What's In a Reading Experience?

When I talk about ‘reading experiences’ I’m not just talking about the way in which we experience literature when reading it. A ‘reading experience’ also refers to the fact that some books stay with us. We may remember the experience of reading it at the time and then, as if taken back in time, relive that experience or at least, wish to relive it.

A reading experience therefore becomes more important the more we seek to remember it. If you’ve ever heard someone say ‘if I could read any book for the first time again, it would be that one.’ That is the person attempting to relive the experience of reading it through the memory of the reading experience. Therefore, they are still experiencing reading.

I know this may sound nonsensical and some people may think it is a bit silly, but I think these are the most important books in your life. They don’t even have to be your favourite books ever. They are just books where the experience of reading them seems to constantly come back to you because they may have changed something about you, they may have challenged your beliefs on something or - they may have immersed you so much that reality didn’t quite cut it anymore.

There are thousands of reasons we do this and I’d like to share a couple of recent ones of my own with you. These are reading experiences from the last decade where I have not quite managed to get away. I won't be going through all of them because that will make the article too long. But I've chosen a few to go through, specifically because they are not my favourite books ever and yet still managed to stick in my mind.

Some Great Reading Experiences from the Last Decade

1. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

A few years back, I found this book on the Reddit Book Club and it kind of gave me a reason to read it. You see, I had been looking at the book for some time. I'd see it in the library, I'd see it in the bookshop and I'd go to pick it up but then think: 'this really doesn't look like my thing'. After spending a long while reading it during the book club, I would try to find excuses to read it more and again. It became clear that I was, in part, actually enjoying it even though it did not start off that way. By the end, I was left challenged about the books I enjoy and that maybe I need to expand my reading. But what I know now is that even though it has been a few years, I still can't shut up about it.

2. Pulphead by John Jeremiah Sullivan

I read this in the last few months and it was honestly one of the most incredible reading experiences I've had in a while. I started reading it one night for only about half an hour before having to put it down for bed - I had work the next day. I took the book to work with me and spent so long immersed in the reader, I didn't hear my coworker calling my name until I looked up and they were standing in front of me. I ultimately ended up writing a deep-dive into it instead of a simple book review. This book taught me that even though I might think that there's not much point in reading philosophical essays by people who aren't philosophers - there definitely is. There's a definite point and this is it: it can be so much more than just philosophy. It can be a reflection of all emotion and experience.

3. Kafka was the Rage by Anatole Broyard

I actually remember the exact situation in which I was reading this book. I was twenty years' old and on a coach going to the Lake District for some university thing (no, I don't remember exactly what I was doing but I do remember the book!) I spend the entirety of the coach journey reading. The book was so entirely immersive that I was completely taken. The story of post-war disillusionment reminded me of (as it does remind everyone of) A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. But I found Kafka was the Rage to present us with more concern and discontent. It is a short book and when I got to the end, I went right back to the beginning and read it over again. I've read it many times since and I've tried to get as many people as possible to read it. It is underrated and fantastic and for the life of me, I don't even remember how I found out about it. All I know is that I love it. After reading the book, it made its way on to my top twenty favourite books of all time.

4. The Romantic by William Boyd

I have to tell you about this book and if you have been here long enough then you're probably sick of me talking about it already. The Romantic by William Boyd was the best fiction novel I read in 2024 and honestly, it has to be one of the best books I've ever read full stop. After finishing it, I was left with a feeling of absolute awe and I can tell you, I very rarely ever feel awe. I spent about two or three days reading it because every time I put the book down, I wanted to write in my journal about it. Centring on a protagonist named Cashel and his incredible life, this book absolutely consumed me. I found myself unable to pull myself away and for that fact, I got very little sleep whilst this book was in my life. This is one of those books where I can recall the feeling of reading it vividly and I knew that every word was perfectly selected for the text. This was another book which made its way quickly in to my top twenty favourite books of all time.

5. The Book of American Martyrs by Joyce Carol Oates

I have to say I didn't think I was going to read this book as quickly as I did. It was simply fantastic, I was entirely taken by the carefully woven storyline in which we are presented with two opposing people. One of which works in an abortion clinic and the other who protests against abortion. The crime that follows sends ripples through the families, exhausting them both and whether they are the family of the criminal or the victim seems not to matter anymore. I remember reading it when I was supposed to be doing something else, but I simply couldn't put the book down. It was a cheap copy I had found online and had been wrapped in a strange plastic by the seller. The book had a muggy and old scent to it, but I still would not let it go. If you want your beliefs on good and evil challenged, then you want to read this book.

6. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton

When I read this book in the recent months, I had to tell everyone about it. I think you all know about how I haven't been able to stop going on about Tim Winton after having discovered his books. I just wish I had read this book sooner rather than later. I remember reading the first half of it and I was so invested in the characters I couldn't drag myself away. We have, in that cast, the character of Fish - who's real name is Samson. I just wept when reading about him. It is one of the most heartbreaking stories I've read in a while and honestly, if you're looking to start some Tim Winton I would highly recommend this one. The whole book only took me one Saturday to read and it was cold - but this book is like a heartbreaking hug of warmth. I didn't even feel the drop in temperature that much.

7. The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig

I remember reading this book very clearly because the first few chapters made me cry. It was the pandemic, I believe and I wanted to read absolutely anything and everything I could get my hands on. I'm not someone who can get into TV shows very easily and it probably would've been cheaper and easier if I was one of them. However, The Post-Office Girl was one of those books where when you're stuck inside during a global pandemic, you just get all these emotions over. About a girl in a poverty-stricken context, she is the definition of isolated. Alongside Stefan Zweig's beautiful writing, this book happens to be one of those books where if you don't get upset about it then you're probably lying.

8. The Trip to Echo Spring by Olivia Laing

I read this book in the back of a car, again during the pandemic. I don't remember entirely where I was going but I was sitting in the back of a car wearing earphones and listening to ambient music. I don't want to talk too much about why I was reading this book but I will say this: there's something about this book that still hits me like bricks. It is about six writers who were great at their craft yet, they all have one thing in common: alcoholism. The author takes a trip across the USA to investigate the contexts and comes out with some great analysis.

9. The Most of Nora Ephron by Nora Ephron

Two years' ago I read a brilliant book called The Most of Nora Ephron. I was reading it whilst walking around my mother's house and telling her about stuff that was in the book: hyper-focused on the recipe for a ricotta-based omelette which is served with jam. I did end up cooking it and trying it after remembering that I'm not a huge fan of jam or ricotta. So that was simply great (sarcasm intended). She wrote some great stuff about those 'Boston Photographs' and in her outspoken style, about how Dorothy Parker was a huge influence on her. That book was truly a masterpiece of wit that I could read over and over again. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea where the book is at this moment.

10. Three Martini Afternoons at the Ritz by Gail Crowther

If someone ever says that you should read a book about either Sylvia Plath or Anne Sexton, then it has to be this one that you choose. Gail Crowther's book may make their lives seem glamorous but, as we scratch the surface, things become frightening and frought with anger and madness. I remember reading this book because I had heard of it in the Times Literary Supplement. I read about it and then became obsessed with finding the book for myself. When I had read it I had to sit back and think about it for some time. Now, whenever I think about reading a book on one of these two writers, I cannot help but compare it to Gail Crowther's brilliant achievement of literature.

11. Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann

When I first heard about this book I was hyper-fixated on reading it as soon as possible. It was meant to be a mixture between folk horror and adventure and it was exactly that. I devoured the whole thing in one day again, when I was supposed to be doing something else but hey - it could wait. Tyll is set in the 17th century and details the escapades of the runaway and a baker's daughter. It starts a bit weird and intense but then, we get a real taste of the creeping wickedness of the genre and the writer's talents for it. I found it fantastic and I simply cannot forget how much I was immersed in it.

12. The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rjineveld

I remember reading this book back when I had an Instagram account and I was trying to get other people to read it. I was still reading it at the time and taking it in steps because the book deals with some quite rough topics such as grief through the eyes of a child. By the time I got to the end of the book, I was absolutely and emotionally finished. I was sobbing. I cannot stop thinking about how upset I was after reading this book and I still can't even though I read it some years' ago now. The ending is so emotional I don't think it will ever leave me.

13. War Stories edited by Sebastian Faulks and Jörg Hensgen

There's only one thing scarier that fictional horror and that is nonfictional horror. I remember reading this book when again, I was pacing around my mother's house. It was actually before breakfast and I remember that because I all of a sudden wasn't too hungry anymore. Parts of this book were so graphic I had to put the book down and, when I tried to convince my brother to pick it up he simply said "no thanks." There's some stuff in here that makes it much worse because it probably happened to people. It took me a while to get through it because I would lose my appetite thinking about the horrors the soldiers went through and knowing them in such detail. I cannot forget that experience at all.

14. Mrs March by Virginia Feito

I was teaching and well, there were two or three teachers in the room including myself (I can't remember exactly how many of us there were). The kids were meant to do a test for the rest of the lesson and so, I had nothing to do and I wasn't about to just sit behind a computer for the next hour when I had to do that next period anyway. I had taken my newest find Mrs March to work with me and so, I relaxed against a wall at the back of the room and immersed myself in the book. Needless to say I set a timer on my phone not for the end of the test, but to wake me up into the real world once again. Of course, I didn't tell the kids that - I told them it was for their test. But when I snapped back into reality after reading half of the book, I was shocked at how much I wanted to read it and get on with learning more about our fascinating character. So, at lunch I finished the book. I still can't forget how good it was, especially the ending - which the author made to look inevitable. A dark comedy at its finest.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this article. Remember, to have a memorable reading experience doesn't mean the books have to be your favourite books ever. It just means that there was something about them you couldn't quite forget. It stays with you like a literary haunting.