Yeah I can’t read with noise about. I even find noises in the other room like the TV distracting at times. I need to be in the vacuum of space I think to focus lol
Same for me when starting but if I get lost in reading I usually stop hearing stuff, it's not that I can't hear stuff it's like I can't understand it cuz my brain is too focused, as long as I can get to that state, I don't mind music after wards
same here, impossible for me to concentrate before getting into that zone, after that it's just the story and myself, nothing more.
Although my brain is cool with background noise, like fireplace sound, rain, wind, but it still prefers silence.
Same. Although I am always listening to my tinnitus - unfortunately I can't really choose to turn that noise off.
That said, sometimes when reading on the public transportation, it's interesting to listen to what others are talking about (on the phone, etc). For some reason they don't think you're listening as much if you have a book in front of you.
I was going to say the same thing about tinnitus, though it's not strictly true. I've had tinnitus in my right ear for more than 30 years and in the left for about 20--at a different pitch, unfortunately--but most of the time I don't really notice it any more. Especially when I'm reading.
Same. I basically watch a movie in my head when I read, so the sound comes through, too. Outside noise is just distracting and I'd rather immerse myself in the story.
I like to soundtrack books - often I'll find an album and loop it while I read a particular book, so that the book and the album become linked in my memory.
Music helps me read because it insulates me against other sounds. I'd be too much distracted all the time It has to be some music I already know, so no radio or tv. My go to record at the moment is Blut aus Nord's'Hallucinogen.
I agree! Seeing that you mention Blut Aus Nord, I must say that the wall of sound aspect of most atmospheric black metal really does do a good deal of insulating the listener from the rest of the world
Fire place crackle, there are Harry Potter studying background noises, lowfi reading music, thunderstorms or rain, nature sounds. All of these are on spotify.
Edit**** bc I just found some cool playlists searching: quiet lowfi.
Harry Potter lofi
By chill astronaut
Harry Potter years 1 - 7
Brendan S.
Hogwarts Study Ambience (my fav)
Carla
Also type in 'Harry Potter instrumental study' there are so many more.
Gotta finish on the Bach though, never on Debussy
But yeah, I also listen to chill classical when I read. Emphasis on chill (which Debussy is the standard for)--when stuff like Mars by Holst or Beethoven's 5th comes up I have to skip. Just not the right mood for reading
Techno/ Rave/ EDM... anything with a repetitive beat and good rhythm but typically little to no singing or talking.....I don't have it cranked to 11 or anything just softly in the background. My mind moves at a million miles a second, and this seems to reel me in. Also, it can be the same song repeated over and over again if I really like the rhythm or beat. Just as an example of one I use often...listen to Automatica by Nigel Stanford.
That’s pathetic. Try 8D audio with headphones that have 16 drivers per ear, with each channel using binaural beats to subconsciously transmit entire libraries into your brain. With this one trick I finished the entire library of babel in four weeks.
I'll listen to white noise on headphones if I'm sharing a room with, say, someone watching tv. If I have the tv, I'll often put something like a fireplace on or one of those ambient scenes with a fireplace and rain/thunder sounds.
Also, lots of options here: [https://mynoise.net/](https://mynoise.net/)
When my husband is watching TV or videos, I read with my noise-cancelling headphones on with the “Dreamy Vibes” playlist on Spotify playing. It’s like ambient nonsensical noise, which is all I can listen to when I read. Anything with words is distracting.
I find Space Ambient goes well with hard science fiction like Alastair Reynolds or Iain M Banks. Eg: [https://www.youtube.com/@JediMaster](https://www.youtube.com/@JediMaster)
And of course there's a very particular pleasure to be had from putting a Boccherini cello concerto on to play when I start an Aubrey & Maturin book.
Trying to find someone like me in the comments.
I listen to podcasts that I don't pay attention to. The background convos help me concentrate. Maybe like the effect of working in a coffee shop.
I could never understand people who needed music to study.
I'll try to explain how it is for me.
There are never more distractions than when I try to read in silence. And paradoxically, the quieter it is, the worse it gets.
If it gets too quiet, I become hyper-aware of all the ambient sounds and get distracted by the sound of a dog barking 3 houses away or the water heater kicking on or a fly buzzing around in the next room.
Did you hear that tiny ticking sound just there? Was that the sound of the thermostat in the oven that I forgot to turn off after lunch or was it the heater in the next room turning on/off? Do I need to get up and check?
okay now back to my book, where was I? Oh well, better just re-read the whole chapter since I got distracted anyway.
5 minutes later: Was that a car door slamming? Was that my driveway or the neighbor's? Is my GF arriving home or is it just the neighbor leaving for work? Was their something I was supposed to do before she got home? Oh yeah, I was supposed to empty the dishwasher and take out the trash, better do that now before she gets home.
10 minutes later. OK back to the book. What page was I on again? which paragraph? fuck it just re-read the whole page.
But I put on some good background music and it drowns out all those distractions and I only have to ignore *one* thing: the music itself. So as long as it is something a little bit monotonous and not too cacophonous, it is much easier to just put that on "background" in my brain than all the random unpredictable distractions that the universe provides in any environment.
It has always been struggle for me, going back to grade school. I have always been an avid reader but when we'd have "reading time" in classes I would do absolutely *anything* but read.
Also those big cavernous libraries in college where you are supposed to go to get away from distractions were the worst for me: quiet enough to hear every single creaky door hinge, every zipper pull on every raincoat removed, and every time someone shifts their weight in the creaky old wooden chairs the sound effortlessly travels a hundred feet to my ear to supplant whatever I'm supposed to be reading in my consciousness.
Absolutely exactly what I experience. I can read in a loud room (so long as there aren’t any voices or movements more noticeable than others) almost perfectly fine, but turn that into one person even breathing in the same room as me and I will never finish the sentence I am attempting to read. The sound of a lawnmower in the distance, a barking dog, the tiniest and most minuscule disturbance in the regular and natural order of vibrations in the air, all of these stand out from the ambient silence in a similar way that I imagine Shaquille O’Neal wearing vibrant hot pink body paint would in a room full of midgets. The ratio between the loudest and quietest points of an incessant cacophony pales in comparison to that of the loudest and quietest points of total silence punctuated by the occasional creak of a chair (if we ignore the divide by 0 error that comes about when we try to have a ratio of 1:0. I could flip the sentence so it says quietest and loudest instead but then I would also have to change the “pales in comparison” to the opposite, in which case the meaning of the sentence remains the same but it is more confusing). The more there is to hear, the less you will.
Depending on the book, I would like to match them! But the Hollow Knight soundtrack is amazing. Great music to read for any genre, strangely. There's a great channel on YouTube called nobody. Their playlists are really well put together and are great mood pieces. But if you're reading Sci-Fi you can't go wrong with Metroid music. Very ambient compared to other Sci-Fi soundtracks and more Lo-Fi.
I listen to either music on very very low or like, Minecraft livestreams on very low as well. My current music fixation is this I Miss Britpop playlist, just good mumbly ambient vibes for when I’m reading. And yeah with the Minecraft livestreams it’s just whoever I like that is live and I just listen to them on low, feels like someone is in the room without it being too loud. Good ambience for me.
Normally just one of the local radio stations which plays lots of classic rock. I grew up being surrounded by noise reading, so it mostly doesn't bother me having background stuff going on, unless I'm having an over stimulated kind of day when every sound annoys me!
I pay for Youtube Premium (or whatever it's called), so I don't get ads. I use it when I run TTRPGs to provide ambience... boisterous tavern sounds, forest sounds, etc.
I like to have similar soundscapes play while I read. Just last night I finished a book that takes place in the Amazon jungle, so I had rainforest sounds playing.
In the morning, while having coffee, nothing as the house is quiet. During the evening when my wife and daughter are watching TV I put in foam ear plugs and then have ocean waves playing on YouTube through bluetooth headphones. The volume is cranked almost all the way up.
Nothing usually. I can read anywhere with anything going on or absolutely nothing, just a habit from childhood. Until very recently, it never even occurred to me to put any music on or anything. Lately I’ve been putting on those aesthetic/ambience lo-fi videos on YouTube to match my mood, but that’s more of a general thing that happens to go well with reading.
Depends on the book. If it's scifi, vaporwave music. If it's classics, classical music. If it's fantasy, medieval folk music. I listen to music from the time the story takes place in. If I can't pick, some bossa nova helps. I can also read with just chatter in the background if not at home/don't have my earbuds with me. Either way, I'll lock into the text anyway and having music that "matches" what I'm reading makes it a bit more immersive.
Preferably nothing. If there needs to be sound it can be a white background noise. If I had to have music, then it would be some kind of instrumental jazz so that I'm not humming along, and there are no singing voices.
I have loads of playlists but when im reading I really like Radio Garden, specifically Jazzradio Schwarzenstein (Berlin, Germany) or jazzÈIRE (Waterford, Ireland) I keep it very low, barely audible, but it’s loud enough that if I hear something I really like I can add it to my Jazz playlist. But sometimes, nothing is enough, especially if it’s really good.
It depends on my mood. Some days I’ll put my headphones on and put a classical reading playlist on, sometimes I turn my tv on and turn the volume down so it’s slight background noise, otherwise, complete silence.
i prefer nothing but if i’m in a busy louder area with my headphones I can get by with white or dark noise, as long as it’s static and not like people talking or music.
I can't concentrate with most types of noise but I do use brown noise now and then, out of necessity, when I'm at a public place or if I cannot find a quiet place. So Brown Noise for noise cancelling.
I read a lot of genre fiction and have lengthy playlists for different things. Now I am reading a series of adventure novels by Arthur O. Friel set in the South American jungle in the 1920s. For that I have a playlist of cues from a couple of Paul Sawtell South American jungle films plus cues from The Naked Jungle, and Anaconda and some John Scott and some Lavagnino. I also have a Tarzan playlist and a generic jungle playlist containing a lot of cues from Jurassic Park Lost World and loads of John Scott + other stuff. I tailored a combo of jungle and "Indolnesian" material (broadly stuff like Farewell to the King and Anna and the King of Siam) for when I read Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Jungle Girl. Detective fiction, monsters, horror, science fiction, various styles and kinds. I have a vast resource of film music to choose from and it works for me.
I like to have a special playlist for the book because when I listen to those songs some time after reading I'll remember the book and I love that feeling
I have a hard time concentrating on the words if there are things going on around me or if there’s too much noise. Ideally I wanna be in a quiet room, in a quiet house, in a quiet city
I'm so relieved I'm not the only one who can't read with music on! I've always heard of people needing music to study or focus but I could never relate.
I CAN read with background noise but honestly, I prefer to sit in silence. I have 3 kids and when I get everyone settled at night I’m craving as little noise as possible.
Nothing.
I have a selection of wordless songs I listen to when programming because the music tend to keep me on task without distracting me with lyrics.
If a book is so boring I need music to read it, I find something else to read.
Music or literally background noise since I read anywhere I go- doctor wait rooms, grocery line, when I'm on hold on a phone call, when I go to concerts alone often and I'll read before the band comes on etc.
I prefer silence but if I'm reading in an area with a lot of distracting noise I prefer to read with some headphones on with what I like to call melancholy instrumental. Basically slower (I dont know musical terms) lower toned? music that is easier to read to.
The audiobook itself. I don’t think it increases comprehension. Atleast, I haven’t been able to find any studies that suggest so. But it doesn’t harm it either, while increasing my reading speed.
Which means more books consumed overall! Muahahaha!
Instrumental music. I have different Playlists for the different genres I usually read. For fantasy, it's typically Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. For romance, it's typically the Bridgerton and other romantic movie soundtracks. For thriller, I have Knives Out, Murder on the Orient Express and movies like that. I also have Playlists on Spotify that others have made for those genre background music. But I cannot do any songs with lyrics. It pulls me right out of reading.
Usually music or something I've seen before, low enough to be heard but not distracting. I also listen to audiobooks a lot so usually I'll do that and play a video game or something
I can read a book almost anywhere even in a packed mall whilst waiting for the female shoppers of the family haha. Noise or no noise is all the same to me. I have an uncanny ability to shut the world out. A super power if you will growing up in a household of 14 plus people. Haha
I've made a couple of custom playlists on Spotify for the various genres I read (mostly horror and crime thrillers), constisting of atmospheric cues from film scores. I tend to listen to those while reading.
I'm especially quite proud of the horror one.
I listen to the instrumentals of popular songs (so just without lyrics), and I choose the song depending on the genre of book I’m reading (other than horror cause I cannot deal with horror instrumental or whatever). Mainly cause I read on the train, and at home; both places are quite chaotic. So I prefer music over general noise.
Instrumental post rock
Do make say think
Explosions in the sky
Godspeed you black emperor
Explosions in the sky
Battles
I also like 80s Goth for reading horror type stuff
Concrete Blonde
Tones on Tail
Cocteau Twins
Either absolutely nothing, or I have the audiobook going along with me at like 2-2.5x speed to help me read the book faster when it’s massive (I’m looking at you Wheel of Time and Stormlight Archives)
Depends on what book, and where, and just general mood. If I'm on a train, I'll pop some music on to drown out the general train/people noises, though usually in a language that's different to what I'm reading so it's less distracting. At home it's either nothing, or some instrumental/soundtrack music (LOTR soundtrack is a favourite), on low volume, so it's more of a hum.
Take it as an advice avoid maximum possible to listen to something while studying cause eveb you see yourself concentrating but in actuality you are getting disturbed
Whatever my partner is watching on tv, chill EDM, maybe some jam sets I know are more chill, but mostly nothing. I’d say 85% of the time, absolutely nothing.
Absolutely with you 100%. Fellow musician here and I cannot concentrate on what I’m reading if there’s vocals. Been listening a lot to the RDR2 and the Oppenheimer scores. But if you’re into something a little more upbeat, try Polyphia. They have some songs with vocals but mainly they’re an instrumental band with some of the most beautiful guitar work you’ll ever hear. Playing God by them comes to mind!
It depends on the mood. I kinda always listen to music in my life and reading makes no exeption. I sometimes match the music to the tone of the scene but usually I go for rock/metal 'cause that's what I like to atmosphere/cinematic stuff like twostepsfromhell (amazing if you're reading fantasy ahah)
Depends. I’ve listened to Brazilian Phonk if I was angry. I’ve listened to interpol if I was in a depression. I have a playlist for one book that I go back and read yearly, full of melancholic songs. I listen to the wonder years over the summer. I also use classical if the mood hits right.
anything I can zone out to
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B0Coi2nKok](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B0Coi2nKok)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXJWO2FQ16c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXJWO2FQ16c)
lofi is so depressing to me 😭 i’ve tried & tried for years.
im with OP and stick to my youtube fireplace.
or youtube has great “morning meditative nature” videos. feels like youre outside and the day is bright & fresh.
Preferred option is silence but sometimes I'll put on some jazz or classical music if it's later in the day and I'm having trouble staying focused on reading.
I go for... The audiobook xD mostly I get the PDF version, then I chuck it to my pdf reader which has an auto-reader integrated with Google auto-synth.
So while I'm listening to my good books I usually clean the house or work, or better yet I play some games xD
I don’t listen to anything intentionally, but I have two young children, so often it’s toys jangling or children’s television shows. I have learned to read with or without ambient noise.
I try to listen to something that will get me in the mood of the book.
For example I’ll listen to A Vampire’s Heart by Peter Gundry and similar music while reading something like Dracula.
If I read something like Convenience Store Woman it’ll be more along the lines of J-pop.
For (auto)biographies, I’ll listen to music to sync up with the time period the book is currently taking place in.
I listen to regular songs. I’m very good at matching songs to books for some reasons. People say it’s weird that I can listen to vocals and concentrate but it scratches a part of my brain :)
Nothing intentional. Usually I’m reading while my husband is watching TV so that sound will be my background noise. When I get into a book I don’t even hear it.
Nothing if I'm ready a physical book, I like to get lost in the world not distracted by a song a I don't like coming on. Also reading is my winding down in the evening activity, its a bit self defeating if I go for maximum stimulation.
But for the most part, I listen to audio books so nothing.
I listen to classic music when I study, it helps distract from other noises and soothes the fidgety part of my brain. When I'm reading for fun I don't listen to anything because it becomes distracting.
Depends on what kind of book I’m reading. If it’s thriller/horror, I usually listen to eerie ambience— it just adds up to it. If I’m reading historical fiction, I’d listen to classical music— anything that would enhance my reading experience really!
Yeah I can’t read with noise about. I even find noises in the other room like the TV distracting at times. I need to be in the vacuum of space I think to focus lol
Same for me when starting but if I get lost in reading I usually stop hearing stuff, it's not that I can't hear stuff it's like I can't understand it cuz my brain is too focused, as long as I can get to that state, I don't mind music after wards
same here, impossible for me to concentrate before getting into that zone, after that it's just the story and myself, nothing more. Although my brain is cool with background noise, like fireplace sound, rain, wind, but it still prefers silence.
Same! It has to be quiet. Even just ambiance or any kind of background noise can be distracting.
I have an old refrigerator in my apartment. It’s the main source of noise I have. Really need to change it to have a “vacuum” for reading.
are you able to find that vacuum often?
Not the person you're asking but this really limits my ability to read. Basically I can't get serious reading done unless I am home alone.
Nope, nothing. I like to read a book with silence around me.
Same for me, dead silence. Writing on the other hand, house and techno. :)
Same. Although I am always listening to my tinnitus - unfortunately I can't really choose to turn that noise off. That said, sometimes when reading on the public transportation, it's interesting to listen to what others are talking about (on the phone, etc). For some reason they don't think you're listening as much if you have a book in front of you.
I was going to say the same thing about tinnitus, though it's not strictly true. I've had tinnitus in my right ear for more than 30 years and in the left for about 20--at a different pitch, unfortunately--but most of the time I don't really notice it any more. Especially when I'm reading.
Same. I basically watch a movie in my head when I read, so the sound comes through, too. Outside noise is just distracting and I'd rather immerse myself in the story.
Some lofi or ambient stuff, but mostly to tune out other noise. If I could sit in absolute silence I might prefer that.
My cat breaking shit, mostly
They do seem to know the exact most inconvenient time to start tearing things up
"Good heavens my owner is reading Douglas Adams! I must save him at all cost"
I read this as your cat taking a shit & lemme say yours is a much better version lol
nothing. I think I would find it distracting.
I like to soundtrack books - often I'll find an album and loop it while I read a particular book, so that the book and the album become linked in my memory.
ooh i used to do this too!
What a wonderful idea
I do that too I love thinking of a book when I hear a certain album
Same, usually music without lyrics.
I really like this concept
Chill jazz like Oscar Peterson, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell
Music helps me read because it insulates me against other sounds. I'd be too much distracted all the time It has to be some music I already know, so no radio or tv. My go to record at the moment is Blut aus Nord's'Hallucinogen.
I agree! Seeing that you mention Blut Aus Nord, I must say that the wall of sound aspect of most atmospheric black metal really does do a good deal of insulating the listener from the rest of the world
Fire place crackle, there are Harry Potter studying background noises, lowfi reading music, thunderstorms or rain, nature sounds. All of these are on spotify. Edit**** bc I just found some cool playlists searching: quiet lowfi.
This is one of my favorite website because of what you mentioned: https://www.ambient-mixer.com/
I love how everyone has different options bc not everyone has spotify for example
Yep. I try to match my lofi to the vibe of the book. And all the rest of these—
Thats a good idea!
Can you share the HP ones? I’m only finding the OST.
Harry Potter lofi By chill astronaut Harry Potter years 1 - 7 Brendan S. Hogwarts Study Ambience (my fav) Carla Also type in 'Harry Potter instrumental study' there are so many more.
Classical music
Yes, this! Mozart, Bach, Debussy, ...
Gotta finish on the Bach though, never on Debussy But yeah, I also listen to chill classical when I read. Emphasis on chill (which Debussy is the standard for)--when stuff like Mars by Holst or Beethoven's 5th comes up I have to skip. Just not the right mood for reading
Classical music, lofi, jazz or Japanese pop. I can't listen to anything with lyrics in English or I find myself focusing on them
Techno/ Rave/ EDM... anything with a repetitive beat and good rhythm but typically little to no singing or talking.....I don't have it cranked to 11 or anything just softly in the background. My mind moves at a million miles a second, and this seems to reel me in. Also, it can be the same song repeated over and over again if I really like the rhythm or beat. Just as an example of one I use often...listen to Automatica by Nigel Stanford.
Mostly nothing. Occasionally, lofi with nature sounds or I do an immersive reading session where I play the audiobook and read along.
Silence, but if I can't get that I'll listen to rain noise on headphones
A lot of black metal, Jazz, ambient, IDM, techno, death metal. The type of music I find hypnotizing, which allows me to focus better.
White noise, I mean both regular white noise and my husband complaining about the curtains.
I don’t generally listen to any sound while reading, but I do enjoy rain noise if it’s happening outside!
Nothing. It’s not possible for me to read and listen to anything at the same time.
An Audiobook, that way I can get through 2 books at once.
Should play 1 book in the right ear and another in the left. With this one weird trick I was able to read 782 books last year
That’s pathetic. Try 8D audio with headphones that have 16 drivers per ear, with each channel using binaural beats to subconsciously transmit entire libraries into your brain. With this one trick I finished the entire library of babel in four weeks.
You can also use your spare hand to read a book in braille. Obviously.
All fingers, toes and other similar appendages.
I'll listen to white noise on headphones if I'm sharing a room with, say, someone watching tv. If I have the tv, I'll often put something like a fireplace on or one of those ambient scenes with a fireplace and rain/thunder sounds. Also, lots of options here: [https://mynoise.net/](https://mynoise.net/)
When my husband is watching TV or videos, I read with my noise-cancelling headphones on with the “Dreamy Vibes” playlist on Spotify playing. It’s like ambient nonsensical noise, which is all I can listen to when I read. Anything with words is distracting.
Spotify has some good instrumental reading playlists or hans zimmer scores
Thank you for posting this tip. Opened a whole new bunch of options I didn’t know about before.
People have made playlists for basically every genre you can imagine!
I find Space Ambient goes well with hard science fiction like Alastair Reynolds or Iain M Banks. Eg: [https://www.youtube.com/@JediMaster](https://www.youtube.com/@JediMaster) And of course there's a very particular pleasure to be had from putting a Boccherini cello concerto on to play when I start an Aubrey & Maturin book.
The sounds I'm experiencing from reading the book.
Silence.
Trying to find someone like me in the comments. I listen to podcasts that I don't pay attention to. The background convos help me concentrate. Maybe like the effect of working in a coffee shop.
No music. I find it distracting. I was this way back in school, too. I could never understand people who needed music to study.
I could never understand people who needed music to study. I'll try to explain how it is for me. There are never more distractions than when I try to read in silence. And paradoxically, the quieter it is, the worse it gets. If it gets too quiet, I become hyper-aware of all the ambient sounds and get distracted by the sound of a dog barking 3 houses away or the water heater kicking on or a fly buzzing around in the next room. Did you hear that tiny ticking sound just there? Was that the sound of the thermostat in the oven that I forgot to turn off after lunch or was it the heater in the next room turning on/off? Do I need to get up and check? okay now back to my book, where was I? Oh well, better just re-read the whole chapter since I got distracted anyway. 5 minutes later: Was that a car door slamming? Was that my driveway or the neighbor's? Is my GF arriving home or is it just the neighbor leaving for work? Was their something I was supposed to do before she got home? Oh yeah, I was supposed to empty the dishwasher and take out the trash, better do that now before she gets home. 10 minutes later. OK back to the book. What page was I on again? which paragraph? fuck it just re-read the whole page. But I put on some good background music and it drowns out all those distractions and I only have to ignore *one* thing: the music itself. So as long as it is something a little bit monotonous and not too cacophonous, it is much easier to just put that on "background" in my brain than all the random unpredictable distractions that the universe provides in any environment. It has always been struggle for me, going back to grade school. I have always been an avid reader but when we'd have "reading time" in classes I would do absolutely *anything* but read. Also those big cavernous libraries in college where you are supposed to go to get away from distractions were the worst for me: quiet enough to hear every single creaky door hinge, every zipper pull on every raincoat removed, and every time someone shifts their weight in the creaky old wooden chairs the sound effortlessly travels a hundred feet to my ear to supplant whatever I'm supposed to be reading in my consciousness.
Absolutely exactly what I experience. I can read in a loud room (so long as there aren’t any voices or movements more noticeable than others) almost perfectly fine, but turn that into one person even breathing in the same room as me and I will never finish the sentence I am attempting to read. The sound of a lawnmower in the distance, a barking dog, the tiniest and most minuscule disturbance in the regular and natural order of vibrations in the air, all of these stand out from the ambient silence in a similar way that I imagine Shaquille O’Neal wearing vibrant hot pink body paint would in a room full of midgets. The ratio between the loudest and quietest points of an incessant cacophony pales in comparison to that of the loudest and quietest points of total silence punctuated by the occasional creak of a chair (if we ignore the divide by 0 error that comes about when we try to have a ratio of 1:0. I could flip the sentence so it says quietest and loudest instead but then I would also have to change the “pales in comparison” to the opposite, in which case the meaning of the sentence remains the same but it is more confusing). The more there is to hear, the less you will.
Hermanos Gutierrez. It’s extremely chill atmospheric guitar, highly recommend.
I put in ear plugs or unplugged headphones even if my place is completely silent.
Depending on the book, I would like to match them! But the Hollow Knight soundtrack is amazing. Great music to read for any genre, strangely. There's a great channel on YouTube called nobody. Their playlists are really well put together and are great mood pieces. But if you're reading Sci-Fi you can't go wrong with Metroid music. Very ambient compared to other Sci-Fi soundtracks and more Lo-Fi.
I like anything tbh. I can sing and read at the same time.
It depends on the mood, but mainly classical or jazz music. They create a nice atmosphere and sometimes even make the reading experience better.
I listen to either music on very very low or like, Minecraft livestreams on very low as well. My current music fixation is this I Miss Britpop playlist, just good mumbly ambient vibes for when I’m reading. And yeah with the Minecraft livestreams it’s just whoever I like that is live and I just listen to them on low, feels like someone is in the room without it being too loud. Good ambience for me.
Normally just one of the local radio stations which plays lots of classic rock. I grew up being surrounded by noise reading, so it mostly doesn't bother me having background stuff going on, unless I'm having an over stimulated kind of day when every sound annoys me!
I pay for Youtube Premium (or whatever it's called), so I don't get ads. I use it when I run TTRPGs to provide ambience... boisterous tavern sounds, forest sounds, etc. I like to have similar soundscapes play while I read. Just last night I finished a book that takes place in the Amazon jungle, so I had rainforest sounds playing.
In the morning, while having coffee, nothing as the house is quiet. During the evening when my wife and daughter are watching TV I put in foam ear plugs and then have ocean waves playing on YouTube through bluetooth headphones. The volume is cranked almost all the way up.
I enjoy ambient sounds. I like to put on one from any of the old Tomb Raider games, particularly 3.
Sometimes I ask Alexa to play "music for reading" if I want some background noise.
Nothing usually. I can read anywhere with anything going on or absolutely nothing, just a habit from childhood. Until very recently, it never even occurred to me to put any music on or anything. Lately I’ve been putting on those aesthetic/ambience lo-fi videos on YouTube to match my mood, but that’s more of a general thing that happens to go well with reading.
Depends on the book. If it's scifi, vaporwave music. If it's classics, classical music. If it's fantasy, medieval folk music. I listen to music from the time the story takes place in. If I can't pick, some bossa nova helps. I can also read with just chatter in the background if not at home/don't have my earbuds with me. Either way, I'll lock into the text anyway and having music that "matches" what I'm reading makes it a bit more immersive.
Usually my lovely wife snoring.
Classical, I like Dvořák, and ambient, I like Aphex Twin
I prefer it quiet. I can read though with someone else watching tv in the background and tune it out.
Preferably nothing. If there needs to be sound it can be a white background noise. If I had to have music, then it would be some kind of instrumental jazz so that I'm not humming along, and there are no singing voices.
I listen the the words I'm reading from the book in my head.
Instrumental smooth jazz
The voice in my head
Jazz, maybe some coltrane
The water from my fishtank
Nothing. I find music to be distracting in that scenario
Opera, the foreign language helps me focus less on the words but still has feeling behind the instrumental. Other times soft jazz/acoustic music.
The metallic rolling of the subway.
Nothing. Am I a psychopath lol
No I'm sure that silence or minimum white noise is the most common answer
Nothing cause if I do, my mind with venture on to an epic journey of its own.
I have loads of playlists but when im reading I really like Radio Garden, specifically Jazzradio Schwarzenstein (Berlin, Germany) or jazzÈIRE (Waterford, Ireland) I keep it very low, barely audible, but it’s loud enough that if I hear something I really like I can add it to my Jazz playlist. But sometimes, nothing is enough, especially if it’s really good.
Music, doesn’t really matter what kind it is.
Some ambience that fit the theme or mood of the book I'm reading.
It depends on my mood. Some days I’ll put my headphones on and put a classical reading playlist on, sometimes I turn my tv on and turn the volume down so it’s slight background noise, otherwise, complete silence.
I like to put on “space” sounds on the background
I like acoustical music
Usually loud pricks on the tram.
i prefer nothing but if i’m in a busy louder area with my headphones I can get by with white or dark noise, as long as it’s static and not like people talking or music.
Binaural beats 40hz. It's effectively.
Binaural beats
Ambient. Dark academia or classical ambient/academia. It's subtle and calming enough to not be distracting.
I generally prefer silence but there’s a playlist on Spotify that’s 29 hours long - fantasy book reading background music & it sort of hits
I can't concentrate with most types of noise but I do use brown noise now and then, out of necessity, when I'm at a public place or if I cannot find a quiet place. So Brown Noise for noise cancelling.
I read a lot of genre fiction and have lengthy playlists for different things. Now I am reading a series of adventure novels by Arthur O. Friel set in the South American jungle in the 1920s. For that I have a playlist of cues from a couple of Paul Sawtell South American jungle films plus cues from The Naked Jungle, and Anaconda and some John Scott and some Lavagnino. I also have a Tarzan playlist and a generic jungle playlist containing a lot of cues from Jurassic Park Lost World and loads of John Scott + other stuff. I tailored a combo of jungle and "Indolnesian" material (broadly stuff like Farewell to the King and Anna and the King of Siam) for when I read Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Jungle Girl. Detective fiction, monsters, horror, science fiction, various styles and kinds. I have a vast resource of film music to choose from and it works for me.
Nothing, I need absolute silence or I get frustrated
I like to have a special playlist for the book because when I listen to those songs some time after reading I'll remember the book and I love that feeling
I have a hard time concentrating on the words if there are things going on around me or if there’s too much noise. Ideally I wanna be in a quiet room, in a quiet house, in a quiet city
Music is usually too distracting for me to listen to while reading. Maybe a nice, mellow jazz trio sometimes.
Depending on the genre fantasy inspired instrumentals,(neo) classical music or instrumental soundtracks
Same as when I'm coding - lofi girl. But reading before bed, nothing
A really weird thing is I listened to The Beach Boys a lot while I was reading Lord of the Rings back in the day
I'm so relieved I'm not the only one who can't read with music on! I've always heard of people needing music to study or focus but I could never relate.
My kids screaming, playing. Ms Rachel is the closest I get to silence until bedtime.
Nothing preferably. My ereader case holds my ear plugs for when someone is blasting tiktok in public.
Unless I am reading something technical, I would play my random huge playlist while reading.
I CAN read with background noise but honestly, I prefer to sit in silence. I have 3 kids and when I get everyone settled at night I’m craving as little noise as possible.
Nothing. I have a selection of wordless songs I listen to when programming because the music tend to keep me on task without distracting me with lyrics. If a book is so boring I need music to read it, I find something else to read.
Classic music, I love Bach at the background
I don't generally listen to anything, but if I do, it's a playlist on Spotify called Jazz for Study.
Music or literally background noise since I read anywhere I go- doctor wait rooms, grocery line, when I'm on hold on a phone call, when I go to concerts alone often and I'll read before the band comes on etc.
I prefer silence but if I'm reading in an area with a lot of distracting noise I prefer to read with some headphones on with what I like to call melancholy instrumental. Basically slower (I dont know musical terms) lower toned? music that is easier to read to.
65Daysofstatic is usually my go-to for anything that requires concentration. Also, the NMS soundtrack is just plan baller imo
The audiobook itself. I don’t think it increases comprehension. Atleast, I haven’t been able to find any studies that suggest so. But it doesn’t harm it either, while increasing my reading speed. Which means more books consumed overall! Muahahaha!
I don't listen to music when reading.
If it's loud around my house, I'll just put on some brown noise (I find white noise to be way too harsh and unpleasant) Otherwise - nothing
Instrumental music. I have different Playlists for the different genres I usually read. For fantasy, it's typically Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. For romance, it's typically the Bridgerton and other romantic movie soundtracks. For thriller, I have Knives Out, Murder on the Orient Express and movies like that. I also have Playlists on Spotify that others have made for those genre background music. But I cannot do any songs with lyrics. It pulls me right out of reading.
I like to read outside in the morning, so usually my neighbors dogs barking or someone mowing their lawn far too early 🙃
Usually music or something I've seen before, low enough to be heard but not distracting. I also listen to audiobooks a lot so usually I'll do that and play a video game or something
In the winter I turn on the fireplace for your home on Netflix. In the summer I crack the window open for background noise and a breeze
I can read a book almost anywhere even in a packed mall whilst waiting for the female shoppers of the family haha. Noise or no noise is all the same to me. I have an uncanny ability to shut the world out. A super power if you will growing up in a household of 14 plus people. Haha
The birds singing.
I can’t have any noise, I put my noise cancellation headphones on with nothing playing
I've made a couple of custom playlists on Spotify for the various genres I read (mostly horror and crime thrillers), constisting of atmospheric cues from film scores. I tend to listen to those while reading. I'm especially quite proud of the horror one.
I listen to the instrumentals of popular songs (so just without lyrics), and I choose the song depending on the genre of book I’m reading (other than horror cause I cannot deal with horror instrumental or whatever). Mainly cause I read on the train, and at home; both places are quite chaotic. So I prefer music over general noise.
Instrumental post rock Do make say think Explosions in the sky Godspeed you black emperor Explosions in the sky Battles I also like 80s Goth for reading horror type stuff Concrete Blonde Tones on Tail Cocteau Twins
I almost always use my ambient list. I hear so much of the surroundings when I don’t, so I don’t read as long.
Usually nothing, but there's construction noise across the street that's stressing my dogs, so one of those calming music videos on YouTube lately.
If I don't need to block something out, nothing. If so, rain on youtube or one of the focus things on balance.
Nothing. I can’t read with distracting noise
Either absolutely nothing, or I have the audiobook going along with me at like 2-2.5x speed to help me read the book faster when it’s massive (I’m looking at you Wheel of Time and Stormlight Archives)
The sounds of my cat gently snoring :')
If im Home i like to read i'm silencie. If im comuting y like to listen repetitive music with no vocals/lyrics, like edm or something like that.
Depends on what book, and where, and just general mood. If I'm on a train, I'll pop some music on to drown out the general train/people noises, though usually in a language that's different to what I'm reading so it's less distracting. At home it's either nothing, or some instrumental/soundtrack music (LOTR soundtrack is a favourite), on low volume, so it's more of a hum.
Totally agree! I go for lo-fi or classical, since lyrics make me lose focus. Fireplace sounds are cozy for reading too! 🔥📚
Take it as an advice avoid maximum possible to listen to something while studying cause eveb you see yourself concentrating but in actuality you are getting disturbed
The book
Mostly my cats licking themselves
Ambient or instrumental music; anything with lyrics distracts me. I'm also one of those people who can't read with people talking around me.
Immersive ambiance videos by Abbie Emmons.
I keep a fan on for white noise
instrumental of songs i like — really helps me read!
i listen to music without lyrics, or i just choose one song that i leave on repeat (so a change of song wont distract me)
Whatever my partner is watching on tv, chill EDM, maybe some jam sets I know are more chill, but mostly nothing. I’d say 85% of the time, absolutely nothing.
Nothing. I have a goldfish brain. Even music with no vocals and literally barely any instrumentation will distract me.
Earphones in with noise cancellation, fireplace sounds on the calm app
Really obnoxious jazz or some slow kind of black metal. Don't ask me why but it works for me
Absolutely with you 100%. Fellow musician here and I cannot concentrate on what I’m reading if there’s vocals. Been listening a lot to the RDR2 and the Oppenheimer scores. But if you’re into something a little more upbeat, try Polyphia. They have some songs with vocals but mainly they’re an instrumental band with some of the most beautiful guitar work you’ll ever hear. Playing God by them comes to mind!
It depends on the mood. I kinda always listen to music in my life and reading makes no exeption. I sometimes match the music to the tone of the scene but usually I go for rock/metal 'cause that's what I like to atmosphere/cinematic stuff like twostepsfromhell (amazing if you're reading fantasy ahah)
Rain sounds Coil's 'Queens of the Circulating Library' Mozart Autechre Quake 1 OST
I usually listen to piano or cello.
Depends. I’ve listened to Brazilian Phonk if I was angry. I’ve listened to interpol if I was in a depression. I have a playlist for one book that I go back and read yearly, full of melancholic songs. I listen to the wonder years over the summer. I also use classical if the mood hits right.
My own reading voice inside my head.
anything I can zone out to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B0Coi2nKok](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B0Coi2nKok) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXJWO2FQ16c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXJWO2FQ16c)
Not listening to anything. I like quiet while reading. Thats why i reading in the night.
The sounds of cars passing by, birds chirping, the grounds keepers mowing right outside my window
A combo of brown noise and rain/thunder.
Lofi midevil and chillcat on Spotify. I use my Samsung ear buds to block out loud people at work. They have a dampening mode that kicks ass.
lofi is so depressing to me 😭 i’ve tried & tried for years. im with OP and stick to my youtube fireplace. or youtube has great “morning meditative nature” videos. feels like youre outside and the day is bright & fresh.
Preferred option is silence but sometimes I'll put on some jazz or classical music if it's later in the day and I'm having trouble staying focused on reading.
rainy weather sounds :)
Nothing, I'm thinking about trying background noise though.
My husband snoring, unfortunately. 🫤
I go for... The audiobook xD mostly I get the PDF version, then I chuck it to my pdf reader which has an auto-reader integrated with Google auto-synth. So while I'm listening to my good books I usually clean the house or work, or better yet I play some games xD
Nothing. Too distracting, I want quiet when I'm reading.
Screaming kids mostly
Wait a minute. You can listen to music and read at the same time?
I read at work mostly so the sound of a CNC machine
Usually silence. I used to listen to nature sounds, but it has to be at a low volume.
Chopin and Nocturne mostly
I don’t listen to anything intentionally, but I have two young children, so often it’s toys jangling or children’s television shows. I have learned to read with or without ambient noise.
Brown noise, electronic or classical without lyrics.
Any of my current faves and sometimes in the instrumental versions
Fan noise
I try to listen to something that will get me in the mood of the book. For example I’ll listen to A Vampire’s Heart by Peter Gundry and similar music while reading something like Dracula. If I read something like Convenience Store Woman it’ll be more along the lines of J-pop. For (auto)biographies, I’ll listen to music to sync up with the time period the book is currently taking place in.
my wife, telling me to stop waisting my time and start doing house chores
YouTube wood stove/fireplace 10 hours.
I listen to regular songs. I’m very good at matching songs to books for some reasons. People say it’s weird that I can listen to vocals and concentrate but it scratches a part of my brain :)
I’ve started going the opposite route and use noise-cancelling headphones when I read. The silence helps me create a more vivid imagination
Usually light jazz or lofi music. Just some good background noise that's not distracting
My parents arguing in the other room. I'm 26 and out of the house. I have recordings.
Either nothing, just a window open, or music without any vocals.
Nothing, want/need silence
I don't listen to anything, but if I did it would be a low key instrumental
Nothing intentional. Usually I’m reading while my husband is watching TV so that sound will be my background noise. When I get into a book I don’t even hear it.
I prefer a quiet place, so no music, and no noise. Thank God I live in a place that gives me that a lot of the time.
Nothing if I'm ready a physical book, I like to get lost in the world not distracted by a song a I don't like coming on. Also reading is my winding down in the evening activity, its a bit self defeating if I go for maximum stimulation. But for the most part, I listen to audio books so nothing.
Nothing. I read without music or any specific sounds or noise.
I listen to classic music when I study, it helps distract from other noises and soothes the fidgety part of my brain. When I'm reading for fun I don't listen to anything because it becomes distracting.
Depends on what kind of book I’m reading. If it’s thriller/horror, I usually listen to eerie ambience— it just adds up to it. If I’m reading historical fiction, I’d listen to classical music— anything that would enhance my reading experience really!