I discovered this book tag and few months ago and since then I wanted to do it, I just never found the time. So I’m finally doing it. I am the type of reader who always tries to read out of my comfort zone. I will pretty much read any genre or book, unless I know it’s just really poorly written. Even if I don’t read many science fiction or horror, I will try to read more. Recently I’ve been reading more fantasy, even if that is a genre I haven’t been into since I was a child.
Anyway, so I discovered this book tag and decided it was perfect for me. The original video was created by Emmmabooks on Youtube. So, before we get into the tag, let’s state the rule she created.
CREATE A RULE: Choose one genre/category of books that you frequently talk about in tags and don’t use ANY books from that genre for answers.
I honestly read mostly classics and use them a lot in tags, so I’m going to not use any classics in this book tag, which may be a bit difficult for me.
1. A book that is an exception when it comes to genres or elements in books that you don’t typically like.

If there is one genre/element in a genre I dislike, it’s heavy science. I was never interested in science in school, and while I enjoy science fiction books who touch on science lightly, I don’t like books filled with too many scientific explanations. Saying that, this book is filled with scientific speculation, including genes, cloning, and diseases. Despite that, I adored this book.
2. A book you enjoyed from a genre you previously held some stigma about.

I don’t like Christian Fiction. I feel weird saying that, considering I’m Catholic and some of my favorite authors are Christian, like C.S. Lewis. Saying that, the whole Christian fiction genre is just…weird. The characters don’t feel real, and usually do stupid things in the name of God (like, I’m sorry, God did not say to be stupid). Anyway, this is the first Christian book I read a couple years ago which I really enjoyed. It’s a bit like Jane Austen’s writing and it made me give Christian literature a second chance.
3. A book you didn’t know was actually out of your comfort zone until you started reading it.

Okay, I went into this book expecting it to be horror retellings of classic fairytales. Instead, it was kind of this weird, modern, messy concoction. I don’t even know how to categorize this book, but it was definitely out of my comfort zone and so bad!
4. Pick a friend that motivates you to pick up books you might not normally be interested in. What is one book out of your norm that they convinced you to give a try?

I’ll go with my boyfriend, just because I’ve been borrowing a couple of his books recently. He reads mostly fantasy and science fiction, which are the two genres I don’t read much of. He lent me this book, The Thran, which is in the universe of a famous card game, and I absolutely loved it.
5. A book that is out of your comfort zone that you would like to read.

This book and other books like it are out of my comfort zone less because of the genre and more because of the length. Sitting at over a 1000 pages, it’s an incredibly daunting task to read. I find myself doing this a lot, where I avoid books of that length because I am just not comfortable taking so long to read a book. I do read longer books, they just are always a lot of work to get through.
6. A book or genre so out of what you normally read that you’ll probably never give it a(nother) chance.
Smut…erotica…not sure what genre it would fit into. Romance that is raunchy and pointless. Just…never. Besides that, I would give any other genre a chance.
What are some genres/books outside your comfort zone? Do you try to explore more genres you normally don’t read? Have you read any of these books? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments, follow my blog for more musings and, as always,
Best wishes in your life full of adventure,
Madame Writer
Great post! I wonder what you would think of “Jonathan Strange”. I thought it was absolutely brilliant. However, it is written in that episodic fashion that reminds of Charles Dickens so one can even say that “there is nothing really going on” there and Clarke largely focused on describing the atmosphere and characters. I am dying to read her new book “Piranesi”. I would love to explore the Christian genre more and it is a pity that there are no more good books in that genre. I never even looked in the direction of “Fifty Shades of Grey”, and, I guess, some very recent and very popular YA books are also a little out of my comfort zone, and I would love to pick up something very popular in that area in future and read it.
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I really want to read Jonathan Strange, but the length really intimidates me. But I didn’t know it was written in episodic fashion, but I have loved all of Charles Dickens’s books so I might not mind. As for YA, there are also a lot of popular new books I want to read, but they are definitely out of my comfort zone too.
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Hmmm, I’ve read a lot of genres for I was ‘shopping’ around when I first ventured out of my comfort zone. It appears that Romance is my least favorite, but if some action or comedy is thrown in, I’ll try it. I still dislike Christian Fiction, but there’s some on my TBR so hopefully, there’ll be a good one or two.
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I agree. Romance and Christian fiction just aren’t usually good. Saying that, in both genres have are a few rare jewels.
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Yes, too few!
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I seem to avoid non-fiction but pretty much read any fiction genre if it’s by a half-way decent author. What I don’t like is being mislead about the contents and this often happens with crime or fantasy novels where they become explicit or gruesome – I can’t do gruesome!
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Non-fiction is hard for me to get into too. And I can’t do gruesome too!
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I don’t read books under the Horror genre. I get scared easily and might dream of it so no. Nice post. 😀
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I understand. I feel the same about horror movies, because they are so creepy!
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Yeah, the book is better (isn’t that always the way, haha).
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It is usually the case, unfortunately. The book is usually better.
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Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is great! Yes, it’s a chunky beast and a pretty “dense” read but personally, I loved it. Maybe you could try the TV series if you’re not up for reading it?
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I’ve seen parts of the TV series and I didn’t really like it. But I will definitely read the book eventually, even if it’s big.
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Erotica. Reminds me so much of Fifty Shades of Grey and the reasons why I will never dare touch it. I agree with you on erotica.
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So true! I avoided Fifty Shades of Grey too.
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