Another late in the day post, but this is the only chance I’ve gotten in the last few days to type it up. I wrote down the name of the books while feeding my baby boy in the middle of the night. It took me a few of those late nights/early mornings to get it all down (I'm often very drowsy). I do have to say that I have a big comfort zone. I’m an eclectic reader, as you can see from my blog. Therefore, some of these books are going back ten or more years to when it didn’t occur to me to read books other than literary fiction and the occasional horror or sci-fi.
1. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson - It's a mystery. I don't really read mysteries. In general, they just don't appeal to me. This book was also really hyped up and I tend to shy away from books with a lot of hype. In the end, I loved it.
2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, by J.K. Rowling - It was super-hyped. It was also written for kids and I couldn't understand why so many people were reading it. I didn't think I would like it when I borrowed my boyfriend's (now my husband) copy of the book. I LOVE this series.
3. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer - Another super-hyped book. I would never have read it if my friends at work hadn't handed me the book and said, read it! I have to admit that I was definitely addicted. It also opened me up to reading more Young Adult novels. Up until Twilight, the only YA I'd read was Harry Potter. If I didn't read Twilight I most likely would never have read The Hunger Games or Wither.
4. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, by Stephen King etc. - This was my first Graphic Novel. I didn't read Graphic Novels before this, but I love the Dark Tower series, so if there was a Graphic Novel, I was going to read it. I'm so glad I did. I've read several Graphic Novels sinces and not all of them are Dark Tower related.
5. A Short History of Myth, by Karen Armstrong - I had never really read non-fiction except for philosophy. I really enjoyed this little book and it made me want to read more by this author.
6. The Crystal Shard, by R.A. Salvatore - Salvatore is my husband's favourite author, so I had to read him. This was my first Drizzt book and my first foray into Dungeons and Dragons style fantasy. It was great. I love Drizzt and have read more about him in the years since I read this book.
7. Undead and Unappreciated, by MaryJanice Davidson - I picked up this book without realizing it was the third in a series. I read it and really enjoyed it, so I picked up the first two books. Now I've read up to book seven, I think. I also would never have read the Sookie Stackhouse books if I didn't start this series first. In one of the books there's and exerpt of the fourth Sookie book. So Davidson's vampire series made me read Harris's. I love them both.
I couldn't make it to ten. I had a hard time making it to seven. I'm not actually sure number seven actually counts, but I'm keeping it in anyway. Do you read outside your comfort zone?
Like you, my taste in books is pretty broad, so I can't say I've read out of my comfort zone recently.
ReplyDeleteI have to read all the time books for work that I wouldn't otherwise pick up to read, so this week I just wrote about the ones that pleasantly surprised me.
ReplyDeleteI like your list--I felt the same way about HP and in fact it took me three tries at the book and one gander at the audio just to make it past the Dursleys into Hogwarts. By the time I made it that far, though, I was totally hooked!
I also was skeptical about reading Harry Potter not being a kid anymore but my cousin gave me the first 4 books as a gift and wowzah! It goes to show that good books transcend ages :)
ReplyDeleteI love Karen Armstrong! I think you would really enjoy A History of God, it's my favourite of hers.
ReplyDeleteAnd I still haven't got around to the Dragon Tattoo. I must be the last person on earth to have not read it!
Ehn - Dragon Tattoo just didn't work for me. I wish it had, though. I usually enjoy a gritty mystery.
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