Songs for Other People's Weddings

By: David Levithan, Jens Lekman

Narrated by: Jefferson Mays

“Witty, romantic, and deeply satisfying.”—Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow

From award-winning, bestselling author David Levithan and beloved, acclaimed singer-songwriter Jens Lekman comes a charming, tender novel about an unlucky-in-love wedding singer trying to find the right words to save his relationship

J is an accidental wedding singer. Unlike most wedding singers, he writes an original song for every couple—his way of finding out about the small, strange things that brought them together and the hopeful, vulnerable feelings they’re experiencing.

J’s own love life is in a state of flux. His girlfriend is off to New York for work, and as her life grows bigger and busier without him in it, he finds it harder to stick to a happy tune. He doesn’t know whether to encourage the soon-to-be-wed couples or warn them.

When complications hit and love is tested, is there any way to sing through all the noise?

Combining David Levithan’s deeply observant storytelling and Jens Lekman’s inventive and touching original songs, Songs for Other People’s Weddings is a tender, honest novel that tracks love through all its chord changes, never forgetting that the best songs contain the bitter and the sweet, the despair of losing it all and the euphoria of being found.

This audiobook includes original music written and performed by Jens Lekman.

©2025 David Levithan and Jens Lekman (P)2025 Recorded Books

loved every minute

this is more than a book, it is a completely different experience. Take your time to listen and enjoy. It’s so human! You feel everything!

Kept my interest

Liked being able to hear the music at the end of each chapter. As a musician I might be a bit biased about minor details like excessive accompaniment that would not have been present if the singer was truly just him and his guitar. Did make me tune into some of my own emotional response to some of the relational dynamics. Reader had kind of snobby sound that took me awhile to get past. Overall an interesting story and I did enjoy it.

Tender, Sweet, and Funny

A lovely and funny story. Also works great as an audiobook, as they included the accompanying songs into the recording. However, there was a minor editing glitch during one of the songs, where narration and song overlapped awkwardly. I hope this can be fixed in an updated version of the file, because everything else was great.

Not worth reading

The story was weak. No likable characters, and the "songs" were stupid. My book club picked it, which was a mistake.