rey has said that this song is inspired by an experience of going to thirteen beaches before finding one where she was safe from the paparazzi, so we think a book that deals with lack of privacy would suit this song down to the ground! Heinrich Böll’s book ‘The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum’ depicts the awful effects of excessive media reporting on a person’s life.
4. Cherry– Single White Female by John Lutz
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We think this tune is a little spooky, between its declarations of love- ‘I fall to pieces when I’m with you,’ to the suddenly angrier ‘all of my peaches are ruined, bitch,’ the character Del Rey embodies in this song is clearly a little erratic and unpredictable, so we’ve chosen John Lutz’s famously creepy novel of obsession to go along with it!
5. White Mustang– An Education by Lynn Barber
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This song deals with ill-advisedly falling for someone who has a great car, and we know someone who’s whole life changed when she did this. When Lynn Barber was still in school, she was seduced by an older man, who swept her away to a life of luxury…but that was only the beginning.
6. Summer Bummer– Riding in Cars with Boys: Confessions of a Bad Girl who Made Good by Beverly Donofrio
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Another memoir, this one deals with Beverly Donofrio’s early life as a rebel, riding around town with boys, drinking, smoking and disregarding authority. With guest vocals for A$AP Rocky, ‘Summer Bummer’ is the perfect soundtrack to this honest, funny and hopeful account of youth.
7. Groupie Love: I’m With the Band: Confessions of a Former Groupie by Pamela Des Barres
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This account of life as a groupie in the 60s and 70s could have been the inspiration behind ‘Groupie Love.’ Charting her fifteen years of adventure as a groupie to the biggest bands of the era, Des Barres reveals details of her life during that time, including her affairs with the likes of Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page and Jim Morrison.
8. In My Feelings: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
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‘In My Feelings’ follows the singer putting her foot down and standing up for herself: ‘who’s doper than this bitch? Who’s freer than me?’ We think Elizabeth Gilbert’s book ‘Eat, Pray, Love,’ which follows her own brave decision to leave behind the life in which she was unhappy and find her own best self, would be a great companion to this empowering tune.
9. Coachella- Woodstock In My Mind– Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon by Sheila Weller
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This song, dripping with nostalgic reverie and penned while Lana was at Coachella, looks to bridge the gap between the festivals of then and now. ‘Girls Like Us,’ a biography of three of the leading ladies of the 60s would go along very nicely.
10. God Bless America- And All The Beautiful Women In It– The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares
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This ode to sisterhood in the USA could only be accompanied by the marvelous ‘Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants’ series, following the adventures of a group of friends and their magical pair of jeans that somehow fits all of them perfectly.
11. When The World Was At War, We Kept Dancing– The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
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This song is inspired by the USA’s current political climate, and asks the question, ‘is this the end of an era, the end of America?’ In an interview with Flaunt, Lana asked ‘are we running out of time with this person at the helm of a ship? Will it crash?’ So we’ve chosen the book of the moment, Margaret Atwood’s classic dystopia ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’ The book is set in a future where women are used for reproduction, forced to be completely subservient. This beautiful ballad reminds us to keep resisting.
12. Beautiful People, Beautiful Problems– The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
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The queen of witchy wonder Stevie Nicks and the son of rock’n’roll, Sean Ono Lennon, both appear on this song declaring themselves beautiful people with beautiful problems. We’ve chosen ‘The Age of Innocence’ by Edith Wharton, which follows the scandalous lives of upper class society in 1800s New York.
13. Tomorrow Never Came– Beatlebone by Kevin Barry
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Sung with Sean Ono Lennon, the son of John and Yoko, this simple love song references Sean’s famous parents and summers in the city. We’ve chosen Irish writer Kevin’ Barry’s award winning novel ‘Beatlebone’ to go along with it. ‘Beatlebone’ follows a fictional version of John Lennon who has left New York for Ireland.
14. Heroin– Candy by Kevin Brooks
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This astounding YA novel by English author Kevin Brooks follows sixteen-year-old Joe and his love affair with a young sex worker named Candy. His attempts to save her from her addiction plunge them both into more danger than he could ever have imagined. Once again, Lana Del Rey’s dreamy songs with dark subject matter would be the perfect companion to this tour-de-force that, although aimed at teens, will satisfy readers of any age.
15. Change– The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo
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Spin called this song “a quietly moving testimony to overcoming apathy in search of personal transformation.” In keeping with this mentality, we’ve chosen Paulo Coehlo’s beloved novel of self discovery and the part we play in shaping our own destiny.
16. Get Free– Hot Little Hands by Abigail Ulman
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This short story collection, exploring the lives of young women in new places, is not always upbeat. In parts, it can be extremely dark and unsettling. But, we think upbeat album closer ‘Get Free’ would make a great soundtrack for it. Lana sings: “I never really noticed that I had to decide/ To play someone’s game or live my own life,” and the young women who appear in this collection are all dealing with what it means to be alone in new places and navigate new territories, be they new countries, frightening situations, or sexual experiences.
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