Another great article, Elle! I read just like that (the fluid concept-grasping thing you were talking about) and it's the ultimate escapism. It's almost like virtual reality. For example, right now I'm reading Priest by Ken Bruen and though I'm not that familiar with an Irish accent, he does dialog so well that I can actually hear the voices (he's from Galway, Ireland).
I also had to laugh when I reached the part about apostrophes in names. So true! I find it immensely annoying when I pick up a fantasy novel and the character is named something unpronounceable with an apostrophe! Where did that weird trend come from? Ditto the weird symbols. In Max Barry's first novel Syrup, he named one of the main characters 6 and was going to name another one @. Arrrghh!
