Books

Listen To Your Fave YA With The Perfect Soundtrack

by Emma Oulton

Few things go together better than books and music (wine and cheese are a close second) — and now, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers has paired up with Booktrack to produce YA books with soundtracks. You no longer need to spend hours preparing the perfect playlist before you settle down to read. Just open up your e-book, and get swept away.

The Booktrack-enhanced e-books bring the reading experience closer to that of watching a movie, or listening to an audiobook. Not only can you hear atmospheric music perfectly chosen to suit the mood of the scene, you'll also hear appropriate sound effects such as birds chirping, or gravel crunching underfoot. I tried one of the free samples already available on the Little, Brown Booktrack page — and the effect was amazing. Books already have a wonderful ability to suck you into their world, but when you can literally hear doorbells ringing and wind rustling through trees, it's easy to forget you're still stuck in your own bedroom.

So far, Little, Brown Books has launched popular YA titles from its digital imprint NOVL — and apparently, we can expect original e-books following throughout the summer. I love anything that encourages teenagers to read, and these immersive YA titles are bound to do it — but don't think for a second that this experience is just for teens! YA novels have readers of all ages, and pairing music with books only makes them even more emotional, absorbing, and magical — so I fully intend to make my way through this entire collection.

Image: Sai Kiran Anagani/Unsplash