Friday, April 1, 2016

Book Blogger Hop No. 43: Venturing Out of your Reading Comfort Zone




Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,
hosted by Billy @


For more information, click HERE.


What to Do

1.) Post on your blog answering this week's
question:

Have you ever ventured out of your
comfort zone in terms of reading 
a genre you have never read? 
If so, did you get
hooked on that new genre?

(submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews)

2.)  Enter the link to your post in the
Linky list on Billy's blog.

3.)  Visit other blogs on the list and
comment on their posts. 

4.)  Be sure to find out next week's
question when you visit
Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!


My Answer

Currently, I rarely venture outside my reading comfort zone, but in the past, I did so on a couple of occasions.

The first one was when I first fell madly in love. Before this happened, I had looked down my nose at romance novels, considering them silly and too sentimental. I was only into reading classics, literary fiction, fantasy, and science fiction. I also read some nonfiction from time to time. But then I fell head over heels.....and suddenly, I decided to pick up a romance novel. What a revelation! It turned out that I really enjoyed reading them -- especially historical romance. I quickly became addicted to these books! I still read this genre, although now I prefer paranormal romance, but do still occasionally read historical and contemporary romance, as well.

In my twenties, I decided, for some crazy reason, that I would read a horror novel. Alas, this was a HUGE mistake! I read The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty. I never saw the movie, but only read the book. But, just from reading the book, I was unable to sleep well for an entire week!

Years later, I also read The Forbidden Game, by L.J. Smith, which is an omnibus edition of three YA  horror novels. Again, I don't know why I decided to do this, but, this time around, I actually couldn't put down this book! It was VERY well-written, and had a lot of twists and turns. However, I have no desire to read it again, as there were some truly scary moments in it! 

I am too sensitive to read horror novels; they totally terrify me, and I do NOT like to feel terrified! 

In 2006, I became hooked on a new genre -- Young Adult Fiction. This happened because of The Twilight Saga. It might seem ironic that, since I don't like the horror genre, I would love this series, which features vampires and werewolves. But there are some differences between urban fantasy -- which is the genre these books also belong to -- and horror. Besides, these novels are also categorized as paranormal romance.

After reading The Twilight Saga (the first time, that is), I got into the Harry Potter series. And now I'm totally addicted to Young Adult Fiction! So this was a happy venture! I still read other genres, of course. But I will never stop reading YA novels. And the really great thing about this genre is that it encompasses several sub-genres, such as the ones I mentioned above, as well as fantasy, science fiction, dystopian fiction, Steampunk, and romance. Young Adult romances mostly fall into three categories: fantasy, paranormal, and contemporary. Although I do prefer the first two, I will occasionally read the third.

I'm now wondering if I should sample some cozy mysteries next. Hmmm......     
 
     


What are your thoughts?
Please leave a comment,
and I'll go check out your post!







16 comments:

  1. I love L.J. Smith! Great choice to get into a that genre. I have lately gotten into historical fiction and really have enjoyed the few I have read so far.

    I know that certain genres are a no go for me (I agree with the horror, I just can't) so I'm trying to get into some new ones that won't scare me. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Laura!

      Oh, she's an AWESOME writer! However, the only books by her that I've really liked so far have been the ones in her Night World series. I have read the first four books in the Vampire Diaries series, and didn't like them much. But the Night World books? LOVE those!

      I'm glad you agree about the horror genre. I really can't take it, either! I will never again read another horror novel!

      Thanks for commenting back!! :)

      Delete
  2. I did love the Twilight books. Funny that I don't think of them (or Harry Potter) as young adult. Maybe I do like the genre more than I thought!. Have a good weekend. Emma

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Emma!

      I can see why you don't think of them as YA novels, since they contain some adult themes. I'm glad you love them, too!

      Thanks for commenting back!! Enjoy your weekend! :)

      Delete
  3. I rarely venture out of my reading genres.

    I definitely do not read horror. Stephen King scared me away. :)

    YA isn't in my preferred reading genre, but that would be better than horror if I decided to venture out. :)

    Have a great reading weekend.

    Happy Hopping!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Blog Hop Answer

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi, Elizabeth!

    I'm glad you agree about the horror genre! I remember also reading a Stephen King short story once, too. OMG!! I can't stand him!!

    You are so right that YA is preferable to horror! There are some YA authors that write horror, but I stay away from them, of course.

    Happy Hopping to you, too, as well as a great reading weekend!

    Thanks for commenting back!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great post Maria.

    It is so interesting how you found new genres during different stages of your life. I have had similar experiences.

    Some books are so disturbing. It seems that we vary on regards to what bothers us however. Horror does not really disturb me too much, but other types of books really do. As a result there are several books that i believe that I would like that I have stayed away from. I found the film version of JosƩ Saramago's Blindness brilliant. The book looks to be so also. With that, there was terribly disturbing scene that will keep me away from the book.

    My wife likes cozies. She reads several series. She tends to like the ones that center on cats.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Brian!

      Thanks for the compliment!! :)

      Oh, I just can't read horror novels. The things that happen in them tend to stay in my mind, and I keep re-living the fear, the trauma, the sheer HORROR of it all.....

      Stephen King is an author I LOVE to HATE, having read one of his short stories once, just to see how bad it was.....BIG mistake.....

      Another author I LOATHE is Edgar Allan Poe. I had to read several of his sick stories in high school. One of them was "The Tell-Tale Heart". UGH, UGH, UGH. And as for H.P. Lovecraft, I won't go near him with a ten-foot pole!

      You know, it's interesting, but I think there are more men than women who read the horror genre. And I'm definitely no feminist in this regard! Lol.

      As for Saramago's "Blindness", the title alone is enough to keep me away from that book! Maybe the blindness is metaphoric, but I still won't read a book with such a title.

      I've noticed that a lot of women read cozies, and especially with cats in them. I might go ahead and try one, but I'm not that much into mysteries, cozy or not. The only mysteries I've ever read -- and loved -- were the ones with my HERO, Sherlock Holmes, in them!! Gads, I ADORE that man!! What a BRAIN.

      I might go ahead and try a cozy or two, though.

      Thanks for the great comment!! :)

      Delete
  6. Ironically, it was The Twilight Saga that got me reading again as an adult after having not really had much time for reading since I was younger. I had always loved books and reading but hadn't really had much time for it since adulthood and all the responsibility that goes along with that came along.

    Lisa @ Just Another Rabid Reader

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Lisa!

      The Twilight Saga got you back into reading? YAY!!!! I ADORE these books!! I've read the entire series three times, and the first book, FIVE times -- once in Spanish, since I'm fluent in that language. Of course, it didn't have the same "flavor". Lol.

      It's so sad that Stephenie Meyer has been criticized so much.....and one of the reasons I dislike Stephen King, aside from the fact that he writes horror novels, is that he has been one of Meyer's worst critics.

      I'm so glad that you were able to come back to reading, thanks to Stephenie, Bella, Edward, and Jacob!! Music to my ears!!

      Thanks for dropping by and commenting, and mentioning one of my all-time FAVORITE YA series!!! Have a GREAT weekend!! <3 :)

      Delete
  7. Replies
    1. Hi, Teri!

      Thanks for the compliment! Glad you liked my answer! You're very welcome for the share! Thanks for droppping by! Enjoy your weekend!! :)

      Delete
  8. Paranormal romance is probably my favorite sub-genre in the romance category. :-) I came back to reading romance after a long hiatus, and haven't looked back yet. I enjoy horror now and then. As well as Young Adult novels. I don't really think of that as a genre, but more of a marketing category for books, to be honest. Fantasy YA is probably my favorite of YA fiction, and less so contemporary YA, although I've enjoyed some of that too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Wendy!

      Oh, I LOVE paranormal romance, but specifically in the YA genre, or category. Adult PNR novels are much too sexually graphic at times.

      As you know from my post, I can't stomach horror at all. Sometimes urban fantasy (which frequently comes together with paranormal romance) gets too close to horror for my comfort. So I will avoid such authors, as well.

      Fantasy YA is great, as well! I agree about contemporary YA; I don't read much of that.

      Thanks for the great comment!! :)

      Delete
  9. I know you've read my post about my time reading a thriller/horror and it freaked me out. I do love YA and Twilight started my love/addiction of that genre as well. Great Post!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Ali!

      I really related to your experience reading that stuff! As you know from my own post, I was freaked out, too, when I read "The Exorcist"!

      I'm so glad you love The Twilight Saga, and are now addicted to YA because of it! Same here!!

      I'm glad you liked my post, too! Thanks for the compliment, and for commenting back!! :)

      Delete

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