How often do you read and enjoy books out of your comfort zone? What book have you enjoyed in a genre you usually avoid?
10 Books Outside of My Comfort Zone That I’ve Enjoyed
This week’s prompt is challenging for me because I don’t often read outside of my comfort zone, and when I do, I experience mixed results. I know my reading tastes quite well and I’m usually cautious of reading outside my comfort zone. How about you? Do you have a well-defined comfort zone?
I have read all of these books. Titles are links to my reviews when available or Amazon affiliate links.
(In no particular order)
I Usually Avoid Science Fiction….
but I sure enjoyed (audio format) Project Hair Mary by Andy Weir!
I Usually Avoid Memoirs by Sports Celebrities…
but I found Open by Andre Agassi compelling and interesting!
I Usually Avoid Magical Realism…
but Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen is OK.
I Usually Avoid Dystopian…
but I devoured the entire Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins during one Spring Break week.
I Usually Avoid Unreliable Narrators…
but The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth is page-turning.
I Usually Avoid Time Travel…
but The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain hooked me.
I Usually Avoid Graphic Novels…
but I enjoyed Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson.
I Usually Avoid a Story Within a Story…
but the two stories in The Map of Salt and Stars by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar are well-connected, equally compelling, and complemented each other nicely.
I Usually Avoid Wilderness Survival…
but The River by Peter Heller is riveting!
I Usually Avoid a Thriller with Gothic Vibes…
but Mrs. England by Stacey Halls is unputdownable.
QOTD:
What book have you enjoyed in a genre you usually avoid?
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Unreliable narrators can throw a story into chaos.
Not my fav!
I like the way you have approached this week’s topic.
Thanks for your kind feedback!
I love the way you’ve put this together, Carol!
Thanks for your kind words Nicki!
I generally avoid graphic novels and anything gothic. I actually love good scifi and dystopian novels, but I haven’t read anything lately that I’ve enjoyed.
Fantasy seems to dominate lately!
I can’t wait for the film version of Project Hail Mary this upcoming spring!
Right?! 🙌
These are some recent reads: Ordinarily I do not put up with much bad language, but in Lottery by Patricia Wood, 2 characters swore a lot, but it was such a sweet, good, heart-warming story, that I put up with it.
I don’t read much Historical Fiction, but I read My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, translated from Italian, and it was a good picture of life in the 50s in a small neighborhood in Naples.
I don’t love spy stories all that much (My mother and Grandmother were ALL about spy stories) but I LOVE the Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman, mainly for the humor and the cast, and I just read the fifth installment.
Not much of a romance story reader, because the writing is never really good, but I did read Jane of Austin by Hilary Manton Lodge and it kept my attention, AND was clean.
Oh, and I don’t like too much religion and church stuff, and Harrison Scott Key had a LOT of it in his book, How to Stay Married, and I WAS irritated by his “altered Bible story for the sake of a laugh” stuff, but ultimately, it was a good book and I recommend it. The premise was “Fight for your Marriage, don’t just give up and get divorced.” True story.
Thanks for sharing these examples from your reading! Do you have a blog, Susan? Your thoughtful comments beg to be shared!
I love this week’s topic and how you’ve approached it
Thank you! 🌻
The only genre I actively try to avoid is dystopian. While I’m not a huge fan of fantasy and horror, I have read some of each that I enjoyed quite a bit.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/ten-graphic-novels-ive-read-in-2025/
It’s surprising what we can enjoy if we find the right book in a genre!
No, but I really don’t have time, I spend too much time answering the questions that OTHER bloggers ask as it is! I love answering the questions, but it takes time and sometimes research. But it’s fun being part of the conversation~! I love the bookish community!
🙌
Great list. I agree with most, though I do like dystopian novels and don’t mind a story within a story. But the rest, top.
Thanks for sharing your reading preferences!
I can’t get logged in to comment on your post…..but i wanted to comment that I read Me Before You and didn’t appreciate the implication that life with a disability isn’t worth living.
I often have the problem with WordPress, as they have with me. I got a lot of spam, awful spam, so I don’t allow anonymous comments anymore. That might be your problem. It’s such a shame, I wish Blogger and WodPress would get their act together.
And thanks for that remark. That was only one of the reasons why I didn’t like the book.
Thanks for visiting my post:
https://momobookblog.blogspot.com/2025/11/top-ten-tuesday-books-outside-my.html
I solved the commenting problem! I was trying to comment through the WP app. When I opened your blog in my browser, I could comment without an issue!
And that is fantastic, Carol. I will tell other WP uses that who have a problem. Maybe it will help them. I would be better if Blogger and WP got their act together and solved the problem.
Great list! It can really be fun (or eye-opening!) to branch out into new genres! This is a good reminder for me that I have a copy of The River and I still need to read it — glad to hear you enjoyed it!
I hope you enjoy The River!
I too usually avoid reading books in each of the categories you mentioned. I might (maybe) try one or two. Who knows what new doors may open?
Finding the right book as a gateway into these categories is important!
I love how you put this post together, Carol. I know how much you loved Project Hail Mary and I still haven’t listened to it yet. It sounds like it might be a good one to listen to on my flight to Cancun and finish by the pool in January. I have read several of these and enjoyed them, but there are a couple that are calling to me.
I think PHM would be Great plane book!