Have you ever read something so good that words crawled unbidden out of your mouth? I have, and it’s one of my favorite experiences as a reader.

I’m not talking about the things I consciously say. “Oh, Frodo… it’ll be okay, baby!” “Yeaaah Alanna. You go, girl.” “Tsk. Hamlet. Get over yourself.” I’m referring to those moments where a book is so surprising no amount of willpower could keep me from saying, “Oh wow… oh wow oh wow…”

Those are magical little moments, because (at least for me) they only happen on the first read-through. The end of Ted Dekker’s Thr3e was one of those moments. Thank goodness I was alone, because I believe I said “no way” about two dozen times before I remembered how to shut my voice off.

Also in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, I can recall a few unexpected gasps. During one such moment, the apartment was so quiet that the sudden noise actually scared me a little. And when I finished Calvino’s If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler, I said “Oh man!” and found myself laughing. Not out of hilarity, but because I was so thoroughly delighted.

I love these moments. I love books that take over my mind so completely that these moments exist. I love the authors behind those words.

My goal is to be that author for someone else; to make people chatty. My other goal (no less important!) is to continue having these moments as a reader. That level of being completely floored by a story is what reading is all about for me.