Some bloggers can't stand listening to music while reading, and I get it. Trust me I get it. I used to be like that too. The music would distract me, and considering I have the attention span of a 2 year old, things weren't working out. That is, until I knew what kind of music I should listen to. Initially, I used to make a playlist of pretty much anything on my lap top, and blast it.
That was wrong. I now know better.
You see, the idea of listening to music is to set a backdrop to the novel you're reading. If there is too much talking, like for example a rap song, you'll loose focus. No what you need is... wait for it... INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC! And I know what you're doing right now.. rolling the hell out of your eyes. Instrumental music doesn't exactly ring the bell of awesomeness, but I beg to differ. You see, movie scores go along fabulously with books. Trust me, I've tried. It just gives an... atmosphere to the book. It differentiates it from every other book you've read because whenever that score will play, you'll remember the book and give a little smile that is somewhat creepy to whoever is sitting next to you.
There are tons of movie scores out there waiting to be heard, and it all depends on your taste, but, I figured I could give some recommendations depending on genres, to help you out.
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That was wrong. I now know better.
You see, the idea of listening to music is to set a backdrop to the novel you're reading. If there is too much talking, like for example a rap song, you'll loose focus. No what you need is... wait for it... INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC! And I know what you're doing right now.. rolling the hell out of your eyes. Instrumental music doesn't exactly ring the bell of awesomeness, but I beg to differ. You see, movie scores go along fabulously with books. Trust me, I've tried. It just gives an... atmosphere to the book. It differentiates it from every other book you've read because whenever that score will play, you'll remember the book and give a little smile that is somewhat creepy to whoever is sitting next to you.
There are tons of movie scores out there waiting to be heard, and it all depends on your taste, but, I figured I could give some recommendations depending on genres, to help you out.
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Fantasy/Dark
Game of Thrones Soundtrack: All seasons (It's about 3 hours long, and it is EPIC. Season 3's soundtrack is my favourite).
links: Youtube | iTunes
&
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2) Soundtrack (listening to this might bring back some feels, but it's awesome).
links: Youtube | iTunes
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Fantasy/Light
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Black Pearl
links: Youtube | iTunes
&
The Skyrim Soundtrack (Kelley's recommendation and it's freaking awesome!)
links: Youtube | iTunes
&
Eternal Sonata (Kelley's recommendation)
links: Youtube
&
Avatar: The Last Airbender (Savindi's recommendation).
links: Youtube | Last.fm wugwuw
&
How To Train Your Dragon (Nara's recommendation)
links: Youtube | iTunes
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SciFi/ Dystopian/ Dark
The Dark Knight Soundtrack
links: Youtube | iTunes
&
Man of Steel (Savindi's recommendation)
links: Youtube | iTunes
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"Instrumental music doesn't exactly ring the bell of awesomeness" -- Um, Reem, obviously you do not know me at all. Instrumental is basically all I listen to these days. It has so much feeling and nuance and beauty!
I'd also like to add some suggestions to add to your list:
- The Battlestar Galactica soundtrack (file under: Dark)
- The Skyrim soundtrack (file under: Fantasy/Adventure, mostly light)
- The Eternal Sonata soundtrack (file under: Fantasy, light)
- Anything by Kaki King (see your August Rush soundtrack), Andy McKee, or Justin King.
Awesome post. :D
I listen to all kinds of music. Lately, I've been a huge fan of Folk and I think that it's great on the background :D I'm going to take a look at the one from Game of Thrones. I always love listening to the music from Harry Potter <3
I have to be honest, I'm one of those people who needs complete silence when I read, but...when I used to study I used to listen to instrumental music. I HIGHLY recommend The Lord of the Rings soundtrack because it makes you feel like you can conquer the world. The Hobbit Soundtrack is easily good. Some other ones are Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legen of Korra soundtracks. I approve of your choice of using The Dark Knight soundtrack :). The Man of Steel soundtrack is equally good. Anything by Audiomachine is really good as well. Nice post Reem!
I love listening to music while I read. But not soundtracks, like actual songs with lyrics. For some reason, it never seems to detract my focus from the book! It actually helps me read more efficiently! But I'll definitely be looking to try these! These are great! :)
I listen to music while reading too! :) Instrumental music though? Noooo~ just no. My choice of genre is..... rock and sometimes pop. And I listen it LOUDLY. I don't know why but to me it's not distracting at all :)
Oh Reem, I wish I could be like you. I've tried them all even the instrumental but sadly, it just doesn't work for me. Unless you consider the barking and meowing of cats as music. I certainly don't mind that kind of noise when I'm reading a book.
And I am glad to see August Rush in your list. :D I love the Soundtrack but not enough to listen to it while I'm reading. Did you also enjoy the whole movie? :D
*the barking of dogs and the meowing of cats*
Haha, whenever I read while listening to music, I read to the pace of the music... Which seems like a good thing since I could get through books faster while listening to fast songs, but then you have to think about whether or not I am actually "reading" the words >_<
So yeah, listening to music while reading really doesn't work for me. But I do like the idea of listening to the movie soundtrack while reading the book!
I can't ever do music, ever. I always never pay attention to them, and I never really listen to music much, unless I'm in the car, the radio's on, opr I'm doing homework. But never for books.
That, and I can't just pop some earphones on in school. I don't even use my earphones much. But maybe I'll try some of those songs for doing homework.
I LOVE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC! It's the best when reading.
OMG I love listening to Pirates of the Caribbean. And GAME OF THRONES!
Also I totally recommend the How To Train Your Dragon OST. It is EPIC! And the Stardust OST :D :D
lol just got way too excited. Hardly any people listen to soundtracks, when they're seriously THE GREATEST!
I tend to listen to music while reading even though sometimes it does distract me a bit. But I'm one who does not read in silence.
I haven't really listened to a whole score soundtrack album, but I do have some score tracks in my playlist which I love. And yes now that you mention it I think movie scores do make good background music for reading just because they do set up the atmosphere...the way they do in movies.
I'm so into instrumental music right not, I don't listen to songs anymore. But I think not a lot of people like OSTs. Oh well, they're missing out because they're AWESOME!
Oh, and so are your recommendations! I added them to the list :)
I really like folk too! Whether in music, or songs. You should definitely check out GoT's soundtrack. My favourite is Mhysa.
Instrumental music makes homework so much more epic, doesn't it? :P I usually listen to certain soundtracks when doing each subject. Yeah.. I categorize those as well. What of it?! :P
I've added your recommendations to the list! And the Last Airbender's soundtrack is soo awesome! how did I not come across it before?!
Wow! Good for you! I can only listen to certain genres of songs while reading. Like indie rock for example.
I really hope you like them! ;)
I listen to indie rock while reading too! It all depend's on the genre/setting of the book. Sometimes when it's in a historical setting, songs just don't cut it.
Ha! Well, maybe you should add them when doing chores or stuff. Will certainly make them more epic :P Oh, and I LOVED august rush. Such a cute film :D
Ha! I never tried that. Maybe it will help with my slow reading :) Oh, and you should definitely try one of the above with your next book ;)
It will certainly make homework more interesting :P I can listen to music while doing homework,except when it's maths. Nope, nope. Can't do.
I know, right?!!! It's awesome, and it makes books more epic IMO. I checked How To Train Your Dragon after reading this, and OMG it's great! It would work well with a MG/ Light Fantasy book, wouldn't it? Added to the list ;)
I wish I could get more people into listening to soundtracks!!
Exactly! And if it matches the genre or the tone of the book, then win-win. I think I like listening to them because in my head, reading is pretty much like directing a book. Add to it some epic music, and BAM, awesomeness all around.
I'm so impressed with your categorization :) I would never have thought to do anything like that. I LOVE the soundtrack for Avatar:TLAB. I highly recommend the show as well because it was one of the best cartoons I've ever watched and still watch certain episodes from time to time.
Ha! Yeah, I think it started because I would only listen to certain tracks with certain genres :P My mind works in weird ways. And oh, I knew next to nothing about TLAB before you recommended it, but I checked it out now :) Looks awesome!
I actually think this is an AWESOME idea - thanks for the recommendations, I'm definitely going to try this!
What an awesome idea! I'm listening to the Avatar soundtrack now - not distracting at all, and so good.
Tanya Patrice
Girlxoxo.com
Great idea. I prefer background noise as I read so I always stick on TV or start a playlist. Often while reading the book will make me think of a certain song so I search that out and go from there. But I love the idea of a movie soundtrack, going to try this today!
"the idea of listening to music is to set a backdrop to the novel you're reading. If there is too much talking, like for example a rap song, you'll loose focus." <-- Depends. Are you playing the same song over and over or is it a different one each time? On repeat, even if there are a lot of words, they fade to the background for me. But I will still remember the song. For instance, when I first heard the Adele song Rumor Has It, I kept it on repeat with her others, but I particularly associate it with Falling Under by Gwen Hayes, which I didn't FULLY like. But it's really quite amazing how that song immediately triggers my recollection of the book and vice versa.
Instrumental music is great. I love listening to it and movie soundtracks while writing or getting myself in the mood for writing. :) Reading, maybe not always (truthfully I just don't even remember to put on music).
"whenever that score will play, you'll remember the book and give a little smile that is somewhat creepy to whoever is sitting next to you." <-- This is very true. Even though I really like the song This Night by Black Lab, I cannot hear it without thinking of the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning, because I'd first heard the song in a fan mix. And I still love it.
I can believe the GoT soundtrack is epic. I LOVELOVELOVE the theme introduction. That one I've got on my iTunes for sure, and have played it on repeat while doing homework. I probably wouldn't be able to listen to the HP soundtrack without getting distracted and remembering the movie. PoTC? YESYESYES. My brother gave me those songs, and I love them. Have you ever listened to the Lord of the Rings soundtrack? SO GREAT, esp. when Merry (sp.?) sings his song. Probably fits within your fantasy/dark aspect.
Some others that aren't really movie soundtracks that I thought were cool were Lindsey Sterling & Nathan Lanier's music. :)
How good is The Vikings Drink their Tea! And This is Berk OMG the bit where you can just imagine a dragon unfurling its wings and taking off :D
Yeah, it would work well with a MG/Light Fantasy book, but it actually works surprisingly well for a number of YA novels too! e.g. Susan Dennard included one of the songs in her playlist for Something Strange and Deadly :)
I always listen to music. It's kind of like a rule for me. It's probably not good, because I lose concentration easily. Though I'm not sure these tracks would work for me - I'd probably end up imagining epic fighting scenes and write off every book I read as shit because it's not as epic as what I'm imagining :D:D:D
Yaaay! I hope you do!
Yes!! This make me happy :P
That's awesome! I hope you find it helpful!! ;)
I agree. If I play the same song over and over again, it just fades and I barely even listen to it. This happens with soundtracks too, except it's less often, because there are no lyrics.
I totally have to listen to music while writing!! Except if it's a complicated scene, then I can't focus, and have to take it off. Otherwise, it just puts me in the mood.
I know right?? And this happens with EVERYTHING for me. When I was studying for my finales, I used to drink this caramel latte thing. When I made it a couple of months later, all the memories came back to me again. My brain functions in a weird way!
The theme introduction is the ONLY one I don't tend to skip. It's long, and not particularly interesting, but I love the music! The Lord of the Rings is like this classic, epic fantasy theme to it. Could work with just about any book, if you ask me.
I think I have listened to something by Lindsay Sterling before. Her name is familiar. Can't be sure, though.
I know! You're like an unemployed DJ. Or something that makes more sense. I dunno. But yeah, that sometimes happens, and then it collides with an epic scene in the book and you're just like.. whoa...
Good post! Great references, I must try some of these soundtracks.
great list, thanks! I just discovered I love listening to music while reading, I just imagine what I am reading while the music sounds, and it´s just like watching a movie, very epic jejeje and I don´t lost my concentration at all, I think I even focus better Ò.Ó At the beginning I´m enjoying the music whith the scene I am imagining, and sometimes I´m just ignoring completely the music because I am just absorbed by the book. I´ll try listening to the Game of Thrones soundtrack while reading the next book when it comes out :P
Omgosh I have been doing this since I was teen. And what's amazing is whenever I'm listening to an album it brings up the emotions I felt from that book I read!
I'm sorry, but I rolled my eyes at the suggestion that I would roll my eyes at the suggestion of instrumental music. But I suppose people can be skeptical when it comes to "classical" and instrumental music, unfortuantely. I agree, soundtracks are awesome for modern instrumental/art music, and great for reading and studying. Some great ones are Paris Texas by Ry Cooder, Grizzly Man by Richard Thompson, anything and everything by Gustavo Santaolalla, Philip Glass, Brian Eno, Harold Budd. Game soundtracks too, namely Red Dead Redemption and the Last of Us IMO. I prefer atmospheric/low-key stuff as opposed to huge orchestral arrangements.
I just got the Lord Of The Rings soundtrack to listen to whilst reading. Someone recommended it to me thinking it would be a good fit.