10 Times I Was Attacked By the 5 Senses While Reading

Hi readers and writerly friends!

Last week in Bookish Things, I reviewed Karsten Knight’s Wildefire Trilogy and this week, we’re going over ten times I was attacked by the five senses while reading. I got this idea from C. G. Drews of Paperfury (she’s SUPER awesome so don’t forget to check her out!) Some of our experiences overlap and I’ sure you guys can relate so keep reading to find out more about ten times when I was assaulted by the five senses while reading.

From elaborate writing that triggers your sense of smell or makes you hungry to sticky library books—that elicit a far more physical response—I’ve had plenty of run-ins with the senses while reading. This is a phrase C. G. uses in her blog post about the same topic, and I can totally relate to how she feels. I personally feel like I’m equally as sensory perceptive as she is and many of her own stories of sensory assault while reading hit close to home for me. While I don’t easily remember math formulas or Pi in its entirety, there is a little corner of my brain dedicated to immortalizing these sensory experiences so I can drool and shudder at them for all eternity.

With that being said, let’s talk about

I’ve also written blog posts on Immersive Reading With Audio Books and Reading With the Five Senses. I must really love sensory posts, huh? I also plan to write one that covers books that made me really hungry in the future so stay tuned!

1.  The time when a library book cover was sticky

I had to put this one at the top of the list for obvious reasons. Sketchy, sticky substances on library book covers are so beyond upsetting. *Gag noises* ugh, just give me a minute to collect myself here.

This hasn’t happened to me for a while since I’ve been buying my own books as opposed to happening upon a blood-soiled book cover in the library. It’s blood, isn’t it?

Don’t get me wrong, libraries and bookstores are incredible and quite possibly my favorite place to be, short of a secluded forest or curled up, cozy in my covers with a good book. But the truth is, this unfortunate occurrence has happened more times than I’d like to remember and it’s always with library books. I’m still shuddering.

2.  The time a book fell apart when I picked it up

I usually get my books at half-priced bookstores, thrift shops, and library sales, but this actually happened to me in the sanctity of my own home. The audacity of some books, smh. My dad was going through some old items and told me I could have a book that had belonged to my mom. It was The Lady of The Lake by Sir Walter Scott, published by Maynard Merrill, & Co., published in 1908. I picked it up and the front cover came clear off the book.

The Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott. Photo by Payton Hayes.

This 100+ year old book just…

DISENTIGRATED

IN MY HANDS

Yeah. Just like that.

R.I.P. Lady of The Lake.

3. The time a book I damaged a book’s cover

Here’s a throwback. This is an olddddddd photo of me with said book back in high school. Thank God for puberty. Photo by Payton Hayes.9

Okay, book police, cuff me and haul me away now, because yes, this most certainly is a travesty. For a good chunk of 9th grade, I carried around a trilogy that came in the form of one, massive tome of a book—the War of the Ancients Trilogy by Richard A. Knaak. It’s keystone story in the World of Warcraft universe and I just couldn’t get enough of it. It took me a long time to read it because a) the sheer volume of that thing. It had to be like, what, 800+ pages or something? It was A BRICK. and because b) it was my first year of high school and I was dealing with a lot as a freshman, so sadly reading got put on the back burner for a while. 

That being said, this book spent a lot of 2012 sitting around in my backpack, being carried around with my less-appreciated school textbooks and binder, left behind in classrooms as I struggled to get from one high school hellhole to the next. And thus, that book was certainly worse for wear.

And it was totally my fault. I often considered stealing that book from MCHS because of it’s quaint, “well-loved” (let’s be real, I treated that book like garbage 😭.) quality and replacing it with a new version so students before me could appreciate the words with in it without being distracted by how dusty and bedraggled my copy was. Legend has it, that book is still in my old high school’s library to this day.

I don’t know, I just find something charming in a well-loved, worn book. I’ve added a quote from Jocelyn of the 52 Letters in the Alphabet Blog because she just so perfectly describes how I feel about this:

In these crumpled pages and broken spines are signs that these books have been loved, not just by me, but by my entire family. There is history trapped in these books, and to replace them in the name of cleanliness would destroy that history. When I see these worn-out books, I smile, because they make me remember just how much I’ve loved them throughout the years.

—Jocelyn of 52 Letters in the Alphabet

Read more of her blog post about broken spines and crumpled pages here.

And that’s just how I feel about the massive brick of a book I read back in high school and how I feel about many of my own well-loved books. I remember what it was like to carry them around in and out of school, to stay up into the unholy hours of the night ravenously devouring them, and to come back to the little imperfections they developed as a result of my reading them year after year and it’s special.

4. The time a book cover wasn’t even

When I bought Shadow and Bone, the first book in the like-named trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, I was absolutely stunned. This was my first time seeing the front cover of a book not line up flush with the edges of the pages and the back cover.  AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN WITH THE OTHER TWO BOOKS, Ruin and Rising, and Siege and Storm. Honestly, what is the point of this? So, you can have those little strips of red and gold? I just don’t understand. My copies of Station Eleven and Ghosted are like this too. I can’t comprehend the purpose of this design choice. C.G. says she thought it was a printing error, and honestly, same. I don’t know if I can take another uneven book cover. 😵

The Grisha Saga by Leigh Bardugo. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Three Books with uneven covers. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Three Books with uneven covers. Photo by Payton Hayes.

A book with deckled edges. Photo by Payton Hayes.

5.  My first time with deckled edges

Piggybacking on the note about uneven book covers, deckled edges are another book design choice that caught me off guard. I thought this was a print design error as well. My first run-in with deckeled edges was in the Midwest City Dollar tree where I found a ton of really neat books but they ALL had deckled edges. My first instinct was that they were imperfect copies or something, but noooo. They were like that on purpose.

I repeat:

WHY???

6. The time the cover was soft or pettable

Okay, so deckled is a word and pettable isn’t? Microsoft Word, I want a refund!

I’ve actually seen this a few times in my bookish adventures but the first time I stumbled upon pettable covers it threw me. I personally prefer glossy or matte covers, but the ones with the velvet-y, hairlike texture is another thing entirely. When my sister and I found ourselves in the book aisle at Walmart, we were met with this combination of upset, cringe, and intrigue as we picked up a velvet-covered, forest-green YA fantasy novel and it practically purred as we stroked the cover. Okay, maybe it didn’t purr, but it made my sister shudder in disgust and that was entertaining. I liked the texture, but it’s safe to say that she’s not much of a fan.

Also R.I.P.Kobe.

7. Raised Titles (Also Pettable)

On a similar note as the soft and pettable covers thing, raised titles are just the best. I mean you could probably think of a handful of books with raised lettering and whether its matte or glossy, it’s nice to just sit and stroke the letters while murmuring incoherently and drooling at the…

Oh, just me?

Okay.

But you can’t deny that raised letters are quite satisfying. The Angel Trilogy by L.A. Weatherly comes to mind for me. I may or may not spend time gently tracing the raised letters and lovely, intricate gold filigree as I read. Totally normal. Who would not do this? Also, raised titles always seem to make the book feel a whole lot fancier and shinier and more precious!

8. Broken Spines

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Coming back around to broken spines and well-loved books, I have to mention my first time with a book that had a broken spine. This was actually pretty recent for me—about a week ago, I realized I was missing some classics from my collection and went to the half-priced book store to pick them up. I stumbled across a few copies of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mocking Bird and they were all pretty trashed. However, I did find one with it’s cover mostly intact and only the running, jagged lines down the spine serving as the only other indication this book had seen some things. I personally don’t think I have it in me to break a book’s spines but I know it doesn’t make a book any less whole if it has a broken spine. Just think of it this way—it’s a lot easier to read now, right?

9. Audiobooks

Okay, so this is an obvious one, but audiobooks are undoubtedly a sensory experience. And don’t even get me started on the dramatized versions. I once bought the Fellowship of the Ring dramatized audiobook and it caught me so off guard. There were character voices and music and all kinds of nonsense that I was just not ready for.

10. That good, good book smell

If you’re at all bookish, then you must have, at least once in your life, sniffed a book. I can’t explain it, it’s just heavenly. Brb real quick, I have to go find a book to sniff.

Inhale. Exhale.

Ah, there it is—that wonderfully paper-y scent with notes of ink and dead tree flesh.

Okay, now I know I sound like a crazy person.

But I see you, you book-sniffer, you. Don’t think I don’t know that you’ve done this too.

Enjoy these carefully selected book-sniffing memes for your viewing pleasure.

And that’s it for my ten sensory reading experiences. Are there any particular sensory memories that stick out to you? Can you relate to any of these? And please answer if you (a) sniff books, (b) enjoy petting textured covers, and (c) how you feel about deckled edges! Let me know in the comments below!

And don’t forget to check out C.G.’s post here! I wouldn’t have thought to write this post if it wasn’t for her!

Check out my post 10 Times A Book Made Me Hungry and read more from Reader Life and Bookish Things!

—Payton

Get Immersed in Your Reading/ Writing With The 5 Senses

In the writing world, we always hear about ‘showing instead of telling’ but what if we, as readers helped bring the stories to life, ourselves. I’ve talked a little about immersion reading, on this blog before, but this takes it to a whole new level.

Sight

Of course, first and most impactful sense is that of sight, and it makes sense that we’d use that sense in our reading immersion. However, what might not be so obvious is that readers can create an environment in their minds, in the tangible world around them, and online to bring the stories their reading to life. First, I would create or save an existing pintrest board that is made specifrically for your story. This is something I’ve been doing as a writer and it helps make my fantasy worlds more real and believable when I have something to actually look at.

Sound

The next most important sense is that of sound. You might be listening to an audiobook which definitely employs this sense. But if your reading a hard copy or e-book, you can also enjoy this kind of immersion. You can listen to playlists made for the genre of the story your reading, such as “Celtic Woods” for fantasy or “Dungeon Music” for a thriller. I really enjoy listening to video game soundtracks, and two of my favorites are the Assassin’s Creed Origins Soundtrack and the Ashenvale Soundtrack from World of Warcraft. Likewise, you can also create ambient soundscapes to play in the background while you’re reading. There are tons of ready-made mixes, such as “The Slytherin Common Room” or “Rivendell” on Ambient-Mixer.com!

Smell

The third sense, and one of the easiest to employ is that of smell. When I really want to feel immersed in the story I’m reading or writing, I will light a candle or put oils in my diffuser to give my environment a new scent and pull me deeper into the story. If you want to feel like you’re in a fall environment, you can burn a pumpkin-spiced or apple-cinnamon candle

Touch

This is one of the lesser-used senses for immersion reading but it can be incredibly effective, especially if the story is set in a certain season. (And even more effective if that season is active while you’re reading the story!) Touch sort of ties in with Smell in that if you want to feel like you’re in a certain season, you can manipulate your reading environment to match the conditions of the story! So, the story’s set in a frozen wasteland? You can just turn the A/C all the way up! (…or not.)

Taste

While not altogether impossible, this is easily the most difficult of the five senses to employ when immersing yourself in a story. Consider the setting and characters in the story and what they might eat or drink and try to recreate it. If you enjoy snacking while you read, then make something from or inspired by the story. Consider making fictitious dishes. Perhaps the characters drink tea or coffee? Brew yourself a cup, cozy up and get immersed.

What do you think about immersive reading with the 5 senses? Have you ever tried this? Let me know in the comments below!

Thumbnail photo by lilartsy.

—Payton