Fluency in L2 reading often seems a distant goal, and pleasure in the experience of L2 reading even more unattainable. This study investigated comparative EFL reading projects for university-age learners, using graded literature at one university and an authentic memoir at a second. The study explored whether integrating listening to audiobooks along with reading (bimodal input) outside class-time, with follow-up reading circles in class, could improve L2 reading experiences for the students. The survey results from the semester-length projects in four courses showed listening to audiobooks, whether preceding, simultaneously with, or after reading was consistently credited by the learners for self-observed improvements in skills. Learners indicated that reading and listening to L2 English was eased by the experience of autonomous outside-class listening and reading, and a majority found reading circles valuable. The integrated projects gained high approval with participants overall. The results suggest that L2 learners at various levels of reading fluency can benefit from bimodal options to support building their skills, and opportunities to share and discuss meaningful stories with peers can improve learners' L2 reading experiences. Patterns in participants' choices for input integration offer implications for further study and reading fluency-building applications.