Playlists

[alaterdate]

I know people have playlists for writing, but does anyone else have playlists for reading?

I can hardly do anything single-mindedly so I like to have music or a video playing in the background when I'm doing something that doesn't take too much mental effort (or else I will definitely get distracted. Sometimes videos are distracting if it's something new and not like a let's play of a game I've already beaten, but I digress...).
So I usually play music (with words) while I'm reading and my mind will zone it out kind of selectively. Like I could go five or so songs without even realizing I didn't hear a word of them while I was reading. But every once in a while I'll tune back in and sometimes it creates this experience.

For instance Comfort of Strangers by Bastille was playing while I was finishing up Harris' Pompeii and it fit so well for me that I was just agape with emotion for the book I probably wouldn't have had that degree of if the song wasn't playing as I read. I honestly still think about it whenever I hear that song now. It was just so good. (However, now my feelings are skewed on that book and while I would never recommend someone read it, I love it.)

Right now I'm reading Muir's Gideon the Ninth and the songs I had playing fit so well tonally that I was completely ABSORBED as it enhanced the tension immediately. While I do like the writing I feel like I would have read less pages today if I weren't also listening to the fitting music.

I think it's such a nice experience I love when it happens. I wish it would happen more. It would be kind of difficult to tailor a playlist to a book you haven't read yet, but I'm sure people out there make playlists for books. Though that could be distracting if the songs are new. I just have this massive playlist I always put on and the songs can just so happen to click like that sometimes. Happy accidents.

Comments

[pauraque]

Personally, I can only listen to music while reading if it's instrumental, though I usually prefer silence. Hearing words while I'm reading words completely distracts me. A let's play video would be right out!

[alaterdate]

Let's Plays and TV shows can distract me, but music never really seems to. I think I might just have a strong ability to tune things out lol.

Instrumental music is good too! But funnily enough if it's battle music from a video game it actually stresses me out xD