Curated by the International Booker Prize, Deezer’s new playlists have been hand-crafted to thematically pair with reading some of the best books of 2020.
Have you ever felt like you wish there was a perfect reading list to match the book you were reading? As if the experience could be enriched with specially thematic music to further arouse the emotions and atmospheres created by the books? If so, then Deezer has you covered.
Their new ‘Sounds of…’ playlist series sees the streaming service team up with Booker Prize to find the perfect match between music and literature. Their six new music playlists have been curated to match six of the shortlisted books of 2020 to align with the mood and theme of each.
The complete “Sounds of…” series contains:
- Greenengage Tree Lighting by Shokoofeh Azar. playlist here
- The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara (translated by Iona Macintye and Fiona Mackintosh). playlist here
- Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann (translated by Ross Benjamin). playlist here
- hurricane season by Fernanda Melchor (translated by Sophie Hughes). playlist here
- The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (translated by Stephen Snyder). playlist here
- Evening discomfort by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld (translated by Michele Hutchison). playlist here
Adam Read, Deezer Music Editor for UK & Ireland, says: “Each playlist changes in tone, rhythm and mood to complement the different narratives, magic in Greenengage Tree Lightingin satire of Tyll. Combining the disturbing and tragic themes of Evening discomfort with dark and mysterious sounds sent shivers down my spine.
“I’ve had so many of these surreal moments creating these playlists. For readers, I’m sure it will continue to intensify as they become more immersed in the book. They took me into six exciting journeys; now let’s see where they take you!
They have also launched a “Summer Reads” reading list which is more generally suitable for new books to read this year. International Booker Prize President Ted Hodgkinson has selected a series of books he recommends you read this summer with Deezer’s playlist endorsement to go with it.
- Afropean by Johny Pitts
- haunted square by Francesca Wade
- tower mirror by Jia Tolentino
- My Darling of the Lions by Rachel Long
- Postcolonial love poem by Natalie Diaz
- Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami (translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd)
- Down by Jeet Thayil
- The Topeka School by Ben Lerner
- little eyes by Samantha Schweblin (translated by Megan McDowell)
Ted Hodgkinson added: “In the last year of reading, I have been listening to some brilliant translated fiction. Now I’m excited to hear some sounds curated by the experts at Deezer, who curated playlists tailored to this year’s shortlist. I hope this inspires more readers to immerse themselves in the sights and sounds of our International Booker Prize shortlist.
If you’re wondering which book is right for you, you can take a new Deezer quiz to find out. If that sounds a bit too much Buzzfeed for you, why not pick a random one – they’ve all had a fantastic response.