This paper presents a joint pilot study of experiential deep-reading among students in teaching training programs in the Nordic countries. Adapting internationally developed scales on empathy in literary reading to a Nordic context, the study tested the following hypothesis: Apart from eliciting absorption, literary reading engages meta-cognitive processes that are not elicited by sub-literary text or reading conditions. The sample is too small to draw statistically valid conclusions; the presentation will instead focus on some qualitative findings indicating cultural and/or linguistic dissimilarities.