Reading Outside the Comfort Zone

Recently, I decided to read outside of my comfort zone. Normally, I'm big into thrillers and horror. But it dawned on me that I also do enjoy the occasional romance novel by Nicholas Sparks. And I'm quite partial to the non-fiction works of Richard Dawkins. So why not go way out there and try something I've not really tried before: fantasy.

I've read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I love those books. Them were good readin'! Also, I'm a big huge stinkin' fan of A. Lee Martinez. Whenever I get wind of his newest release, I'm quick to pre-order. So I've read SOME fantasy. Not a whole lot, but some.

So now I'm trying out the likes of Terry Goodkind, Terry Brooks, Terry Pratchett, and Tad Williams. Okay, so I TRIED to read a Terry Goodkind novel already, and discovered I needed something a little bit lighter to read. After all, starting out with a nearly 900 page novel, all in extremely small type that hurts my eyes I might add, isn't really the best idea.

My next attempt was almost as quickly thwarted, as I picked up the first book in the Discworld series and nearly lost my shit when it dawned on me how much the story jumps around. I now think I have the hang of Pratchett's writing style and format, but it really wasn't easy. Thankfully, the book is around 200 pages, so if I should feel myself losing my shit again, I'll console myself with the fact that it'll all be over soon. Okay, that makes the book sound like shit, which it really is not. It's just different from anything I've read up to this point, so I'm having to adjust more than I thought I'd have to.

I encourage anyone who is reading this blog to go out into the big scary world and pick up a book they wouldn't normally consider reading, and read it!