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Why Reading Out of Your Comfort Zone is Beneficial

Aug 16, 2020

I never thought that I would change my reading habits. For a very long time, I only ever read YA fantasy/paranormal. Seriously from the ages 12-16, I pretty much only read that. But then I started blogging and became more involved in the book blogging community, and that started to change what I read. I started reading out of my comfort zone. And you know what? It’s one of the best things I have done for my reading.

It’s not an easy thing to do—reading something that you aren’t used to, that you don’t know. But it can be an amazing experience. Because it can change your comfort zone. You can love something that you never thought that you would. It can also show you something that you might not like, but you will never know until you at least try it.

Photo by Fabiola Peñalba on Unsplash

I think one of the easiest things to do as a reader falls into a comfort zone. To start reading a genre or readership and just stick with it. And for the most part – I think that is totally fine and nothing to be ashamed of. I think to fall that easily into a genre or readership is pretty amazing and perfect. However, I also think that one of the best things you could do to start reaching out your comfort zone and read something that you didn’t think that you would.

I think a lot of this has to do with the bias and stigma we have against other genre’s and readerships. I wrote about this a couple of months ago and I still stand by it now. When I started to really read, I loved having a romance in all my books, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I took the plunge. It is then I started to read books that would class solely as romance. I didn’t believe everything that has been said about romances, but I didn’t know if I was reading to start reading it all – just in case.

But I took the leap. And it’s the best thing that I ever did. Romance makes up 80% of what I read now, and I love it so much. I still read heaps of YA and paranormal, but now there is so much more for me to choose from. There is so much more that can grab my attention. If you ask me 10 years ago if I would be reading romance more and more each year – I would have laughed in your face.

Photo by Nicole Wolf on Unsplash

One of the best ways to read out of your comfort zone. Is to do it slowly. Read something that is similar to what you love and then move out from there. If you like YA fantasy, but haven’t read an adult fantasy. See if there is an author that you love in YA that has also read adult fantasy. Start from there and then read books that are similar. Or read an adult fantasy that has characters in their earlier twenties.

Don’t jump straight from YA to literary fiction. It’s not the way to go. Pick up a YA that is along those lines first. Something that stands out from the crowd in the writing and all the other trademarks of lit fic. It doesn’t necessarily have to be literary fiction, but close enough that you can get a feel for the writing style. And then you can pick up something more.

Once you are in the genre or readership, it’s easier to move around and find something that you like. In the case for me. I started by reading New Adult romances and then slowly moved more mainstream romance. And in doing that, I found the things that I love and the things that I don’t. From NA romances I found that I love sports romances – a lot. And then I slowly started to like historical romances, MC romances and many different other subgenre’s.

Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

And while I talk about here the success of moving out of your comfort zone. It doesn’t always work that way. You can try and genre or readership, and it just doesn’t work for you. And that is totally fine, because you tried. I’m not a massive fan of non-fiction. I’ve picked it up here and there, but I don’t think it’s for me. I rather watch a documentary or mini-series at this moment. But that also doesn’t mean I won’t ever try non-fiction again. Especially when it’s such a massive genre and has so many subgenres.

One of the best suggestions I have for reading out of your comfort zone is – don’t do if you are not in the mood. If you go in thinking you are going to hate the book, you most likely will. Try and keep an open mind and pick it up when you feel like it.

Reading out of your comfort zone isn’t easy to do. It’s not something that you can do overnight and be gone with it. You have to think about it and work out which way you would like to go. Don’t push yourself to read out of it either. Read something different when you think you are ready. Reading something that you never thought that you would and loving it, is such a great experience. And if it’s something that you are truly thinking about – do it. It is fun at least.

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Have you read out of your comfort zone and love what you picked up? Has it been the opposite? What are your thoughts on reading out of your comfort zone? Let’s Chat!

My Last Five Reads

Jul 27, 2020

I love knowing what people are currently reading or what they have recently just read. So today I thought I would share my last five reads. My last few reads have all been romances as have most of my reads this year. But they have been a mix of historical, contemporary and supernatural/paranormal. I haven’t been reading much the last month, but I feel like that is changing now. Anyway, let’s get into it. Here are my last five reads.

Wicked and the Wallflower (The Bareknuckle Bastards #1) by Sarah MacLean: I picked up my first Sarah MacLean a couple of weeks ago and just fell in love. I love her writing, her characters, the story. Once I started Wicked and the Wallflower I couldn’t put it down. The banter between Devil and Lady Felicity was so good. I can’t wait to read more in this series. I plan to pick up the next books soon.

The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood #12) by J.R. Ward: I’m slowly making my way through this series and this was the next one to read. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. There is a lot of angst in this one. Wrath made a lot of decisions in this one, and gosh he annoyed me. But it was great to be back in Wrath’s mind. Although we might have gotten snippets from him in previous books, I liked that we got to see him more. It was a great book in the series and moved the series along.

Under Locke by Mariana Zapata: Over the past couple of months I’ve been slowly making my way through Mariana Zapata’s backlist and I’ve been enjoying it. Under Locke is one of my favourites from the ones I’ve read so far. I enjoyed the romance, the characters and the story. It was one that included a lot of things that I love reading. The romance did have its ups and downs for me, but overall I did enjoy it.

Hands Down by Mariana Zapata: This is Zapata’s newest release, I had already good really good things about it, so I decided to pick it up. while I didn’t love it as much as Under Locke, I still enjoyed it. I liked that it was friends to lovers and second chance romance. The characters were really enjoyable and I liked the story.

A Widow’s Guide to Scandal (The Sons of Neptune #1) by Hallie Alexander: I just finished this one last night and I really loved it. The romance was adorable, it made me smile so much. I also liked the time that the novel was set. I don’t read many books set during the time of the American Revolution. And I can’t wait to read the rest of this series! My full review of this one will be out in the next couple of days.

And those are my last five reads. Have you read any of these? Are you planning on reading any of these? What are some of your latest reads? Let’s Chat!

My Best Friend Picks My TBR Check In

Jul 25, 2020

At the start of the year, my best friend Ely, and I picked 5 books that we wanted the other to read in 2020. It was a fun way that we could force each other to read books that have been on our tbr for a while or we’ve wanted the other to read for a while. You can check out my tbr and the books that Ely picked for me to read.

So today we thought we would do a mid-year check-in. Show what we have read, what we thought? What we are planning to read next? You can check out Ely’s check-in now as well.

I’ve read two books from the books that Ely picked for me so far. But one of them was quite big so I feel pretty okay with that. I’ve also really loved both books that I’ve read.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare and Various: I don’t know why I hadn’t read this one yet. I had my copy from when it came out but I just hadn’t picked it up. But I’m so glad that I finally did. I enjoyed most of the stories in this one. It’s one of her best anthologies and captured the world in a different light. I loved that we got to see a different side of the world, from different characters and their perspectives. It was this great combo that includes characters from all her series, along with different timelines. This kept the stories fresh and interesting.

I loved that Jem was also such a focus in these series. I miss him so much. And it was great that we got to see him over such a massive span of time. I love seeing these interactions, his emotions and I loved that blanks were filled in on time that we missed.

Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes: I adored Girl Against the Universe. It was an excellent novel that does focus on mental health. It’s not a love fixes all kind of novel but explores how those around can help you in a way that you never thought. Maguire and Jordy were adorable and I love them so much. They were both such interesting characters. Maguire was such a perfect protagonist. She was really easy to get along with, even though she wasn’t always likable. Her character arc was fantastic and I loved seeing her grow.

The romance was hella adorable. Like it melted my heart so damn much. I can’t even begin to explain. I love the friendships she builds, and the family bonds she repairs. These were all done so well. I also really like the way mental health was explored throughout the novel. It wasn’t overlooked, it didn’t overshadow. It was the perfect combo.

I’ve already loved the two books that I’ve read and I can’t wait to dig into more. I think I’m planning on reading Prince Charming (Royals #1) by Rachel Hawkins and I’m excited! Have you read these two books? What did you think? Let’s Chat!