Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that was created over at The Broke and the Bookish! The topic for this week is supposed to be books that I am thankful for, but since I am Canadian I already wrote a post like this for Thanksgiving in October. Here is a link to that post in case you are curious!
I thought that this would be a great opportunity to catch up on a TTT topic that I missed but wanted to write anyway! I decided to share ten of the books that I have read that were out of my comfort zone. For a long time my comfort zone was very much historical and literary fiction, but since I started blogging I have made more of an effort to branch out and I have been loving it!
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
I was never a lover of SciFi before I picked up Sleeping Giants on a whim. I heard a few people talked about this book and felt compelled to read it. Sleeping Giants opened up a whole new world (or should I say universe) for me! I have now read and loved a few SciFi novels this year, which I never would have done if I didn’t read Sleeping Giants, and its sequel- Waking Gods.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
I had heard about The Night Circus for years but never picked it up because I rarely read fantasy novels, and if I did they were usually Young Adult. When I started watching booktube I noticed that so many people adored this book and I had to know what all the hype was about. I loved this book! It also opened my eyes to how beautiful fantasy novels can be. I truly believe that if I hadn’t read The Night Circus, I would never have been compelled to pick up books like A Darker Shade of Magic, and that would be a shame!
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Of course I had heard about Agatha Christie but I had no desire to pick up any of her novels. I thought that I was not a fantasy of murder mysteries, but once again I was proven wrong. Honestly, if this book was not made in to a movie I never would have read it! I now want to read more of her books, and I am hoping to read And Then There Were None really soon.
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
I am not a fan of horror or scary movie or novels. I actually had no idea what Night Film was about when I picked it up. I saw it for a really good price, and had heard a few people talk about it so decided to buy it. This book was such a wild ride! I was so spooked by it, but I really enjoyed it! I still am not a horror fan, with the exception of Night Film.
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
SciFi, strange format, and over 600 pages? There is no way I would ever have picked up Illuminae if it was not for all of the hype! This book was such a trill to read. I have never had such a unique reading experience in my life!
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
Young Adult contemporary romance is definitely not a genre that I usually gravitate to, but something about this series intrigued me! I am so happy that I picked the first book up because I ended up binge reading the trilogy- which is something that I never do. This has opened my eyes to the fact that there are a lot of great contemporary romance novels out there. I am open to recommendations as well!
Fight Club by Chuck Palahnuik
Fight Club is a movie that I have never seen and a book that I thought I would never read. I had heard someone on YouTube talking about how Chuck Palahniuk was their favourite author and the way the described Fight Club made me want to read it. This book is genius, and probably has my favourite ending of all time. I want to read more of his books!
Slaugtherhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
I felt the same way about Slaughterhouse-Five as I did about Fight Club. For some reason I never thought I would read any of Vonnegut’s books! After reading Fight Club, I decided to try something new and wow! This book is amazing! Breakfast of Champions is now high on my TBR.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
I have always played video games with my younger brother but I was never big in to the gamer culture. When I heard about Ready Player One I did not expect to ever read it. One day I went to the bookstore with my brother and we decided to both buy a copy and read it. Long story short we both loved it. It is now one of my favourite books of all time and I am always on hunt for books that are similar to it!
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
I had heard a lot about Neil Gaiman so I wanted to read one of his books. I went in to The Ocean at the End of the Lane not really knowing what it was about. As I was reading it I remember thinking that this is a book that I never would have read if I had known how strange and eerie it was. I stuck with it and, not surprisingly, I loved it!
I thought that this was a really interesting topic, and would love to know some of the books that you have read that were out of your comfort zone!
thank for sharing this list! there are many books on it that i still want to read and you give me a reason to pick them up like now. just don’t know where to start: ready player one, murder on the orient express, the ocean at the end of the lane – aaaahhh #bookwormcrisis 😂
So many books so little time!!
yeeees 😭😭😭
What an amazing list! I only started to read scifi last year because I always thought it wasn’t for me and I was so wrong. Sleeping Giants has been on my TBR ever since I heard of it in March and I really need to read it. 😀
That is exactly how I felt about SciFi. Sleeping Giant is so epic and well done. It is my favourite SciFi so far!
amazing list!!! Neil Gaiman is an amazing writer – and the Ocean was spellbinding as I expected. I still need to read Ready Player One, and I already requested Murder on the Orient Express. The Night Circus wasn’t as wowing for me – because I can’t remember a thing anymore. oops. 😀
Gaiman really is a genuis! You are going to love Ready Player One. It is fantastic! I can see what you mean about The Night Circus.
I’m looking forward to Ready Player One, but I’m also a little nervous. I already picked it up once but never got far into the book before I put it back down. I saw the trailer and it sounds like a very complex and layered story. Wish me luck!!!
Good luck! I think that once you get deeper in to it you will become hooked! So good and fun to read!
I was looking at Sleeping Giants at the bookstore this weekend, but I couldn’t decide if it would be something I’d like or not. It does sound interesting though. Maybe I should give it a go…
It is so interesting and unique! I hope you love it if you do pick it up!
You’ve got great books on that list! I have Ready Player One next in line to read, and I’m so excited! Kurt Vonnegut’s book was also out of my comfort zone, but I really enjoyed it.
I think you are going to love Ready Player One! I can not wait to read more Vonnegut!
I’m so happy you ended up reading To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before! Definitely an amazing read. I haven’t gotten around to reading the third one yet (it’s always checked out of the library), but I hope to soon.
The third one is actually my favourite! So much character development!
I had to read a lot of British literature for a British literature course and everything for that class was out of my comfort zone: Remains of the Day (which I ended up loving), Portrait of a Young Main, Virginia Wolf, and a few more.
I think that is a great thing about taking courses like that. I will definitely have to add Remains of the Day to my list!
I LOVED Illuminae. I was a bit afraid of the way it was written, and you have to get into it, but I loved it so much that I wanted to start over halfway through, just because I didn’t want it to end.
Also like To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. Wasn’t really sure when I started, but ended up enjoying it a lot!
The way Illuminae is so unique! It definitely took me awhile to get used to but I ended up loving the style as well!
To All The Boys is just such a sweet and charming story!
Great topic and excellent book choices. For YA contemporary romances, I recommend Morgan Matson. Oh, and this year I’ve read a couple Kasie West YA contemporary romances too and I’ve found them to be cute reds.
Those are two authors I hear about often! I read Second Chance Summer and loved it!
I definitely recommend The Unexpected Everything by Matson, and I really liked P.S. I Like You by West.
Love this list! I thoroughly enjoyed both The Night Circus and Night Film when I read them a few years ago. Both were incredibly atmospheric and absorbing. I just finished Murder on the Orient Express and thought it was so much fun. You should definitely read And Then There Were None-it’s still my favorite Christie novel-and then watch the excellent BBC miniseries!
Those books were definitely atmospheric. I think that is what I loved most about them!
That is a great idea. I love BBC and didn’t even realize they had an And Then There Were None miniseries!
I am one of those who have reviewed the Night Circus! And I am one of those how liked the book so much! It is so fantastic and I insist that the style even though is a bit messy for my taste or for me to follow… The imagery is Amazing!
Check out my post :3
The imagery is beyond beautiful. It really is the highlight of that novel.
It is indeed. The picture I took shows that too <3
I have heard such great things about the Night Circus! I haven’t read it but I really should pick it up. I have no clue what it’s actually about which may be why I haven’t been inclined to read it yet. Definitely read Breakfast of Champions! Vonnegut’s stories are so unique, and that one is excellent. When I started To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, I expected to love it, then I read some of it and thought it was terrible, almost quit reading because Lara Jean drove me nuts! But then I suffered on and I ended up loving it and going out that very night to purchase the next two books.
The Night Circus is really atmospheric. I think you would love like it! Breakfast of Champions is definitely high on my list!
Lara Jean definitely has a lot of character development and I grew to love her as the books went on!
That’s cool you thought that about Murder on the Orient Express, because I’ve also not considered reading it before, cos it’s pretty out of my comfort zone- but now I’m seriously considering it! Illuminae, To all the Boys, and Ready Player one were all outside my comfort zone, but I enjoyed them all (especially Illuminae and to all the boys!)
Murder on the Orient Express is really fun and so different from anything I have read before. I highly recommend it!
I am glad you loved those books too. Was totally surprised by them!
That’s great!!
Awesome 😁
At the beginning of this year, I pledged to read more books that were out of my comfort zone. Prior to that, I read solely paranormal romance which is a bit of a niche genre 😛 This year, though, I’d read maybe 2 or 3 paranormal romances and everything from sci fi to non fiction! Like you, I’ve found I kinda like sci fi and have been meaning to check out ‘Sleeping Giants’ for ages!
It has been so great for me to read our of my comfort zone. I have discovered so many new favourites this year! Glad it’s been good for you as well! Sleeping Giants is soooo good!
I think it’s always a good idea to push yourself out of your comfort zone with your reading and it sounds like you’ve done well. I absolutely loved Ocean at the End of the Lane and am a fan of Palahnuik’s older stuff. I will also be adding Night Film to my TBR as I love a good horror.
I usually consider myself quite adventurous in my reading (the weirder and more bizarre the better) but I still mostly read fiction and am wary of literary fiction and historical (basically the exact opposite of you). I have however ventured into historical in the last year with A Gentleman in Moscow and His Bloody Project, both of which I loved. I’ve also read and enjoyed a couple of non fiction books which I never thought I would ever do.
Night Film is so eerie. I hope you love it!
There are a lot of fantastic historical fiction novels out there but they can be very daunting reads too!
I have a few non fiction books that I want to read before the end of the year. It is refreshing to read a non fiction book once in awhile!
I think I always associated non fiction and literary fiction with the books I was forced to read at school and uni. I think I’m gradually realizing that when you read that type of book because you want to they are really good.
I love branching out and reading books that I wouldn’t have read if I stuck to my favorite genres — finding a new unexpected favorite is one of the best bookish feelings in the world 😋😄 To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was not a book I wanted to read until I heard more about it and realized the main character is half-Korean and half-Caucasian! I’m half-Cantonese and half-Caucasian, so I’m always looking for books with characters with similar cultural backgrounds to me in terms of growing up with two different cultures 😊
I’ve read Armada by Ernest Cline, excited for a book involving gaming because my brother does a lot of gaming, but I didn’t like the book at all. My friend read Ready Player One and said it was much better than Armada, so I might give it a try! 📚 I enjoyed reading your TTT list!
I totally agree! It has been so refreshing to read so many books out of my comfort zone this year!
That is awesome about To All the Boys. I think it is important to be able to see yourself in some of the books you read!
I haven’t read Armada because I haven’t heard good things about it!
Two books I read that were outside of my comfort zone were The Hearts We Sold and The Epic Crush of Genie Lo. Both had paranormal elements and I wasn’t sure if I’d like them or not but I ended up loving them both. It was a nice surprise and made me happy to get out of my comfort zone for once. 😛
Thanks for these recommendations. I have been wanting to get back in to paranormal but I have no idea where to start!
I’m yet to read Night Film even though I’ve bought a copy. Hopefully I finish it by the end of the year. The reasons you’ve mentioned are exactly why I haven’t read Fight Club as well but maybe it’s time to set those aside and get into it.
Night Film is so strange and so good! Fight Club is truly worth reading. I was caught off guard by how enjoyable it was!
I haven’t even watched it 😂 but the things I’ve heard about the movie ….. lemme check the book out.
I haven’t read Murder on the Orient Express yet but And Then There Were None is by far the best mystery novel ever. It’s the one the really reels you into that world.
I have heard great things about And Then There Were None. I am really excited to read it!
You have some of my absolute favorite books on here! I adore The Night Circus and Sleeping Giatns. I also liked Illuminae, but I think I might be the only person not in love with Ready Player One. For some reason the pacing drove me mad.
It always makes me so happy to when people also love Sleeping Giants. I want to reread Ready Player One sometime soon. I wonder what I would think of it now?
I am a terrible re-reader. I just get bored too easily and at the same time I am afraid that I won’t like what I once loved.
I wasn’t so keen on The Night Circus but I’m glad you loved it and that it lead you to ADSOM, which is one of my favourite books!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/11/21/top-ten-tuesday-134/
ADSOM really is awesome. Love those characters!
It is 🙂
Wow! I kept waiting for one of the out-of-your-comfort-zone books to be a total bust, but I guess you loved them all. 🙂 That’s good! The only one from the list I’d read was Ready Player One, but it was basically fantastic. Curious if the movie will compare…..
I’ve heard such good things about the rest of those books. I just need to work my way around to them one of these days!
I could probably do a list of books out of my comfort zone that were a bust too!!
I am really hoping that the Ready Player One movie does the book justice!
Me to! It was such a great story! The trailers are making me a bit anxious, but who knows?
I suppose I’m the kind of person who should always see the movie first, then read the book. 🙂
Yes the trailers do not look promising! I can never read the book after seeing the movie for some reason!
Haha, there’s a couple of books/movies I’ve done that with. Jurassic Park and Lord of the Rings both come to mind–and for both of them, while I love the books, I prefer the movies.
I’m looking to read more horror novels, but I’m always hesitant to pick one up because it’s out of my comfort zone too. I’m definitely going to have to give Night Film a chance now!
Night Film is perfect if horror isn’t your usually genre. Definitely creep and gets your heart racing but not graphic or absolutely terrifying!