World Book Day: Out of Comfort Zone Books I Want To Read.

Today is World Book Day. The day where children, teachers and other teaching staff go to school dressed up as a book character and there is a whole day of fun, book-related activities.

I’m not currently working in any school right now (let’s not go there) so I’m simply an observer on that side of things, BUT as a book blogger, this is the perfect day to ramble, rave and share the absolute joy that comes from books and reading. Saying that, I was struggling to come up with an idea for a dedicated World Book Day post until I was looking at the WBD website and if there is one thing it promotes, it is giving the gift of books to reluctant readers. Now I’m obviously NOT a reluctant reader, but there are certain books I am hesitant to pick up for various reasons and this year, I want to get better at looking out for and reading those that are out of my comfort zone. Lately, I’ve added some to my ‘want to read’ wish list so this is the perfect opportunity to share that and get some other recommendations and opinions.

I’m not sure how long this list will be, but so I don’t ramble on any further, let’s dive right in.

The Seasonal Quartet by Ali Smith

I have been aware of these books for a while, and I think I remember seeing the bookstore hype and interest surrounding Autumn in particular when it first came out back in 2016, but I stayed away because I was head deep in YA and all the book community recommendations. I’d not given any of the others much thought but there was something a few days ago (at the time of writing) that made me think about them and for whatever reason it is, I can’t get them out of my mind. As contemporary, literary fiction novels, they are very much out of my comfort zone, but they’re also snapshots of social history, which does interest me. I want to try reading more literary fiction, so it might be time to finally bite the bullet and read them.

Otherlands: A World In The Making by Thomas Halliday

I’ll confess that did do a little online Waterstones browsing as well, because who can help it, and this jumped out at me. First published last year, it is a non-fiction book that takes us all the way back through time to show us how Earth used to exist from the landscapes, to the nature, and the birth of humanity. I’m usually more historical when it comes non-fiction, which is where a book looking at science, geography and nature is out of my comfort zone, but it is always interesting to know more about our world, and what came before us. There will be a lot of history to learn from this book, and the more I read about it, the more I want to read it now.

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao

YA/Adult Fantasy is usually well within my comfort zone, but I’m still not sure whether Asian Mythology-based fantasy has caught me in its grasp or not. I seem to have a hard time getting my head around the worlds, and although I’m usually fine with lyrical writing styles, I have a hard time slowing down my reading speed so I can focus on the language and story. It happened with Daughter of the Moon Goddess a little, and similarly with The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected In Water by Zen Cho when I read that last year or the year before. However, Song of Silver, Flame Like Night does sound interesting and I’ve not read a book by this author, so I’m not willing to give up on this fantasy sub-genre yet.

Surprisingly, that is it. I thought I added more to my wish list but when I looked again, the other books are not actually daunting or out of my comfort zone. Who knew?

What books you do want to read that are out of your comfort zone?
What are/have you been doing for World Book Day?

As always, thanks for reading and have a brazzle dazzle day!
xx