Same thing happens to me. When I read at home it often tends to be at night and I have trouble putting books down so I will stay up way to late and the books definitely bleed into my sleep at times. I don't usually have very good recall of my dreams though.

Many years ago when I read At the Mountains of Madness, I would wake up each morning from a nightmare I couldn't remember with my sheets completely soaked in sweat. I don't find Lovecraft scary at all and none of his other fiction ever caused the same result, but for some reason Mountains seemed to give me nightmares. While I was reading Books of the New Sun, Schismatrix, East of Eden and probably a few others I had several dreams influenced by the story. The more immersive or confusing a book is, the more it seems to effect my dreams. Straight forward fiction doesn't seem to carry over into my dreams very often.

Now there's some deep thoughts and astute observations!
" Strange how our lives were completely unaffected *until* we heard the news.
Makes me wonder how much of my realitytunnel is just 2nd hand experience and opinion. "

We create our own reality. We can only be influenced by things we see/hear/experience.

Can you get a craving for a SPECIFIC food you've never had, never seen, never heard of? No. Because it's not in your knowledge base.

But you can get cravings for things you've had in a new combination, like wanting something a little sweet, a little salty, seeking it, and finding that "kettle corn" fits that craving. That popcorn that is a little sweet and a little salty. It's got the three main junk food categories: sweet, salt, grease. Yum!

People co-create reality. Look at cultures worldwide or areas in your own location. There are some things that are important, and they are REAL to that group. But are without meaning to another group.

Ability to relate to any particular author may be limited by our own experiences. I only managed to make it through one Faye Kellerman book. Too many references to Judaism that I have no knowledge of.
www.fayekellerman.net/faq.php

Another author whose name I cannot remember wrote something like a Christian supernatural thriller with extensive references to various Catholic-related rituals or holidays or whatever. Those two authors assumed I KNEW about that background, and I didn't.

Other authors are a bit kinder, if they use something like typical Cajun phrases, they provide a pronunciation guide and definitions at the back of the book.

Murder mysteries surrounding a horse show or race track, I'm fine. I have just enough of a knowledge base to have some images in my mind to match up to terms and descriptions. Legal and medical and psychological suspense, I'm fine. I have a bit a knowledge base there too.

The more complete the descriptions and definitions by an author, the better the experience is for me. Especially necessary if it's about a topic I know nothing about, or a fictional universe. Sci-fi, aliens, history, etc.

I had read a book on spelunking. All kinds of terms I didn't know and the only imagery I had to draw on was that old movie "Journey to the Center of the Earth". LOL! AFTER reading the book, I started doing some online searches and looking at pictures of various caves. Fascinating.

Again, the book influenced my life, my daily life, by being curious about caves. And caves now can pop up in my dream world, of all kinds.

My wacky sense of humor has only gotten wackier after reading the likes of Hiaasen and Shames (two of the Florida guys). I think my neighbors can hear my hysterical laughing and snorting well into the night when I read (reread) one of their books. I end up with fantastical dreams and a grin on my face during the day for no apparent reason.