Book Blogger Hop
This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:
Do you prefer to read in a quiet or noisy setting?
If it’s a binary choice—quiet. I can get by with pretty much any level of noise, but I’d rather not.
But if the choice isn’t that binary, I like a little music in the background. Not something new—I’d end up paying more attention to it than whatever I’m trying to read (new music is for chores, work, or messing around online). Unless it’s something super-technical, I don’t care if it has lyrics or not. Sometimes I read something that fits the mood that I expect the book to have, but mostly I just grab something I enjoy and use it to cover up all the other sounds around—dogs, kids, dishwasher, etc. Once I’m a few pages or so in, I really don’t notice what I’m listening to (so don’t ask me why I spend so long picking the right tunes).
TV in the background will frequently distract me—even if it’s something I don’t enjoy. I’ve ended up watching too much football because I let my son turn on a game while I was trying to read.
Reading over this makes me wonder just how easily I’m distracted. I thought I had better focus than I’ve depicted myself as having. Huh. The more you know.
What about you—library quiet, or loud as a construction site?
Bob Germaux
Like you, H.C., if it’s a zero sum situation, I’ll always choose quiet. That being said, my wife and I will often sit at opposite ends of the sofa in our family room and read our books while soft music plays in the background. But if I get completely engrossed in a book, no amount of background noise is going to really distract me, because I’m in that other world at the moment, the world the author has created for me. A good example is what I’m reading now, the first book of Paul Levine’s Soloman vs. Lord series. You could plunk me down in the middle of a marching band while I’m reading this thing, and I wouldn’t notice. (BTW, this was a great question.)
HCNewton
First…Solomon vs. Lord is so much more fun than the Lassiter books, isn’t it?
But back to the point of the post–I like the music, but at some point, it goes away.
Bob Germaux
I’ve read just the first Lassiter book, and I’m only halfway through the first Solomon vs. Lord book, but yeah, Solomon vs. Lord is way more fun.