Proximal Reading

So, today at lunch, I had the most amazing experience.

I was reading Kraken by China Miéville which was referred to me by a friend.  It's a bit of an odd book.  The language is semi-colloquial British, and then there's the strangeness going on in the book, and then there's the strange characters int he book with their own strange speech patterns, and so all in all, it's a bit strange.

So I'm reading at lunch, sitting at my table in the little rented house, and I'm getting into the book.  Then as I sank into the book, it was like I felt my friend sitting next to me.  It was like she was in the non-existent chair next to me reading her own book.  I just wanted to turn to her and say, "This is a pretty messed up part right here."

It was that real.  And I've never had that feeling before.