Thursday, January 23, 2014

Reviewers' Roundtable- Going Out of My Comfort Zone


The Reviewers' Roundtable is a weekly discussion feature hosted by me and Emily from Read Your Bookcase.  Each week we discuss a different bookish/blogging topic and hope you guys will share your thoughts too! 

Go HERE to find a list of past/future topics.

THE HOSTS:






Going Out of Your Comfort Zone



What is your reading comfort zone, are you pretty strict in staying in it, and what are some books outside of that that you would be interested in?

MY COMFORT ZONE

So yeah I think if you read this blog you know what my comfort zone is.  Young Adult Contemporary.  I don't know why exactly I gravitate to this sub-genre or whatever you call it, but I have my guesses.  I think a big reason is that when I first fell in love with YA the books that I happened to read were Sarah Dessen, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, and stuff like Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr and You Don't Know Me by David Klass and The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart.  Which all feature teenagers living in today's world facing real (sometimes heartbreaking) problems.  Sure I read, loved, and was OBSESSED with Harry Potter (who wasn't??).  But when I tried to read Twilight I was like WTF???  And then there were a few other fantasy books that I had tried and DNF'd because I just didn't get it.  Then Hunger Games came out and the dystopian sub-genre of YA BLEW UP.  For a while there I was having trouble even finding new books in my comfort zone because EVERYTHING was dystopian, aliens, vampires, or something like that.  I got a little nervous.  Things have leveled off now and contemp is definitely on the upswing again (hurahhhh!).  But it has got me thinking.  Shouldn't I be trying new things??  How many books about tortured adolescent relationships can I read?  How many books about a girl who is grieving the death of a friend, a parent, or boyfriend can and should I be reading??  I see all these awesome reviews for books that not only am I not reading, but they're not even on my radar.  I need to stop being so damn rigid!!

Seriously last year I read 4 books that I consider to be non-contemp and 2 of them are borderline (Mara Dyer???).  That sucks.  So today I am putting together a list of books I want to try to get me to broaden my horizons... but I need your help!!!  So please tell me which ones you would recommend, and which ones I should pass on!

Here are my MAYBE'S:




So you guys, I really really really need your help on this one.  Which books should I read and which were disappointments??  Keep in mind I'm new to these types of books... that may be a big deal when rec-ing something to me.  

Also what are your reading comfort zones??  Are you all over the place or are you more strict like me?


18 comments:

  1. If you like fairy tales, I say branch out toward Cinder! When you break it down, it's the futuristic story of Cinderella but the author does a great job of making Cinder like a regular teenager which will help you adjust being that you love contemporary YA! Also, if you start reading now and you love it, you'll probably be done with the first 2 books in the series just in time for Cress (the third)! :) I also can't recommend The Hunger Games enough, but if you don't like YA dystopian then maybe you won't love it as much as I did. I have Not a Drop to Drink on my TBR list and Shatter Me because there's an author event near me next month that I want to go to. I hope branching outside your comfort zone helps you find more book you enjoy, but at the end of the day read what you love! xoxox!

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    1. Thanks for the recs!! I really want to read what I love AND try new things as well. I'm too rigid sometimes. And now that the dystopian craze has died down I feel more confident that I can find quality books out of my comfort zone :)

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  2. I'm all over the place in my genres and I don't have a real comfort zone anymore, I'll try about anything. But I do recommend books to my family and they are a little less open to new and strange things. Although Cinder is 'out there' and very different, it's gotten a great reaction even from those who thought it was outside their zone. Shatter Me is hit and miss because of the writing style (mostly) but it's also gotten a good response from those I've recommended it to who tend to stick to their comfort zones. The Hunger Games, everyone has to at least try them. I haven't yet ran into anyone who didn't like them. I bought a second set just to loan out. And my family also love Under the Never Sky. So I guess those are the ones I would recommend. And I loved them all.

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    1. I am definitely intersted in Under the Never Sky. It's WAY out of my comfort zone, but I've heard good things. I like that your reading habits are all over the place. It's one of my fav things about your blog :)

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  3. I like (or love!) a lot of these, but I would definitely say if you are looking to do this, you really should read The Hunger Games. I haven't read Perfect Ruin yet (it's on my bookshelf though!) but I LOVE her Chemical Garden series. So even though it's not on your list, I would suggest Wither. Lauren's writing style is so beautiful and unique you really can't go wrong. So maybe Wither AND Perfect Ruin.

    Something Strange and Deadly for me was kind of all over the place, at times I really liked it and at times not so much. I despise one of the characters in Shatter Me and I think he becomes part of a love triangle later in the trilogy so I stopped reading after the first one. Cinder is in my reading pile, I feel like I just hear nonstop great things about that one. These Broken Stars is another book that gets so many great reviews. It's high on my wish list. I think the Gone books are good BUT it's a series of 5 or 6 books so I don't know if I'd start there if you're not sure you will like that genre, because it's a big investment if you don't. Maybe try one or two others first and if you decide you like that kind of thing, move on to those. Not a Drop to Drink is another one that's on my wish list but I will mention that I've seen a few people caution that parts of it can be tough to read. I'm hoping that isn't book blogger speak for "someone's dog is horribly killed" haha, that's my personal book kryptonite!

    Good luck, I admire this effort! Funnily enough contemporary is usually my least read subset, and every so often I make an effort to search out some great ones to stay well-rounded. :)

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    1. I really SHOULD read The Hunger Games already. I really really should!! And I didn't love The Chemical Garden series, so I've been wary about Perfect Ruin. BUT the cover is SO PRETTY!!! And CInder and Not a Drop to Drink are definitely on my radar now... but yeah hopefully no pets die. I'm not into that either!

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  4. You know I love YA contemporary two, but you have two of my favorite books every on this list: Not a Drop to Drink and Under the Never Sky. Not a Drop to Drink was just a beautiful book that completely sucked me in. And Under the Never Sky has a great romance and I think it's the best dystopian trilogy out there. Good luck picking one!

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    1. Definitely going to look into both of those! Thanks!

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  5. Staying in your comfort zone isn't a big deal! I mean, sometimes it's actually really nice to have a certain genre of books, but it's also really nice to step out! Recommendations wise, I'll recommend Cinder, The Hunger Games, Something Strange and Deadly, Under the Never Sky and Perfect Ruin as being SUPER AWESOME. Gone is an okay series (I gave it up around the third book - it's too drawn out), and Pawn was terrible, in my opinion. Lots of other people liked it, though, so don't be afraid to read it! Obsidian, Shatter Me, Awaken and These Broken Stars are all solid "goods" but not "greats". I hope you enjoy branching out, sweets!

    You should definitely try some mythology as well! I would recommend the Starcrossed series, The Percy Jackson series... and this isn't mythology, but my sister really likes The Tiger's Curse series. :)

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    1. I will always be a contemporary girl. But trying new things is always a good thing too. I definitely think I'm going to start my journey with Cinder and The Hunger Games bc man I'm like the last one to both of those parties!!! Thanks for the recs (Obsidian is sitting on a table in my house right now and I'm scared I won't like it!!)

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  6. I totally see where you are coming from! I tend to gravitate towards contemporary really 80% of the time and it almost never ceases to amaze me. I have to say, though, that moving on from school to uni this year put a huge dent in my road, because I just didn't want to read about highschool anymore. It felt weird. Now that I'm a bit more settled at uni, I'm totally back to highschool books again, but for a while, I was in a crisis. What if not contemporary?? :) I have read fantasy and dystopian before, but one of my main criteria is that they have to blow me away. This might sound a bit...random? ;) But it's true. Unless they're not really, really action packed, fast paced, full of romance and fierce characters, I will not find the book to be worth my time. So, here come my suggestions:

    At the very top is Shatter Me. I just finished the book and it did more than just blow me away! The feeeeels! I almost imploded reading this!! And even if you don't like the writing at first, hang in there, you can't miss the amazing ending! My second one on the list would be Cinder! The writing in this one will just carry you through the story. It's one of those books where you feel like if you read it for too long, you'll just disappear between the pages! Definitely worth a read, even if you're not normally a fantasy or Sci-Fi fan. Then comes Under the Never Sky - and I don't even know why I like those books. I basically just do. The writing, the characters, the plot...things just fit. And lastly, Hourglass! That one is, in my opinion, the closest to contemporary. It's not too much paranormal mixed in, it's very scientific in that way which I found really appealing :) Okay, so I hope this helped a bit : D

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    1. When I went to college I went through a "I need to read adult books" phase as well. It didn't last too long. Adult books remind me too much of being an adult which is really not that fun ;) Shatter Me definitely intrigues me. I love the covers and the titles and practically everyone has read them!!! I think I'm going to read Cinder first, then maybe do the Shatter Me books. Thanks for stopping by!!

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  7. I don't feel like I necessarily have "comfort zones". I read a lot of different genres but I tend to get "stuck" in a genre for a long period of time. Or I get on "kicks" (as I like to call them) However, there are a few genres that I just WONT read, but it isn't because they are out of my zone. If that makes sense haha. But I don't think there is anything WRONG with staying in your comfort zone. You like what you like, ya know? That beings said..

    From the list of books up have? I loved These Broken Stars! So I recommend that one. Also, Under the Never Sky is a amazing! :)

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  8. I tend to 'dwell' in several comfort zones! I'll spend weeks just reading contemporaries and then switch to dystopian for a while and onwards.
    I definitely recommend Under The Never Sky which is a great series and very easy to read and get into.
    Pawn and These Broken Stars are also good reads although I found These Broken Stars is much more Sci-Fi than it seems!
    Another series I would class as 'light dystopia' would be the Selection by Kiera Cass which reads more like an contemporary as times :)
    Good Luck with your choices- I hope you enjoy them!

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  9. I loved Cinder, I started and stopped it a while ago, but went back to it after a good review. I totally recommend that!
    Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

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  10. YA contemporary is my favorite genre too, and definitely where my comfort zone is! Up until last year I hardly read any other genre, but then I decided to read some SciFi and Dystopian and a few of those books ended up being new favorites (although Contemporary is still my fav). I haven't read all of those, but out of the ones I have read, Cinder is my favorite! I think I mainly loved it because it was a fairy tale retelling, so it was something I was familiar with to ease me into a new genre too. I thought the writing style in These Broken Stars was beautiful and I wasn't a huge fan of the first Hunger Games book but I loved the next two in the trilogy (although I hear a lot of people say the opposite).
    I'm curious to see what you end up reading! :)

    Alice @ Alice in Readerland

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    1. I've noticed how branched out you've become in the last 8 months or so!! It's one of the things that got me thinking about mixing it up. Because we usually like the same books and I'm like man I haven't been reading ANY of those cool looking books Alice has been reviewing!! I think I'm going to do Cinder first!

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  11. I really loved The first Hunger Games, umm In The After I really enjoyed as well. I heard Under The Never Sky is suppose to be very wonderful but I have not read it yet. These Broken Stars are suppose to be amazing too.

    I go out of my comfort zone all the time really, It's the only way for me to just throw myself into new books and most of the time I do end up being pleasantly surprised.

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