Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish in which you give ten answers to the topic for the week. To find a list of upcoming topics, go here. This week’s topic is “Ten Books I Enjoyed Recently (last yearish) That Weren’t My Typical Genre/Type of Book (or that was out of your comfort zone).” Because I couldn’t come up with 10 books for this topic, I’ve decided to split it up: the first 5 are books I already read (and enjoyed) that were out of my comfort zone and the last 5 are books I would like to read that are out of my comfort zone.
Books I Enjoyed That Were Out of My Comfort Zone:
1. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
It’s out of my comfort zone because… it’s a graphic novel (I’ve only ever read 5 graphic novels)
This is definitely the best graphic novel I’ve ever read. I know because I’ve only read 5 graphic novels in my life that this isn’t saying much. However, I still really enjoyed it! The book was funny and entertaining – and I enjoyed the art style as well!
2. The Martian by Andy Weir
It’s out of my comfort zone because… it’s an adult science fiction novel (I read more YA sci-fi)
While I didn’t 100% love this book, I still enjoyed it! The main character, Mark, was definitely the best part. He was super hilarious while also being smart and resourceful – which was important given his situation. Also, I still haven’t seen the movie adaptation, but I really want to!
3. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
It’s out of my comfort zone because… it’s an adult historical fiction novel (I don’t read a lot of historical fiction)
I absolutely loved this book! It was beautifully heartbreaking and wonderfully written. At the time I read this book, I hadn’t read a lot of historical fiction (whether it be adult or YA). I loved the book so much that it made me want to read more in the genre and also more by the author (you’ll see more on that later!)
4. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
It’s out of my comfort zone because… it’s an adult science fiction novel (again, I read more YA sci-fi than adult)
This is another book I really loved! I was nervous going into it – even though I had heard nothing but good things about it. I was just worried that I wasn’t going to like it because at that time (late 2014), I had never really read an adult sci-fi novel. However, I had nothing to worry about – the book was as fantastic as everyone had said! Even though I didn’t get a lot of the 80’s references, I still completely loved the book!
5. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
It’s out of my comfort zone because… it’s a chick lit novel
This was a light and fluffy book that definitely kept me entertained! The concept of it was so highly unrealistic but it was still super fun to read. I definitely want to read more by Sophie Kinsella in the future!
Books on My TBR That Are Out of My Comfort Zone:
1. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
It’s out of my comfort zone because… it’s an adult historical fiction novel
After reading and loving Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, I knew I had to read more of his books. Since then, I have already read and enjoyed his other novel A Thousand Splendid Suns. You would think that after reading and enjoying two adult historical fiction novels I would no longer feel that this genre is “out of my comfort zone” – but I still do. However, I’m still really looking forward to reading this novel!
2. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
It’s out of my comfort zone because… it’s an adult high fantasy novel
I read a lot of fantasy. So much fantasy that I would definitely consider it my favorite genre. However, most of the time I stick to YA fantasy. This is because books like A Game of Thrones are just really daunting – mostly due to their size. A lot of the books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series are 1,000+ pages long and that’s huge! However, I still would like to try reading it so that I can (hopefully) expand my love of fantasy to include the adult genre as well.
3. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
It’s out of my comfort zone because… it’s an adult high fantasy novel
My explanation for this one is pretty much the same as what I said for A Game of Thrones. Adult high fantasy novels are just really intimidating to me for some reason! While this book isn’t as long as some other adult high fantasy novels, it’s still pretty big at 660 pages. That being said, I’m still very much looking forward to reading it!
4. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
It’s out of my comfort zone because… it has a focus on Jane Eyre
I’ve never read Jane Eyre, nor do I know much about it, but this book sounded so intriguing that I just had to put it on my TBR! If you’re interested, check out the synopsis here.
5. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
It’s out of my comfort zone because… it’s an adult historical fiction novel taking place during World War II
Out of the few historical fiction novels I’ve read, I’ve never read one that focuses on the time of World War II – so this book will definitely be out of my comfort zone! I’m looking forward to reading it though because I’ve heard nothing but good things!
What are some books that were out of your comfort zone that you ended up enjoying? What about some out of your comfort zone books you want to read? Let me know in the comments or link me to your TTT post!
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