If I had all the time in the world...

...these are the books I would read.  I have a bad habit of going into the library, either here in the music library or the public library down the street, and picking more books than I could ever read in my sparse amount of spare time.  When I first found the Music Psychology section in the library here, I nearly wet myself.  So many books about stuff that I'm actually *interested* in, shelves and shelves of them.  And then on Friday, I found the Music Therapy section.  Let's just say I was nearly late to class.  And nobody could sit in the seat next to me because that's where my books were sitting.  (I prefer not to sit next to anyone, anyway).  I managed to show a little restraint and only check out what I knew I could get home on the bus, so at least there's that.  I am so incredibly interested in the processes and interactions of music and emotions.  I know they're linked.  Music wouldn't be music without the emotions that they evoke.   I have a whole host of hypotheses that I want to research and work with someday regarding the ideas, but these books are all I can do for now. 

 

This is the stack of books I'd like to read, currently residing under an end table.

(keep in mind, some of these are for my comps research-- you'll be able to tell which ones)

The titles include:

The Mozart Companion, H. C. Robbins Landon, Donald Mitchell;

The Art of Possibility, Benjamin Zander

Secrets of Musical Confidence, Andy Evans

The Inner Game of Music, Barry Green

The Social Psychology of Music, David Hargreaves and Adrian North

Music and the Mind in Everyday Life, Eric Clarke

Emotional Response to Music, Wayne Goins

Music, Thought, and Feeling: Understanding the Psychology of Music, William Forde Thompson

Dynamics of Music in Psychotherapy, Kenneth E. Bruscia

Listening to Music in Psychotherapy, Mary Butterton

Tao of Music, John Oritz

The Highly Sensitive Person, Elaine N. Aron

A Beginner's Guide to Zen Buddhism, Jean Smith

The Dance Most of All, Jack Gilbert

Gifted Grownups, Marylou Kelly Streznewski

The Exquisite Risk, Mark Nepo

Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga, Katrina Kenison and Rolf Gates

Perhaps if I read enough I'll be able to figure out what I *should* be doing.  But really, I'm trying not to think about the fact that none of these books that I'm so excited about have anything to do with this degree I'm going thousands of dollars into debt to get.  I don't really have time for a full out nervous breakdown right now.