Top Ten Books Out Of My Comfort Zone

This week's topic from The Broke and the Bookish is Top Ten Books I've read and enjoyed that were out of my comfort zone or weren't my usual type of book.   This is a pretty relevant topic to me right now as one of the things I want to do with my reading is read outside my comfort zone more but I still want to read books I like and enjoy!  This can be a little tough to manage both so I had a good time making this list as I was able to see what I read that wasn't quite the regular for me but that I still enjoyed and hopefully that will give me something to work with for the coming year.

What I Have Read

1.  Casino Royale by Ian Fleming - A lot of the books I read are on the feminine side - cozy mysteries, women's fiction, foodie memoirs are all usually written by women and have a woman as the primary character.  I don't think I've ever read a book that was as masculine without trying as the first James Bond book.  It was fascinating, well written and a little bit slower than I expected but I really enjoyed it.  I'm looking forward to starting the 2nd book soon.

2.  The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot - And on the opposite side of the spectrum we have one of the girliest books I've ever come across!  I don't read much YA but a podcast I listen to (Super Serials) had a discussion about this one back in December and I've heard good things about Cabot's writing and I enjoyed the movie (my oldest was OBSESSED) so I thought it'd be fun to read.  Even though there were times I wanted Mia and Lily (especially Lily) to just SHUT UP a few times I enjoyed this one.  It definitely felt like the voice of a teenage girl.

3.  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - I actually have a very long relationship with Hitchhiker's Guide.  When I was a kid I became familiar with the story because of a computer game I played with my dad that was based off the book.  This was the kind of game that had no graphics - not just bad graphics but NO graphics - just text and you typed in what you wanted to do next.  My kids look at me like I've grown another head when I try to explain the style of game to them.  I read the book as a teenager but this was the first time I've read it as an adult and I really enjoyed it.

4.  Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley - I didn't have high hopes for this one.  I didn't get her earlier book French Milk at all and I haven't fully wrapped my head around graphic novels as a concept but I loved this one.  It was absolutely fantastic.

5.  The Question of the Missing Head by E.J. Copperman - The main character in this mystery series has Asperger's Syndrome and it made me hesitate on reading it.  I was afraid it was going to be done badly, trivialized, or made fun of but it was really splendidly done.  Samuel really does have Asperger's and it feels very true to life.  He's open and honest about how it affects him and how he doesn't and while the book is bizarre at times it's because there actually is a head missing and not making light or making fun of Samuel.

6.  Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee - I avoid controversial books like the plague.  I don't want controversy, I don't want hard issues that I'm supposed to think about, I don't want angst or unhappiness.  So when this book came out my dislike of controversy plus the fact that I didn't love To Kill a Mockingbird (I liked it and it has stuck with me but it wouldn't make my top 10) didn't really have me rushing to read it.  But then people started saying they weren't going to read it and people shouldn't read it and my contrariness started to fight with my dislike of controversy.  Then when I discovered my library had the book on audio on it's digital site, it was only about 6 hours, and read by Reese Witherspoon and I figured it was a sign that I should read/listen to it.  And I actually enjoyed it.  There were problems - big ones.  I could tell why the manuscript had been rejected in the first place and why the publisher had asked for more of Scout/Jean Louise's childhood.  There were brilliant little nuggets sprinkled throughout the wheel spinning and I really appreciated Lee's sly humor.

7.  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - While this book was incredibly popular I had zero interest in reading it.  It was YA and dystopian which are 2 genres that have never really grabbed me.  However, I got talked into reading it because it was the book of the month for a book club I was in at the time and I ended up absolutely loving it.

What I'm Going to Read:

Since I've been on a bit of a drought in Out of Genre books I thought I'd add in the ones that I'm planning on reading soon.

1.  Cinder by Marissa Meyer - I've heard nothing but glowing praise for this series and the premise has definitely caught my attention.  I'm in the middle of an audio book right now, have one more lined up and then it is Cinder time!

2.  The Good Marriage by Stephen King - I've never read Stephen King though I've seen several of the movies based off his books - and Misery in play form which was fabulous.  These are a little scarier than I tend to read but this one looks great and it's short so I'm a little more comfortable starting this one then some of his higher page number books.

3.  Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon - Between the YA romance-ish fiction and the whole bubble girl concept this one didn't interest me but not only have bloggers that I really trust given it fantastic reviews but I've loved what they had to say about it in the reviews.  I'm really looking forward to trying this one!

What's a book outside of your comfort zone that you've enjoyed?  Any recommendations?