So, I've long been known for my predilection for creating soundtracks for scenes and manuscripts on which I'm currently working. But lately, I've also found myself tailoring what I'm listening to so it fits what I'm reading. It really started with What Angels Fear, which is the first book in the Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries by C.S. Harris.

The books are Regency-set (the first one begins in 1811-- so far, book five takes place in July of 1812, as will book six, by the looks of it). I always love to have music on in the background while I read (no surprise, I'm sure) but these books seemed to demand something specific. I didn't want anything too intrusive or, as I came to realize, "inappropriate" which is to say, I didn't want anything that could potentially take me out of the world of the book-- if anything, I wanted something that would help me sink further into Sebastian's world.

So I found myself turning to film scores-- I started with Becoming Jane and Sense & Sensibility-- both especially well-suited since the films are set during the same time period as the St. Cyr mysteries and tend to evoke the era. From there, I thought, "Okay, we'll go with the scores for Jane Austen films," and found Emma (as long as I don't have to think about Gwynnie mangling the character I'm good) and Pride and Prejudice. Emma, in particular, really resonated, so I went in search of more scores by Rachel Portman. Found Nicholas Nickleby and The Cider House Rules and The Duchess all of which sounded very... English, if you will. Patrick Doyle is also awesome for this as well. I think Henry V is going to be in heavy rotation for Book Five, What Remains of Heaven.

So when I'm ready to settle in to read, I just start one of the soundtracks and away I go. By this point, I've listened to them so often while reading, that the Pavlov effect is more that I see scenes from the books rather than from the films when I hear the music. And while I'm reading, it's as if the scenes just leap off the page and really scroll through my mind with the effect of watching a film. They're richer and more deeply saturated in emotion and tension and drama.

Does anyone else do this to such a specific degree or is this just another example of me being a complete whackaloon?