Do you listen to soundtracks while you read a book?

[GerateWohl 4,343]

I found myself from time to time putting on a soundtrack when reading a book. Actually, often that's a stupid mesure of sparetime optimization, stupid because it makes it harder to concentrate on each of the media. But sometimes I put on the music on purpose somehow as a soundtrack to the story that I am reading.

Any opinion or experience on this bad habit or listening to music while reading?

 

 

 

[Fabulin 3,510]

No, but I hear Shore's music whenever I open something by Tolkien

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

I've stopped listening to music while reading (narrative stories) about 20 years ago, when I realised that it very much changes my reaction to the book. It's like re-scoring a film (but randomly, and without even having seen it before, when it's a book I'm reading for the first time).

[pete 906]

Sometimes, but if it's a good book, my ears aren't tuning in. I did however sometimes put on some Lord of the Rings music when starting The Wheel of Time series last year. Other times I have put on music, more to create a mood than to listen, and I'm much more likely to do that if I'm reading a book that was adapted into a film that I have the soundtrack for.

Although on quite a few occassions, I read the book between hearing an adaption is in the works and its release: Memoirs of a Geisha, The Book Thief, and Ready Player One come to mind - and Robopocolypse - but that never panned out. If Williams is likely to score, I'm always curious to read the book and wonder what music awaits.

I read the two Jurassic Park books after I saw the films, but don't recall listening to the scores while reading.

20 minutes ago, pete said:

and I'm much more likely to do that if I'm reading a book that was adapted into a film that I have the soundtrack for.

 

Having written that, I'm struggling to think of an example. I read The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas last year, but I don't think I put on the score, as much as I like it. The book was too captivating anyway, especially as the inevitable ending draws closer and closer!

 

And I've read all the Outlander books published to date... I probably put on Bear's music late at night when reading before bed. I think I'll do that when book 9 (or is it book 8?) is published later this year.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Sometimes I actively choose to and sometimes I don't.  Most recently I read the Richard Osman mystery novel The Thursday Murder Club  (which was good, light fun) and listened to the Paddington 2 OST and it was great!

[Edmilson 7,398]

I'm not a fan of listening to music while reading. When I'm reading a fiction book I imagines its scenes on my head like I was watching a movie, so unless the music absolutely matches what is happening in the book I can't concentrate on either.

[Positivatee 327]

I can't vote because my "sometimes" has nothing to do with laziness. 

[blondheim 1,157]

6 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

I've stopped listening to music while reading (narrative stories) about 20 years ago, when I realised that it very much changes my reaction to the book. It's like re-scoring a film (but randomly, and without even having seen it before, when it's a book I'm reading for the first time).

This. Something to grow out of, I think.

[Mr. Who 919]

I don’t as I prefer to focus on the book while I read the book and the music when I listen to the music. However if I read something where I know the score well I will often think of the score while reading certain parts of the book

[Brundlefly 2,385]

I'm so tired of these polls not being exhaustive. What about "often"?!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,507]

Apart from one book, which I try to read every day - and will never be accompanied by music - I usually put on light classical, or light jazz. I don't listen to film music, while reading, because if I stick on a soundtrack, more often than not, I'll end up listening to the music, and not reading 

[GerateWohl 4,343]

9 hours ago, Brundlefly said:

I'm so tired of these polls not being exhaustive. What about "often"?!

Yes, sorry. Actually, when I started the topic, I decided in the very last minute to make it a poll. I think, for this topic there are very many different scenarios.

 

In general, I consider this listening to music while reading a bad habit. Something to grow out of, like blondheim said. At least when you read a book for the first time.

But revisiting for example Lord of the Rings to the sound of Howard Shore's score could be a nice experience, I think.

 

 

[bruce marshall 1,315]

I listened to the audio book of SHUTTER ISLAND with the soundtrack on.

Occasionally they synced up.perfectly#😁

[Thor 7,478]

I hardly ever read fiction books these days. As a kid and teenager, however, I always listened to music while I read. Strangely, not so much film music, however, but various rock and pop. Since the brain makes weird associations that way, that means I can no longer listen to a couple of "best of" albums by Santana and ELO without feeling and thinking about Stephen King-ian moods, since that is what I read a lot at the time.

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

I can't answer because "After a fashion" is not one of the choices.

 

But to answer here, I do listen to certain soundtracks, whilst reading certain kinds of books, after a fashion.  Please include my answer when compiling your poll results.

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

I like to listen to music while doing other things if it's not distracting, and it doesn't distract when reading fiction.

[Marian Schedenig 8,178]

2 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

But revisiting for example Lord of the Rings to the sound of Howard Shore's score could be a nice experience, I think.

 

They'd still have tension where the page you read has none and none when you read the exciting bits. I don't put on "background music" for the same reason, because it would defuse the more exciting parts of whatever book I'm reading.

[Holko 9,499]

I think the closest I've gotten was the last time I read HP1: after a reading session, I listened to the LLL cues corresponding to the chapters I just went through.

[Nick1Ø66 4,689]

6 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

But revisiting for example Lord of the Rings to the sound of Howard Shore's score could be a nice experience, I think.

There’s an enhanced edition of the Lord of the Rings audiobook using Shores music and sound effects from the film. It’s quite immersive.

[Thor 7,478]

I should add to my previous post that, due to my tinnitus, I can no longer listen to music exclusively and intently (unless situations call for it, like a concert), but have to combine it with another activity, like surfing the web or whatever. Then my brain multitasks and doesn't hone in on the tinnitus sound alone. It just so happens that book reading, in particular, has not yet been one of those extraneous tasks.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,507]

I hear you, @Thor

(no pun intended).

Over the last twenty years, my tinnitus has gotten much worse, to the extent that I need to listen to music at as low a volume as possible, lest it - literally - starts to hurt my ears.

[Thor 7,478]

Indeed. The days of listening to music really loud, are gone. Which is good news for the neighbours, I suppose. But bad news for me if I'm going to a Rammstein concert.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,507]

A high school friend of mine, who is also a keen concert goer, and who also has tinnitus, always puts foam pads in his ears. He loses high frequencies, but he doesn't come away from the concert with a headache.

[Thor 7,478]

Oh yes, I started doing that for rock concerts too, years ago. Not all the way in, but enough to cut off the most extreme frequencies.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,507]

I don't want to lose my hearing, but I'd rather be deaf, than blind, any day. I once saw a documentary on premature deafness. By way of an example, the show demonstrated exactly what the main person heard. They played a song.

 

They played Entangled.

 

I cried.