“Funny you should ask” Playlist and Review

(This review contains some light spoilers)

I bought “Funny you should ask” after seeing a TikTok raving saying that it radiates the same energy as watching that interview. You know, the one between Amelia Dimoldenberg (Chicken shop date) and Andrew Garfield (I don’t think I need to put a movie here because you know who he is). The fact is whoever made that TikTok is wrong. This book is so much better. Elissa Sussman easily weaves through time in this novel about second chance love and pursuing your passion even when the people who love you tell you to stop. Chani is nothing short of a powerhouse. She is rooted in a vulnerable outlook of the world, and a deep need to share with it what she is thinking. It's almost like her way of making the world feel less alone is to share the stories of others. Our leading man, Gabe, is a guy who is trying to navigate fame, addiction, and family while being in the brightest spot light. Putting these two characters together is not only a recipe for a successful book, but an inevitable swoon-worthy love story.

This book was rich with character development for both leads, and I will forever wish I could read this again for the first time. Now, I could give you a deeper dive into this novel from the perspective of the reader, but instead I’m going to tell you what kind of music to listen to while reading this book. I love listening to music that perfectly encapsulates how I’m feeling when I’m reading something. To me, it is one of the most euphoric feelings. To read something that makes your heart race, and then to listen to a song that takes your breath away. Euphoric.

If this book had a titular track attached to it, it would be Enchanted by Taylor Swift. I was on the metro when I was reading when Chani and Gabe saw each other really saw each other after all those years and almost like a cosmic hug the song Enchanted started playing through my headphones. It was an insatiable feeling. Reading that scene and hearing that song. Chani and Gabe embody it. Two characters who are so enamored with each other but also riddled with doubt about how the other feels. Wondering if the other is in love with someone else. Listening to the bridge of the song ringing “Please don’t be in love with someone else '' is almost like hearing the inner thoughts of both characters when they think of each other. “Please don’t be in love with someone” what a sad and vulnerable plea. The song being on one of Taylor Swift's most fantastical albums also resonates with Chani’s dream of writing her own fantasy novel. The more I think about it the more I think that Chani would be a huge Speak Now fan. I think while she is thinking of reaching out to Gabe after their weekend together she would listen to the title track of the album, but I think the song she would listen to the least because it reminds her too much of him would be "Haunted". “You and I walk a fragile line/I have known it all this time” What a better way to wrap up how Chani and Gabe act between each other while they are married to other people.

“Stood there and watched you walk away/From everything we had/But I still mean every word I said to you/He will try to take away my pain/And he just might make me smile/But the whole time I'm wishing he was you instead” You can not tell me that Chani would hear this play on the radio, and she would have to immediately change the station. The emotional damage would be too mighty, and this song would cut too deep. This song has to be a part of their playlist. It is tragic, and angry (which Chani’s therapist says she goes to first), and a perfect song to remember the aftermath of their weekend together.

As much as I think that Chani would like Speak Now, I think that Gabe would be the true Swiftie. I think when he would hear the song haunted start playing on the radio, he would turn it up and feel everything that came with it. When Taylor sings “Come on, come on, don't leave me like this/I thought I had you figured out/Can't breathe whenever you're gone/Can't turn back now, I'm haunted '', I think he would think of her leaving that morning with no note. I think he would think about how she saw him and made him feel valued for the core of who he was, not his fame. He would cry in his car, and his dog would lay her head on his lap to comfort him. I think that after the incident at his opening night on Broadway, I don’t think he would be able to listen to it anymore. Like Chani, the emotional damage would be too great.

To finish out their playlist I think it is only fair to end with a song from Speak Now. Long Live. Long Live is their happily ever after that they waited so long for. “Long live the walls we crashed through” They made it out. Chani found herself, and her voice and her love and who she wanted to be. “I was screaming, "Long live all the magic we made"/And bring on all the pretenders, I'm not afraid/Long live all the mountains we moved” Gabe is on the road to recovery and back in the theater where he finds his joy. “I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you” Gabe still has his dragons to fight, but he is fighting alongside his love, and he is finally free to be himself. He is able to trust her and she trusts him.

I think Enchanted would casually pop up while Gabe is playing music in the car, and Chani would blush and he would cheesily sing it meaning every word. I think they would both still skip haunted, and whenever Long Live would come on the radio, they would listen and think of their own love story. I think these songs would make them feel seen in a beautiful and magical way.

Listen I know that are a million more songs that would define them as a couple, and I know three songs don’t make a playlist. So, here is the playlist for them that is longer and more comprehensive, and no you don’t have to listen to it in order.