This dataset contains the text transcripts of interviews conducted with participants about their experiences of reading and thinking critically. Participants were asked about their experiences of reading, including ways they evaluated what they read; their experiences of transportation into the texts they read; their epistemological orientation; their opinions on how reading may relate to critical thinking.This study formed one component of a wider PhD research project on fiction reading and critical thinking. This study investigated readers’ experiences of critical thinking and reading, comparing fiction and nonfiction. As previous research has shown links between fiction reading and increased social and cognitive capacities, and such capacities are argued to be necessary for critical thinking, this study sought to explore a potentially unique relationship between reading fiction and critical thinking, as distinct from nonfiction. In depth interviews were conducted with participants who self-identified as readers (N = 12). Each reader was interviewed twice, first in a general discussion of their reading and critical thinking experiences, and secondly with reference to a text they selected to read. The research questions guiding this study were: a. In what ways do readers experience an influence of what they read on how they think critically? b. In what ways do readers’ experiences pertaining to question a. differ between fiction and nonfiction reading? Are there any unique associations for fiction? c. How do readers’ experiences of transportation (being immersed into the text) while reading relate to the ways in which they think critically about a text? Ethical approval for this project was granted by the UCL Ethics Committee: 15397/003

Participants were recruited via online calls for participation, seeking those who self-identified as readers of either fiction or nonfiction. 12 participants were interviewed. Each participant took part in two interview sessions, and each session lasted 30-45 minutes. Interviews had a semi-structured format. All interviews were conducted online via videoconferencing platform, audio recorded, and transcribed. Each participant was interviewed twice. In interview 1, the topics were approached in general. Participants were then asked to pick a text entirely of their choosing to read prior to interview 2, and in interview 2 the topics were revisited with reference to their selected text. Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection.