Book Blogger Hop (5)

Do you listen to music when you read?
If so, what are your favorite reading tunes?

Yes and no...

Lately, because I've been interested in speed, I've been listening to the audiobooks as I read. I play them through Windows Media Player at 1.7x or higher, which makes the audio about the same speed as I read.

When not reading with audiobooks, however, I cannot read in silence. My mind wanders, or I pick up distracting noises (like my family moving around/watching TV) that draw me out of the story.

Sometimes I choose simple white noise. A babbling brook CD, or a thundering rainstorm. These provide just enough to drown out the random noises of the house, but have enough consistency that I'm not drawn out of my book.

Other times I listen to a soundtrack. I cannot listen to music with lyrics—who could read or write with people singing/talking in their ear? But I find that movie scores allow for drowning out other noises without becoming too jarring themselves. It helps if it's from a movie I've seen multiple times, or if I've listened to the soundtrack enough, so that I'm not actively listening to the music.

 Also, depending on the soundtrack, I'm able to get a better feel for the mood of the book. Certain soundtracks are better for certain books.
Pride & Prejudice, for example, might fit more appropriately to literary books than spy novels. Meanwhile, nothing beats Lord of the Rings for battles of good against evil.


Here are a few others of my favorites:
Titanic, Spirited Away, Pirates of the Caribbean, Batman Begins,
The Dark Knight, Avatar, Happy Feet, Treasure Planet, Catch Me If You Can, Independence Day, Harry Potter, Ever After, Prince of Egypt, WALL-E.

Feel free to post a link to your own blog in the comments,
and be sure to check out other blog-hoppers at Crazy-for-Books' blog!