"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Monday, November 7, 2011

Ten Books I read that were outside my comfort zone


Top Ten Tuesday Topic: Ten books I read that were outside my comfort zone. This will be a tough list for me to create since, as my husband says, "You'll read anything, Anne." This is very true. I am comfortable with just about every genre and topic.  That said, here are a few books/types I remember feeling uncomfortable about as I read them:
Books---
1. The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey---the horror genre is not for me and this book is scary!
2. Punkzilla by Adam Rapp--- very edgy realistic fiction.  A few too many swear words and truly uncomfortable situations for my comfort zone.
3. Lolita by Vladimir Nabocov---Pedophilia, I sure hope no one is comfortable with this topic. I know I wasn't.
4. Library Wars, Vol.1 by Kiiro Yumi---Japanese manga. I got all confused what direction I supposed to read the frames and I kept doing it backwards which made the story very confusing.  Ha!
5.  Tweak by Nic Sheff---I usually enjoy memoirs about people over-coming drug addiction but this book had too many minute details about drug use for my comfort level.

Genres/Topics---
 1. Formula books... you know the kind where you could write the story because you know the formula for the plot?  I cannot make myself read these type of books.
2. Biographies/Memoirs of people where I disagree with their politics or values. I also don't read memoirs about people who are famous for a short time or because they are rich, etc. What could I possibly learn from them that I would care about?
3. Gratuitous sex or foul language---I don't avoid books that contain sex or language but it makes me cringe when it is over-the-top or gratuitous.
4. Horror genre---I don't DO scary.  I mean it.  I get scared by scary books (and movies) and I actually have nightmares.  Not worth it.
5. ...and zombies; sea monsters... I'm sorry but I just don't like the books which add zombies or monsters to classics such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. 




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12 comments:

  1. AllisonNovember 7, 2011 at 9:34 PM

    Lolita is DEFINITELY outside my comfort zone too, I've never been able to pick it up.

    (and of course I don't think you're boring for liking The Shipping News! I love when people like books I don't.)

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  2. MichelleNovember 7, 2011 at 11:13 PM

    Regarding formula books: A lot of YA books clearly follow a standard formula; but some can keep you hooked, and some really can't! I find myself increasingly frustrated with YA contemporary romance. Thanks for stopping by my list and commenting :) I can see we have some similar themes and genres on our lists!

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  3. jacob nerudaNovember 8, 2011 at 3:09 AM

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  4. April BooksAndWineNovember 8, 2011 at 5:08 AM

    Lolita is outside of my comfort zone too, but I haven't read it yet, although I want to because you know, it's literature and all.

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  5. Helen's Book BlogNovember 8, 2011 at 5:54 AM

    Great list. I have real trouble with true fantasy, what I call "badgers with swords" books (somehow Harry Potter was great though). And I agree about the celebrity books just because they are famous. I'm just not impressed.

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  6. AnonymousNovember 8, 2011 at 5:59 AM

    Ha Ha! As much as I love zombies/horror, I am not sure I can bring myself to read P&P&Z anytime soon! It sounds so silly!!

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  7. TrishNovember 8, 2011 at 6:08 AM

    Yeah, Lolita. Uncomfortable topic, but apparently so very well written. It's on my TBR shelf so I'm not sure yet how I'll feel about it all when I finally get to reading it.

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  8. Bev HankinsNovember 8, 2011 at 8:03 AM

    I don't do horror..or zombies, etc. either. And NO--don't mix them with Jane Austen (or the other classics)!

    Here's my top ten, if you'd like to take a peek: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2011/11/top-ten-tuesday-out-of-comfort-zone.html

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  9. Jenni ElyseNovember 8, 2011 at 11:16 AM

    I also cringe with the language and sex is over the top. I don't mind books that contain them, but when I feel like the author is just using them as a shock factor, I cringe and I think it demeans the story.

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  10. AnonymousNovember 8, 2011 at 3:25 PM

    Pedophiles make me see red, as do rapists, and yet I loved Lolita - it's hard to say "I really enjoyed it" but truth is, I did. The writing and the character, especially the first half, was so well done. But what I really found interesting about it was my reaction to it, to Humbert - it was fascinating. To me, anyway!

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  11. LBCNovember 8, 2011 at 6:16 PM

    Lolita certainly has a terrible subject matter, but it is such a wonderful book. I like horror, but sometimes find it formulaic.

    Laura @ The Scarlet Letter.

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  12. Anne@HeadFullofBooksNovember 9, 2011 at 4:56 PM

    Lolita is one of the most beautifully written books ever. It is a not-to-missed book but it certainly has a despicable main character that made me feel very uncomfortable when I read it.

    ReplyDelete

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