Happy Top Ten Tuesday!  Today’s topic is ten books I enjoyed recently that weren’t my typical genre or were out of my comfort zone.  I make no secret of the fact that I typically read young adult and new adult.  I don’t deviate from that very much, and I’m fine with that.  But sometimes, be it for a reading challenge or because somebody gives me a book I wouldn’t normally read, I do step out of my comfort zone.  It doesn’t happen too often (so I went back a little over a year for some of these) but I do usually end up really enjoying these books.

– I read Persepolis for my 2015 reading challenge.  The topic?  A banned book.  I don’t often read issue-heavy books.  I don’t often read graphic novels.  I’m not super into history.  But I loved this book.
– Interpreter of Maladies was also for my reading challenge. Topic: a Pulitzer Prize winner.  Not my normal cup of tea, but I really enjoyed this one.  I knew when the first short story made me start sobbing that I was in for a wild ride.

– Pretending to Dance is a book I picked up from Netgalley, mostly because I know Diane Chamberlain is a very good author, although I don’t often read adult fiction.  It was so good.

– The Perfect Son was my choice one month from Kindle First.  Again, adult fiction doesn’t usually do it for me, but that was really well-written and kept me engaged throughout.
– Seventh Heaven was the final book on this list that I bought specifically for my reading challenge.  Topic: a book that came out the year you were born.  It was magical.

– I’ve owned The Bell Jar for years, and only picked it up for my Killing the TBR challenge.  I was really surprised at how much I liked it.
– The only reason I binged on Peter F. Hamilton novels is because I got approved for The Abyss Beyond Dreams on Netgalley.  None of his books are my usual interest, but I got really, really into them and enjoyed myself so much.

– The Golden Compass 

 – The Subtle Knife
– The Amber Spyglass

These three were also part of my Killing the TBR challenge.  I’ve owned them since I was a child but had never read them.  I don’t often read books featuring young children, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I cared about these kids.

Have you been pleasantly surprised by anything you’ve read recently?  Do you find that you enjoy books that push you out of your comfort zone?