Top Ten Tuesday (2): Books Outside of Comfort Zone

Today is my second week participating in Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is books that you've read that were outside of your comfort zone. This list was a little challenging for me since I like to read almost any genre, but I did manage to find some. Links lead to my reviews for the ones I've reviewed. Here we go!

1. Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey - Okay, about two and a half years ago, one of my best friends, another Stephanie, raved to me about this book. She insisted I read it, and lent it to me. I was pretty unsure about it because I was not into fantasy or vampires at all, and stuck strictly to contemporary. I had it for a couple of months, then reluctantly started to read it. I COULD NOT put it down! I remember reading it in my film class, even. This became one of my favorite books and opened my eyes to a whole new genre(s). Now, I love reading fantasy, paranormal, and vampire books in addition to my contemporary. It also got me BACK into YA because I had stopped reading it for awhile. So thanks, Steph! I've already preordered the sequel, and cannot wait, though I wish it hadn't taken so long to come out! This was also one of the first books I ever reviewed.

2. Shiver by MaggieStiefvater - Another new topic for me: werewolves!  This was my first werewolf book. I decided to read it because of all the rave reviews. I thought it was okay, but wasn't in love. I will still read more werewolf books now, though!

3. Letters From Home by Kristina McMorris - This is a love story set during WWII. I typically do not enjoy historical novels, but I gave this one a try anyways, and it has also become one of my favorites. I have discovered that I LOVE novels set during WWII!

4. Separate Kingdoms by Valerie Laken - I usually don't enjoy short stories, or books about other countries. This was both. I was surprised to find myself really enjoying it though!

5. You Don't Love This Man by Dan DeWeese - This may sound weird, but I don't usually read books from a male POV. This one was not only from a male, but a middle aged one. How could I possibly relate? Well, I liked this book a lot.

6. Heist Society by Ally Carter - I was sent the sequel for review, so decided I'd read the first one first. I don't usually like action/adventure books, but I LOVED it! So much fun!

7. The Potluck Club series by Linda Sheperd - This is a Christian series, and I'm not Christian, but I loved the premise, so I read it anyways. I loved the series, and now am open to reading Christian fiction. If the story line sounds good, I'll read it!

8. Morpheus Road: The Light by D.J. MacHale- This was another male POV book, and it also seemed too young for me but it was so exciting I couldn't put it down! I don't read a lot of middle grade, but I do read it sometimes, and this book was what opened my eyes.

9. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos - I generally don't enjoy classics, but I have read a lot of them because my Bachelor's degree is in English Literature and I was forced to read them for my classes (oh woe is me). I loved this book though, and thought it was hilarious! It's one of the funniest books I've read and I would never have picked it up if I hadn't had to for a class. Another excellent classic? McTeague by Frank Norris... so bizarre and funny.

10. Eviction Earth by T.C. Pannone - I don't usually read sci-fi but when I was offered this book for review, I took a chance because I love space and the universe. It was a really cool read!


So what have we learned? :) It's good to read outside of your comfort zone! I was reluctant to read all of these books, yet I enjoyed every single one, and some of them are even favorites of mine now!