6. Look at size of book. I know this isn’t something for purists but if you don’t get time to read many novels, don’t launch back in with a 700 page tome or it will probably take you all year and then you’ll be frustrated and annoyed at wasting time and money on something you haven’t enjoyed.

7. The next step is crucial. Read opening – does it get you in straight off? Novels have a bit more time to seduce you than a short story but not much these days. A good opening is like someone placing a thread around your finger and gently tugging on it. They’ve got you but can they keep you?

8. Has author mentioned 10 characters and 5 different place names in first 3 paragraphs? You want to be captivated not confused, remember? If your main reading time is before you drop off to sleep, books that have lots of characters and places or even a family tree at beginning are a warning that it gets complicated and you need to keep track of who is who and what they’re up to.

9. Are there lots of long sentences or are they short and sharp? Lots of short sentences usually mean action and pace. Something. Is happening. Right now. Usually it’s best to go for a story with a combination of both – one that suits your preferred action/background information mix.

10. If you still think book in your hands is worthy, randomly flip open book in 5 places and see whether it is densely packed with text. Is there dialogue at each page you stop? No dialogue usually means that a book is more descriptive rather than direct scenes. If you want a compelling read then go for something with a fair amount of dialogue; if you don’t mind a slower pace then bits of dialogue here and there is probably enough to keep you going.

If it all stacks up, buy it and enjoy. Just one more tip though. If it doesn’t captivate you in first 100 pages and you find reading it a chore, give it up. Don’t keep persisting just because you don’t like leaving things unfinished. The book won’t feel hurt if you don’t finish it. And author will never know.

There is also a seemingly endless list of plug-ins and effect that you can use to customize loops in an infinite number of ways. From adding echos to distortions you can really engineer sounds to style your looking to achieve. The software also supports surround sound editing for video so I'm really only doing software some basic justice here.

The company offers a variety of additional loop libraries plus a large amount from other vendors which can all be mixed and matched to create sound your looking for. There are loops from many different styles. Blues, Hip Hop, Techno, Jazz, Drums list is quite comprehensive.

If you're already recording music into your computer on your own with a keyboard or what have you, it can also be dropped in there along with just about any other sound you can get into your computer. For example I've taken background sounds that I've recorded onto mini disc like running water and sounds of people dining at a local eatery and mixed it with music that I've created with Acid 4.0. There's a ton of benefits in there for indie movie maker and musician alike.