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Jane L. Rosen is the author of six novels, Nine Women, One Dress, Eliza Starts a Rumor, A Shoe Story, On Fire Island, Seven Summer Weekends, and Songs of Summer. She has a monthly column in the Fire Island and Great South Bay News called Cake or Pie? where she whimsically interviews her fellow authors. She is also a screenwriter and New York Times, Tablet, and Huffington Post contributor.
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Maggie May Wheeler is living her best life—at thirty, she has big plans for her vintage record shop and is about to be engaged to her childhood best friend. But when she stumbles across a letter she wrote to her future self when she was thirteen, she realizes it may not be enough. The letter ignites a desire to find her birth mother and discover where she really belongs.
Her search takes her to dreamy Fire Island, where her birth mother is a guest at a wedding. As Maggie spies on her biological family, she’s caught between diving into their chaotic lives and returning to her comfortable world. Things heat up when a charming local makes her an offer to crash the wedding as his date.
Is it the island’s magic, the whirlwind of the weekend, or the thrill of a fake beau that has her rethinking everything? Swept away by every love song she hears, Maggie must figure out where her heart truly lies. (Courtesy of Amazon.)
🎸 Books for Music Lovers 🎤
Wherever you spend your summer—by the ocean, on the lake, at the local pool, or lounging in your own backyard—two things make the season complete: a good read and a great playlist. Books and music shape our summer memories just as much as fireworks in the sky or sand between our toes. Some novels tap into the music world directly, with musicians, record stores, or the music biz at the center of the story. Others have titles and lyrics woven into the plot. And some, like my latest, Songs of Summer, hit all those notes. Whether you're a queen of pop, a classic rocker, or someone who just loves a story with a good soundtrack, these books should have you scatting along on your lounge chair.
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
No list of music-themed books would be complete without High Fidelity, in fact, two of the music-loving characters in my latest novel first bond over their love for the tale of a British record store owner who obsesses over top five lists and ex-girlfriends. A witty, music-soaked exploration of love, heartbreak, and emotional immaturity, High Fidelity takes a sharp, relatable look at how we use music to make sense of our lives.
Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska by Warren Zanes
Anyone who knows me personally—or even follows me on social—knows that my family and I are huge Springsteen fans. So, when my friend and neighbor, Jean Hanff Korelitz (The Plot, Admission), asked if my husband and I would host her Pop-Up Book Talk with Warren Zanes at our home, we jumped at the chance. The film version of Deliver Me from Nowhere, starring Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen, will be out on October 24. Until then, dive into Zanes’s deeply human story of the haunting, stripped-down recording of one of Springsteen’s most iconic and enigmatic albums, Nebraska. This isn’t just for Springsteen devotees—it’s for anyone interested in the raw creative process of an artist taking a huge risk.
It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan
This warm, witty romance centers on a former teen idol whose co-stars have all gone on to greatness—including a pop music icon who she needs to track down so she can finally have her own moment in the sun. Monaghan, beloved for her sharp dialogue and emotional depth, crafts a love story that's also a reflection on fame, nostalgia, and the songs that become part of us. With a vivid musical thread running throughout, it’s a heartfelt hit for romantics and music lovers alike.
The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner
Weiner captures the early-aughts music scene in all its glossy, gritty glory when two musically gifted sisters find themselves on very different paths. The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits is more than a snapshot of a cultural moment—this is a moving story of growth, forgiveness, finding your voice, and realizing you were always enough.
All the Summers in Between by Brooke Lea Foster
In the summer of 1967, impulsive, privileged Margot and grounded, hard-working Thea strike up an unexpected friendship during their days working side by side at the local record store. But one tragic August night changes everything. After a decade of silence, Margot reappears without warning, desperate for Thea’s help—and hiding more than one dangerous secret.
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Told in a fictional oral history format, this bestselling novel brings to life the rise and fall of a ’70s rock band with stunning realism. Inspired by bands like Fleetwood Mac, Daisy Jones & The Six captures the wild highs and painful lows of making music, living fast, and falling apart. Readers, like me, who wished the fictional band’s songs really existed were granted their wish in 2023, when the book came to life in a mini-series starring Elvis’s granddaughter—Riley Keough.
Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
In 1970s Baltimore, 14-year-old Mary Jane lands a summer job nannying for a psychiatrist’s daughter—only to discover he’s secretly treating a famous rock star and his glamorous movie star wife in his home. As Mary Jane’s straight-laced world collides with one of sex, drugs, and deep conversations about music and identity, she quietly comes of age in a summer that changes everything.
Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel
Bridget, a classical musician and part of a beloved chamber group, retreats to her family’s Connecticut home for a quiet summer—only to have her adult children move in, her love life implode, and her trio threatened by unexpected changes. With charm and wit, Poeppel explores aging, reinvention, and the complicated harmony of family and art.
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
At a lavish party in a South American mansion, a world-renowned opera singer performs—and then the house is taken hostage. In the days that follow, captors and captives begin to bond, with music serving as the unlikely bridge between them. Bel Canto is not just about opera, but about beauty, connection, and the transcendent power of art in impossible circumstances. Fun fact: Patchett published an annotated edition of her early work in 2024.
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
This Pulitzer Prize–winning novel captures the passage of time, with each chapter presenting as an individual story—reminiscent of a mixtape. It even has a Part A and a Part B, which can correlate to the A-side and B-side of a record album. Through a wide array of characters—many of whom are linked to the music industry—Egan explores ambition, regret, fame, and digital disruption.
Songs of Summer by Jane L. Rosen
When Ohio record store owner Maggie Mae Wheeler sets out to find her birth mother, her journey takes an unexpected turn—straight to Fire Island, where she crashes a wedding on the arm of a dashing Rolling Stone reporter. If the premise of my heartfelt addition to the musical fiction genre does not scream playlist, the fact that each chapter is named for a song certainly does. I’m thrilled to report that early readers are loving the immersive experience of singing and dancing along.
Tell us your favorite book about music! Is it listed above or do you have one to add?
Thanks to Jane for a wonderful guest post and to Berkley for coordinating everything.
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