Why am I passionate about this?

From Taylor Swift to Lauryn Hill, from Joan Baez to Beyonce, I find that the lyrics, performances, and melodies of women making music inspire my own creativity every day. I am not a musician; I am a writer, editor, and novelist! But I find music to be so accessible, so deeply meaningful, in a way that other art forms, even my own, are not. So naturally, I adore novels about music! 


I wrote...

Book cover of The Singer Sisters

What is my book about?

Two generations of folk-rock singers in one family: their rivalries, lyrics, love affairs... and secrets.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Wonderland

Sarah Seltzer Why did I love this book?

I loved the dreamy quality of this book, which follows a flaming-haired indie rock musician on tour in Europe. Between gigs, she ponders her choices, past loves, and artistic legacy.

From backstage encounters to nights on the road, this story’s immersive mood has stayed with me for the many years since I read it.

By Stacey D'Erasmo,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Wonderland as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Anna Brundage is a rock star. She is tall and sexy, with a powerhouse voice and an unforgettable mane of red hair. She came out of nowhere, an immediate indie sensation. And then, life happened.

Anna went down as fast as she went up, and then walked off the scene for seven years. Without a record deal or clamoring fans, she sells a piece of her famous father’s art to finance just one more album and a European comeback tour.

Anna is forty-four. This may be her last chance to cement her place in the life she chose, the life…


Book cover of A Room with a View

Sarah Seltzer Why did I love this book?

I return to this book in my mind again and again, and quote it all the time! It’s a slim, sexy, romantic, philosophical novel set against the backdrop of a British woman’s eye (and heart)-opening trip to Italy.

At first, young Lucy Honeychurch plays the piano with unbridled passion and lives somewhat timidly. But with a little bit of love, and some beauty, can that change?

By E.M. Forster,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked A Room with a View as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When I think of what life is, and how seldom love is answered by love; it is one of the moments for which the world was made.

Lucy Honeychurch travels to Florence, Italy, with her cousin and they were assured they would receive a room with a view of the River Arno, but instead are given a room overlooking a dull courtyard. A one Mr. Emerson and his son George offer their room, which as the desirable view, to the two ladies. From this opening sequence, A Room with a View sets off following young Lucy as she navigates through…


Book cover of Daisy Jones & The Six

Sarah Seltzer Why did I love this book?

This one was just so fun to dip into and get lost in! An imaginary oral history of a 70s band that somehow manages to be a page-turner, a chaste love affair whose heat is all contained in the songs, lyrics, and performances. It’s a contemporary classic for a reason! Don’t miss it!

By Taylor Jenkins Reid,

Why should I read it?

14 authors picked Daisy Jones & The Six as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

SOON TO BE AN AMAZON PRIME TV SERIES STARRING SAM CLAFLIN, RILEY KEOUGH AND CAMILA MORRONE

THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From the author of THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO and the bestselling MALIBU RISING

'I LOVE it . . . I can't remember the last time I read a book that was so fun' DOLLY ALDERTON

Everybody knows Daisy Jones and the Six.

From the moment Daisy walked barefoot on to the stage at the Whisky, she and the band were a sensation.

Their sound defined an era. Their albums were on every turntable. They…


Book cover of The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers

Sarah Seltzer Why did I love this book?

I found the audiobook of this one as juicy and delicious as a California date shake. I delighted in putting my headphones on to hear the next installment of a celebrity-soaked desert saga, gossipy tale of famous rockers past their prime, a long-unsolved murder mystery, and the young ghostwriter with everything on the line who wants to find out the truth.

By Sarah Tomlinson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Perfect for fans of Daisy Jones & The Six and Almost Famous, a gripping debut about the complicated legacy of a legendary rock band and the ghostwriter telling their story

Three Rock & Roll icons. Two explosive tell-all memoirs. One ghostwriter caught in the middle.

Anke Berben is ready to tell all. A legendary model and style icon, she reveled in headline-grabbing romances with not one but three members of the hugely influential rock band the Midnight Ramblers. The band members were as famous for their backstage drama as for their music, and Anke is the only one who fully…


Book cover of The Song of the Lark

Sarah Seltzer Why did I love this book?

I find this to be the perfect book about an artist’s coming of age in a different time and place. Thea, a young woman living long ago on the American prairie, is discovered to have musical genius. She nurtured, pushed, and even loved while everyone around her knew that her destiny lay out in the wider world, onstage. 

By Willa Cather,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Song of the Lark as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this powerful portrait of the self-making of an artist, Willa Cather created one of her most extraordinary heroines.

Thea Kronborg, a minister's daughter in a provincial Colorado town, seems destined from childhood for a place in the wider world. But as her path to the world stage leads her ever farther from the humble town she can't forget and from the man she can't afford to love, Thea learns that her exceptional musical talent and fierce ambition are not enough.  

It is in the solitude of a tiny rock chamber high in the side of an Arizona cliff--"a cleft…


Explore my book 😀

Book cover of The Singer Sisters

What is my book about?

Two generations of folk-rock singers in one family: their rivalries, lyrics, love affairs... and secrets.

Book cover of Wonderland
Book cover of A Room with a View
Book cover of Daisy Jones & The Six

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5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in rock music, singers, and Italy?

Rock Music 247 books
Singers 73 books
Italy 411 books