What Music Do You Listen to When You're Reading?

In the January 2010 issue of Stories Rule I suggested that one of the advantages of using an eReader is that you can carry your preferred reading music with you — or you can carry your preferred total silence with you, to, if you combine the eReader with sound-cancelling earbuds and MP3 soundfiles of wind sounds or running streams, etc.

Writers, too, tend to fall into two camps:  those that must write in total silence, or those that must write with music in the background.

I’m a must-have-music woman.

And depending on what I’m writing, the music changes.  When I’m starting a new book, I’ll acquire a new set of MP3 files to suit the book’s genre and feel, set up a play list for that book, and leave the play list cycling through as I write the book.

The volume changes, too.  As I’m plotting, it stays down fairly low, as I concentrate.  As I start writing, the volume picks up.  And as the book gets going and my pace picks up the volume picks up, until the volume is fairly thundering out of my surround-sound speakers.  I have a sub-woofer under my desk, so the bass on the thing just rumbles, too.  My daughter sleeps in the bedroom next to my office, and the head of her bed is against the common wall where my desk is resting, and she sometimes thumps the wall in frustration when she’s sleeping in (she’s a teenager, go figure!).

I’m currently writing Blue Knight, the third in the Guns ‘n Lovers series, of which Red Leopard and Black Heart are books 1 and 2 (I need to build a series page — it gets exhausting explaining that every time!), so the list I needed to build had to be something that would suggest suspense, tension, atmosphere, moodiness.

The play list I built was:

• Angels & Demons Soundtrack by Hans Zimmer
• True Blood Original Score by Nathan Barr
• Apocalyptica by Apocalyptica
• Amplified: A Decade of Reinventing the Cello by Apocalyptica

I love this play list!  I love it so much, I can’t actually bring myself to stop playing it once I finish writing manuscript for the day and start doing sensible grown-up stuff.  I’ve imported the play list onto my eReader, and my cell phone, too.  It’s moody, atmospheric, and sends shivers up my back, and keeps giving me ideas for even more stories.

Have you ever had music grab you like that?  What was it?

Got any other really moody stuff you like?

Tweet This Post Facebook Stumble This Post

Related Posts

• The Big Secret...and A Big Contest. You've no idea how scary this is.  I've been holding this close to my chest for months, running a double life, and...well, basically lying and pretending, and now I get to step out of the closet.  I know there's a few people have figured it out before now.  And I......
• Ereader Primer 2010: Part 10 – Cool Things You Can Do with An Ereader [ P1: 10 Damn Good Reasons Why You Should Have One ] [ P2: eBook Formats; Less Critical Than They Used To Be, But Still Important! ] [ P3: Types of Ereaders To Pick From: Cellphones/Smartphones ] [ P4: Types of Ereaders To Pick From: Netbooks/Laptops/Handheld Computers ] [ P5:......
• Gennita Low Steps Up to the Open Microphone I'm privileged and thrilled to introduce romance intrigue author Gennita Low, as the first author in the new Open Mic interview series. Gennita fascinates me not just because she's a roofer in her day job, but also because she has persisted for years to first a) be published after......
• Berengaria Brown Satisfies Twice Ellora's Cave author Berengaria Brown is our guest today.  Berengaria is relatively new to the cave and is marking the launch of her second EC title, Double Satisfaction.  So this is a great chance to grill her and get the goods on her! Berengaria has also kindly donated a prize,......
• How To Break Into The Erotic Romance Market In 8 Not-So-Easy Steps A reader asked me in comments the other day how one went about breaking into the erotic romance market.  Well, actually, she was asking about the erotic market in general, but the question was a bit of a shocker anyway because: a) she'd never read an erotic book in her......

Related Websites

• The Complete Yachtmaster: Sailing, Seamanship, and Navigation for the Modern Yacht Skipper by Tom Cunliffe This week I am posting the book review early as Friday is a holiday. Happy 4th of July all! Although this book was written primarily for the UK market, there is still plenty of great advice for boaters around the world and it can easily be adapted for owners in......
• Review: Nine Steps to Financial Freedom By Suze Orman When it comes to personal finance, there are few experts out there that are as popular as Suze Orman. She has helped thousands of people get their finances under control through her efforts on her radio show and through her books. Her no-nonsense, common sense approach appeals to many and......
• From Concept to Print by Carmen Shirkey, guest blogger and author of The List: Can Pefect Be Put On Paper? Greetings! As an author of a newly released romantic comedy book, The List, I'm often asked, "Wow! You had time to write a book? How'd you do it?" Let me just say that......
• The Physics of Musical Instruments User Reviews Send this to a friend The Physics of Musical Instruments Manufacturer: Springer Customer Rating: List Price: $99.00 Sale Price: $79.10 Availibility: Usually ships in 24 hours Free Shipping Available Buy Now Product Description While the history of musical instruments is nearly as old as civilization itself, the......
• Contest Time! Win Ten Personal Finance Books! The contest is now over; the entries are being collected, and the choosing will commence soon. As you're probably aware if you've been reading The Amateur Financier for a while, I'm a big fan of books, in particular personal finance books.  Since last June when I started to do my......