The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

15.1 - NEW HORIZONS
Go to
Top Shelves and pick a book from a shelf that involves a genre or subject matter that is outside or on the edge of your comfort zone. Shelves like "borrowed" or "abandoned" don't work for this task.

You may use any of the shelves - you're not restricted to the first page of shelves that shows when you click on the link.

REQUIRED: Please tell us which shelf you picked from.

OPTIONAL: Tell us whether you'd be interested in reading more books like this one.

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I have to admit, I am having a lot of trouble with this one. The number of shelves is overwhelming. And when I look for ones "outside my comfort zone", that seems to be "books I don't have any interest at all in reading" or "books I'd want to read" (which is actually MOST of them, so maybe that's my problem?).

If you've found a book for this task, please share with me how you've done it!

Ashley FL wrote: "I have to admit, I am having a lot of trouble with this one. The number of shelves is overwhelming. And when I look for ones "outside my comfort zone", that seems to be "books I don't have any in..."

well, everyone has his/her own ideas about what this would be - but I don't necessarily believe that a book on a shelf that I normally would not read is necessarily something that I'd never want to read. You know, the idea that I don't know until I've tried it.

I figure I have a lot of choices - I thought I might try a graphic novel, because that's something I normally wouldn't read. Actually, the idea I came up with for myself is to sort of do a combo task - I checked the library and found that they have a graphic novel of Midsummer Night's Dream (the only graphic novel I ever read before was Romeo and Juliet). So, I think I'm going to read that and the "real" Midsummer Night's Dream for the "read a play" task. I thought it might be fun to combine the two like that.

Romance would be another one for me - I don't read romance books. Or I could read another western - I read one for Ms. Anderson's task last time - it's certainly not a genre "in my comfort zone," but I wouldn't mind trying another one.

So, maybe think about a type of book that you don't normally read but wouldn't mind trying one book in that genre to see what you think. Then, instead of trying to just read through all the pages listing the shelves, you can do a search for particular shelves - so if you wanted to try, say, romance and you didn't see it right away on the list of shelves, there's a search box there you can use.

I chose the History shelf--- thinking it might be a dry and boring set of books--- but I found several I'd like to read. I was surprised since I thought it would be something else. I just picked a "least favorite" shelf. There are a lot of choices when you pick the shelf.

i think i'm going to go with horror...its def. not my kind of book, but i foudn a non-vampire anne rice that sounds good

I'm not gonna lie, when I first saw this task I found myself wondering if there was a shelf l "absolute rubbish" with Twilight and co. on it. I have the series but have only read the first (it's been a few years, so I'd have to re-read it before continuing). The only reason I even OWN Breaking Dawn is because I managed to get a copy for free.

I'm still trying to figure out what I should do for this task. I could keep Pride and Prejudice on my list, since I am not a romance fan, but that's kind of cheating since I want to read it anyway, or I could actually put some effort into finding a book to fit. It's easier said than done, though, since I'll try just about any genre/classification once, and those I won't try (like erotica) I also refuse to ever spend money on.

I do have a gay romance someone recommended to me and sent me a link to a free copy of the eBook, though... Hmmm...

if anyone wants to try erotic romance, a glbt/m-m romance...I can take a look at the list and give some recs...I do read a lot of it and can give you some ideas...

Ashley FL wrote: "I have to admit, I am having a lot of trouble with this one. The number of shelves is overwhelming. And when I look for ones "outside my comfort zone", that seems to be "books I don't have any in..."

It can still be a book you'd want to read. I'm using the "horror" shelf, and I actually own a lot of the books on the list. However, most of them are unread because, while I think the plot descriptions sound awesome, I tend to chicken out when it actually comes time to read one. That's why that particular genre is on the edge of my comfort zone.

I will probably do 'paranormal'. I figured that any shelf where I had to go to the fifth page to find a book that I had read could be considered to be on the edge of my comfort zone.

Haha, I decided to change from Pride and Prejudice, which is also a classic and therefore not so much on the edge of my comfort zone, to Someone Is Watching, which is so far out of my comfort zone, I'm pretty sure it's at the bottom of my Marianas Trench.

Bring it on.

I was thinking about using the "Abandoned" shelf, that was out of someone's comfort zone, or theology.

Cait wrote: "Ashley FL wrote: "I have to admit, I am having a lot of trouble with this one. The number of shelves is overwhelming. And when I look for ones "outside my comfort zone", that seems to be "books I..."

Cait, I am exactly the same way.
I'm most likely going to read something from the "horror" shelf.
Or I will possibly go with chick-lit - not really my thing (I tend to avoid them & don't know why), but I may give it a go with this challenge.

I chose the "Philosohpy" shelf for this challenge. Quite a few of them are available at Project Gutenberg, so they won't be painful to purchase! I haven't decided yet which book I'm going to read, but here is the list I'm deciding between:

Sophie's World
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
The Prince
Atlas Shrugged
Walden, or Life in the Woods
Anthem
The Screwtape Letters
The Te of Piglet

Ashley FL wrote: "...when I look for ones "outside my comfort zone", that seems to be "books I don't have any interest at all in reading" or "books I'd want to read" ..."

In my interpretation of the task, (Sandy please let me know if this isn't the direction you prefer for this task!), I felt that "outside my comfort zone" and "books I'd want to read" were not mutually exclusive groups. There are tons of books (ranging from Timaeus to Origin of Species to The Odyssey and The Iliad) that I would love to read one day, but they definitely aren't books that I would consider to be in my "comfort zone."

Vicky wrote: "I chose the "Philosohpy" shelf for this challenge. Quite a few of them are available at Project Gutenberg, so they won't be painful to purchase! I haven't decided yet which book I'm going to read, ..."

Right, the point of the task isn't "read something you will certainly hate." It's more like, "dip in, try something you wouldn't ordinarily read." Ideally, you'll explore a shelf with a topic you'd normally avoid, and think "hmmm...that might be interesting" or "I've thought about reading that one."

I picked mystery and chose a more classic mystery - Sherlock Holmes. I don't instinctively select mysteries. In fact, the more recent mysteries I've read, I didn't select b/c of the genre. Heh.

B/c there's gonna be NO WAY that I'm touching horror.

I thought I might go and browse the Westerns section of the local library. I've never even looked at it before so I might find something surprising.

It's that or horror, or maybe philosophy as I do have Sophie's World and it's been sitting on my shelf since it was first published many years ago. I want to read it but it's rather obviously been put off!

i find a lot of the books on these lists don't always fall into the categories that i think they should...case in point, I quite often see JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood fall under the erotica or erotic romance heading...now to me, they are nothing of the sort...paranormal romance that is hot yes...but not erotic romance...so the shelving is fairly subjective

Delicious Dee the book slut wrote: "if anyone wants to try erotic romance, a glbt/m-m romance...I can take a look at the list and give some recs...I do read a lot of it and can give you some ideas..."

Dee, this might work for me. I like the "sweet" romance books and read those (e.g. Jennifer Crusie), or the more mystery types (e.g. the "In Death" books). But I've never read any m/m, and I have a good friend who has been a total reading JAG of these books. Since she and I usually have similar taste, I keep thinking I should try one, but then I think, "well, no, that just doesn't sound that good to me."

If you see any on a shelf that you would recommend, would you let me know? Thanks!

OK, I feel better now. Thanks everyone! I think I will haunt this thread for ideas and push this task toward the 2nd half of the Challenge and see what strikes my fancy then!

sure can...i know I def. have some favorites within the genre, so let me see what I can find...i'll pm you! do you have any absolute no-go's with plot?

Delicious Dee the book slut wrote: "i find a lot of the books on these lists don't always fall into the categories that i think they should...case in point, I quite often see JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood fall under the erotica ..."

Just like any other GR lists, these are just how people chose to shelve their books - and I've seen ones that definitely left me wondering.

yep!! i figure i'll pick a book on a shelf that I haven't fulfilled for the shelf-a-thon yet...(speaking of which...i totally need to update that list)

Sandy wrote: "Delicious Dee the book slut wrote: "i find a lot of the books on these lists don't always fall into the categories that i think they should...case in point, I quite often see JR Ward's Black Dagger..."

Delicious Dee the book slut wrote: "sure can...i know I def. have some favorites within the genre, so let me see what I can find...i'll pm you! do you have any absolute no-go's with plot?"
No, I'm not easily offended. Any thing goes! My issue with m/m isn't one of being offended or grossed out or anything, it's more one of wondering if I'd be *interested*. So I'm sure that if it's a "good" one (well-written, good plot, etc.), I will like it. So I just need recommendations! Does that make sense?

yep...just wanted to make sure because some people have some no go limits on what they will read - BDSM, certain authors etc...but lemme look...I have an idea right now of what one I would rec, but I got to see where it is on the list...

If anybody is a non-fantasy reader and wants to try a fantasy for this challenge, feel free to ask me for suggestions. I have a number of series and stand-alones that I would love to suggest to people, and many would get, at the very least, one of the Big Book tickets and/or a GR author ticket.

Caity: any recommendations would be appreciated. I had planned to do Carrie's Fisher memoirs (I just usually don't care enough about any one famous person to read their life story) -- but fantasy/sci fi is WAY more out of my zone than a memoir.
Especially a GR author -- I'm trying to challenge myself this time to get as many in as I can.

Christine: One of my favorite fantasy books of all time is Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith. She is a GR author. While the book is a little short of a big book ticket at 457 pages, I absolutely love it and recommend it to anybody interested in a stand-alone fantasy that doesn't focus on magic. It was originally published as two separate books, Crown Duel and Court Duel, but is now published as one book in two parts. Sherwood Smith has some other work, as well, including a YA fantasy series I am not too familiar with and her Inda series, which starts with Inda. I haven't read that one yet, but I own it and the second book in the series, and have been dying to get books 3 and 4. You can get Crown Duel really cheap online if you can't find a copy at a library near you.

If you prefer a book with a good magic system, either Elantris or Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson would be good choices. He's yet another GR author I absolutely love. He also has a trilogy out that starts with Mistborn: The Final Empire. I'm attempting to work the second and third books into my reading challenge selections.

And, of course, no fantasy recommendation post is complete without some mention of Neil Gaiman, yet another GR author. The book he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett, Good Omens, is the only one I have read, but I highly recommend it, as well. His other well-known works include Stardust, Neverwhere, American Gods, Anansi Boys, and The Graveyard Book.

Another GR author who comes highly recommended, but I haven't read her books, is Janny Wurts. Her two stand-alones are The Master of Whitestorm and To Ride Hell's Chasm. The second one is on my shelf to read, as well.

Another fantasy author I dearly love is Terry Pratchett. While his Discworld series is great, he has a stand-alone that I loved Nation, which involves an alternate reality Victorian-type era.

I second Brandon Sanderson. In a bonus, Warbreaker is free to download at his website. It originally was only available there, but was then published in book format later.

I am reading Crown Duel for 15.9 and am looking forward to it.

Donna Jo: I would have included him, but since she mentioned specifically aiming for GR Authors, I left him off. I do agree with the recommendation, though.

Rachel Lee: Have you read it before? I absolutely love it. I actually had to tape the cover onto my copy because it was starting to fall off from reading it too often. I'm going to re-read it for 5.09.

Any suggestions for "Christian"? The only Christian fiction that I've read (and liked) has been the trilogy by Meredith Efken. Thanks!

Deedee, I read and enjoyed Arena by Karen Hancock. I found the symbolism, while direct and fairly obvious, to be ignored easily enough and each time I read it I manage to enjoy it well enough. It's not everyone's cup of tea, though, and some people aren't able to ignore the symbolism at all. It's the only recommendation I have for Christian fiction at the moment, although I have a few others I've been looking into.

Would this work?



I've never read graphic novels. It is over 500 pages, but I'm not sure if Graphic Novels are allowed.

Missy wrote: "Would this work?



I've never read graphic novels. It is over 500 pages, but I'm not sure if Graphic Novels are allowed."

sure. I plan to read a graphic novel myself, since that's WAY outside my normal comfort zone!

I would consider Christy to be Christian fiction without any "preachiness". I also think the Mitford books fit the bill of Christian fiction without being in the standard mold. Redeeming Love is closer to the stereotype of Christian fiction, but it is not overly preachy and it is a fair love story for those who like romance.

Would something like the "rape" shelf work? I have a history of rape and so reading about it is outside of my comfort zone. There are several books on that list that look okay. But it isn't a genre so I am not sure if that shelf would work.

Kathryn wrote: "Would something like the "rape" shelf work? I have a history of rape and so reading about it is outside of my comfort zone. There are several books on that list that look okay. But it isn't a genre..."

Yes, a topic that's "outside your comfort zone," works as well as a genre outside your comfort zone.

Caity wrote: "Deedee, I read and enjoyed Arena by Karen Hancock. I found the symbolism, while direct and fairly obvious, to be ignored easily enough and each time I read it I manage to enjoy it wel..."

Thanks for the suggestion ... I've put Arena on hold at the library and I'll give it a try.

Wow, trying to find a genre outside my comfort zone has been interesting. I would have said at one time YA(becuase Twilight way turned me off), but after reading Hunger Games and a couple other books that are now in the YA genre, it is definitely back in my comfort zone. I am not big into non-fiction(unless it is spirituality books or biographies), but I since there are quite a few non-fictions in this challenge, not sure i want to add another one. This is what I get for reading everything I can get my hands on all my life LOL.
So to stop rambling...maybe Christian Fiction????? I have seen Ted Dekker list on a couple shelves for that, and I know he has some good books out right now. Would that work?

I never touch straight romance novels unless there is a supernatural feel to it, and I'm not into fantasy/sci fi with trolls and elves and things so I looked at both of these shelves and found a couple of books there that I got in trades or through bookcrossing ages ago that I've been kinda reluctant to look at. This is an opportunity/excuse to pick them up!

chucklesthescot wrote: "I never touch straight romance novels unless there is a supernatural feel to it, and I'm not into fantasy/sci fi with trolls and elves and things so I looked at both of these shelves and found a co..."

great! That's really the point of this, to give people the incentive to try something a little different than their usual reading.

I'm going with the Horror shelf since it's outside of my comfort zone. I've had Stephen King's Salem's Lot on a bookshelf at my house for about a year and haven't cracked it yet. This task is a great way to explore something different!