Mood music to read by

I love listening to music while I read. This seems weird to me because I could not listen to music at all if I was reading, doing homework, studying, etc. I had to have uber quiet to concentrate. At some point in college that changed and I often listen to music while I read. I am very picky about what music I listen to, though. It can’t be any old Pandora station or playlist on my computer. I find that different books need different mood music. For example, I wouldn’t want to listen to hard rock music if I was reading a fantasy book. I wouldn’t want to listen to orchestral music if I was reading a David Levithan book. The music has to fit the mood of the book.
I read a lot of fantasy novels, including vampire novels and fantasy-type historical romances, and I find that Celtic and Irish music works best for those kinds of novels. And of course, by Celtic and Irish music, I mean Celtic and Irish rock. I have a Dropkick Murphys station on Pandora that is my go to station for reading. It is good music to groove to, but does not inspire me to sing along too often. I especially like listening to it if I am sitting outside reading. Irish rock + trashy book + sunshine = ideal situation.
Sometimes Irish rock music is not the right mood. Sometimes I find that the Sookie Stackhouse books are putting me in a different mood, one that needs annoying pop/rock/dance music. I have an awesome workout mix on my computer that has Cobra Starship, Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, Blake Lewis, Jesse McCartney, Mika, Scissor Sisters, and OK Go all mixed together. It is ideal for the days that I am in a bit of an energetic mood and am reading something that goes quickly.
When I am reading Meg Cabot, I tend to enjoy girl rock: Lily Allen, Jem, Lady Gaga, Brittney Spears, Pink. Something about having super strong female leads in books just inspires me to listen to super strong female music. Plus, there is something light and fun about a Meg Cabot book that translates really well into super fun girl pop like Lady Gaga.
And then there are the days when I am reading something super trashy, like a random trashy romance novel, which just screams “annoying dance crap music”. And those are the days that I listen to my 3Oh!3 Pandora station. It is loud, dancey, inappropriate music that is just fun.
When I am driving around listening to music, I enjoy listening to classic rock and alt rock…huge fan of my Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bowling for Soup stations on Pandora…but I have yet to find books to read to that music. Maybe if I read westerns? I am also a bit worried about finding music to listen to while reading an Ann Brashares book I got from the library. I feel like the book is going to be too dramatic to listen to dance music to. Maybe I’ll go with something a bit chill…Jason Mraz/Mat Kearney.