[saintjon]

This ties in with "the Little Things" thread. Do any of you guys listen to a lot of music when you read? After seeing how the music in the Lord of the Rings movie really enhanced the story I've been thinking about this more. Is there any music in particular you feel goes with one of your favourite stories? I think some of those favoured character dies in a trippy, sublime way moments are really enhanced by Moby's "My Weakness". I also found myself humming and thinking of the desert sounding music from the Dune mini-series when I was reading the books. Also, IMO that tune they used in Excalibur, Carmina Burana or something like that, is the quintessential "We're gonna ride out with big nasty weapons and heroically smite the ass of anything that gets in our way" music.

I was wondering if anyone else has a music/ book or music/ book moment combination or two they'd like to suggest.

[jbcohen]

Never managed to attened to a book and music at the same time. I admire you if you have managed to do this, however.

[Cygnus]

Usually I prefer silence when I'm reading. I tend to get distracted easily and have found listening to music and reading is too much for my limited attention span.

The one exception to this is that I listened to Lorenna McKennitt's Book of Secrets while reading The Mists of Avalon. Those two fit together perfectly and it made reading the book a richer experience.

[SusF]

My husband usually has the blues playing in the next room. Sometimes, though, I put on my Princess Bride CD. Usually though, I just like quiet. I don't assosiate songs with stories unless I've seen them that way on TV or at the movies.

Susan

[astrianna]

Whenever I read the Mists of Avalon (which used to be at a frequency of approximately once every year and a half) I lay on the couch with the headphones on and listen to Enya. I find complete silence distracting because if there's nothing else in my ears I find I'm always listening for sounds of my dog. I usually listen to the Beethoven for Booklovers CD.

[Warewolf]

Shhh...quiet please! Noise is too distracting when I'm reading...it slows me down and detracts from my enjoyment of the book http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[JohnH]

I have to go with the majority so far. While I like to sometimes intersperse my reading with music, most times I do not intermix.

I guess the best analogy I can come up with is eating and smelling. While the two are connected they are connected to the same medium. However you would not want to connect them with seperate mediums. For example -- the small of a cioppino cannot be beat. The small of 22 by Chanel is also something I like smelling on a lady. The two though don't really combine well.

With reading and music both engage my imagination. Or rather what I like to call my inner voyages. Can't be on two boats at one time. Both engage the process but in different ways that most times do not co-exist peacefully. When I am reading I am the delighted travel on someone else's tour. When I am listening to music I am usually writing my own story in my mind's eye.

Not sure if that makes sense or just scares the hell out of you all.

[Lani]

I actually dislike listening to music at the same time as reading. It's kind of irritating to me because my brain keeps trying to understand the words in the songs while I'm trying to grasp the meaning of the book. When two intermix it makes a big mess inside my head, so I prefer quiet while I read.

[Aylis]

I don't read with music. It's usually quiet when I read, but noise doesn't bother me either unless there's a tv on or unless someone's trying to talk to me. Other than that, I sort of tune everything out.

[Sojourn]

I've tried the whole 'reading to music' routine, but like most people here have commented, I found it hard to concentrate on both the reading and the music simultaneously. One or the other suffers naturally. I think so far as mediums go, music and film/tv are perhaps the best companions for each other. Unlike reading which requires a certain degree of focus and concentration, watching a story unfold on a screen is comparable to eating 'fast food'; it's convenient and satisfies quickly, without much effort on our part. Music therefore complements visual media more readily, since I suppose your brain isn't under much demand in the first place.