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Jane Austen's Playlist (and Mine!)

My sister sent me a New York Times article titled “Jane Austen Loved Music. What Was on Her Playlist?” 

It looks at how the novelist’s sheet music collection opens up fresh perspectives on her life and work. With this year marking the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth, there’s no shortage of Austen coverage. And yes, I know putting her name in my subject line is shameless clickbait. I’m counting on it to boost my open rate (:



It's a fascinating read if you're a Jane fan, which I am. When people discuss Austen, they typically focus on her novels, her razor-sharp wit, or perhaps her mysterious love life. But this NYT piece takes a different angle—Jane's relationship with music. Reading it got me thinking about my own musical choices, particularly the soundtrack that weaves through my first book, Crunching Her Numbers.

I didn't even realize how music-heavy the book was until I started working on this newsletter. The story features three characters from different cultural backgrounds: Slava (Russian), Ilan (Israeli with French-Moroccan roots), and Kelly (Argentinian). Their diverse heritage creates quite an eclectic musical landscape throughout the narrative.

Take this scene where Ilan and Kelly are about to dance tango to Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good":


"She touched the CDs absently. Ilan had a healthy dose of female singers, all bunched together, and Kelly leafed through Madonna, Alanis Morissette and The Pretenders.

'What kind of music do you like?' Ilan asked. 'I think I have some Argentinian music—Missa Criolla is lovely.'

'I have Mercedes Sosa of course, and tango music for sure.' Kelly answered. 'Do you have any tango music? Carlos Gardel, maybe?'

Ilan's demeanor changed. If she were prone to fanciful observations, she'd have described his look as predatory.

'We don't need Gardel. You can dance tango to anything. We can dance to one of Amy Winehouse's songs.' Ilan drew out 'Back to Black'.

Kelly's Argentinian heritage was demeaned. 'No, we can't.'

'Yes, we can. Come on, I'll show you.'

He maintained a non-Argentinian distance, an abrazo abierto, not pressing their upper torsos together, his right palm up her back, not touching the bare skin, although she could feel its warmth through the thin fabric of her dress. A slow beat of drums started the opening for 'You know I'm no good'."


Later in the book, Ilan and Kelly dance to a Leonard Cohen song, then a Rami Fortis ballad, and eventually embrace the classic Carlos Gardel that Kelly had originally wanted.

I compiled a playlist that includes both the songs mentioned by name in the book and additional tracks from some of the artists:


My Book's Playlist:

  1. You Know I'm No Good – Amy Winehouse

  2. Take This Waltz – Leonard Cohen

  3. Adiós Nonino – Astor Piazzolla (Slava's favorite, because it is Kelly's)

  4. Halom Kachol (Wet Dream) – Rami Fortis

  5. La Dame Brune – Barbara and Georges Moustaki (the epilogue takes its title from this song)

  6. Gracias a La Vida – Mercedes Sosa

  7. Like a Prayer – Madonna

  8. Thank U – Alanis Morissette

  9. I'll Stand By You – The Pretenders

  10. Por Una Cabeza – Carlos Gardel

  11. Back to Black – Amy Winehouse

  12. (I've Had) The Time of My Life – Dirty Dancing soundtrack


Looking at this list now, I see how each song serves as more than just background music—they're cultural bridges between my characters, moments of tension and connection, and sometimes the very heartbeat of a scene. Jane Austen's sheet music collection offers glimpses into her inner world. Our playlists—whether from 1775 or 2025—reveal something essential about who we are and the stories we choose to tell.


Here is a link to the playlist :



What songs would make it onto the playlist of your life? What would those choices say about your own story?










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