Mixing it Up: Reading Outside Your Comfort Zone

I guess it's no secret that romance novels are my favorite type of book (shock!), but of course, I do read other things, too, including a lot of nonfiction. Also, I'm not sure if it's the result of having been a teacher, the fact that I haven't yet grown up or just because there are so many talented children's and young adult book authors, but I frequently delve into books written with a younger audience in mind. Right now I'm reading the last book in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson Olympians series. It's a fun and interesting series based on mythology (if you haven't read any of them). Here's the first book, The Lightning Thief:

Still, that's well within my comfort zone, the type of thing I would normally choose. But not long ago, I heard a lot of people talking about The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and how it wasn't what they would usually read but they were, nonetheless, reading it and enjoying it. That intrigued me, and I had to pick up a copy. They were right. It was very different from anything I had read. (If you haven't read it, it's the first book in a 3-book young adult series based in a dystopian society and it's very dark, so dark that I was a bit surprised that it had been written for young adults). But it sucked me in completely. I read the entire series in a matter of a week and a half and I was sorry when it ended.

So, how about you? What types of books do you usually read and do you ever venture outside that comfort zone? If so, what have you read and what was your reaction?

Happy Reading!