Welcome!

Since you’re here, you’ve probably done the apple test before.

If not, try to visualise an apple in your mind: can you actually see one, or is it only a conceptual knowing of what an apple looks like? Is it in colour? Can you turn it around, or make a worm wriggle its way in? There’s a spectrum from no mental imagery ability (aphantasia, about 3% of people) to vivid visualisation (hyperphantasia, around 5%), with the majority falling somewhere in the middle.

This idea of a ‘mind’s eye’ has held a completely different meaning to those of us with aphantasia, and it’s only in the past decade or so that we’ve tried to understand how that might affect us. Research is being published, public awareness is building, and a growing community is figuring out what that means.

I’m most interested in how this affects our reading experience. If we can’t see a film in our minds as we read, how does that impact the books we pick up? Some believe aphantasia is the reason they’ve rarely enjoyed reading, while others gravitate to particular genres or authors. I have aphantasia myself, and I believe there’s a book out there for all of us.