Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Challenge Yourself

The past few years I have been challenging myself to branch out on what I choose to read.

I am I big fan of romance novels but they can get old; especially when you read the same author. Every author has a pattern, especially authors that have a lot of books in stores. Nothing wrong with that, its how they guarantee the book will sell and how they make their living but if you never branch out on the type of book you read you will see this pattern and then you get bored.

So, I decided that I needed to expand my range and the style of books I read. I'm still a die-hard romance novel fan. They are wonderful when I simply want to read to zone out, read quickly and read just to read. But its really awkward when in conversation about books all you have to talk about is "Fifty Shades of Grey."

Plus, my husband is a reader too but we can't have conversations about books if we don't read the same ones. In an effort to give us more topics I began reading books he has read but are also more socially acceptable to admit I've read them.

These are challenges for me because I'm branching out and I'm a slow reader. I tend to read every word on every page and details can be hard to follow. But below is my current list:

Checklist:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the  King by J.R.R. Tolkien
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Shining by Stephen King
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Jane Austen Collection  (have read Pride & Prejudice)
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
Beautiful Creatures Saga by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl (I've read the first two books but stalled on the 3rd)
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (have started but never finished, several times)
Sherlock Holmes Collection by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I'm sure this list will grow with time but this is where I am at right now! The next major one from this is Anna Karenina. Hopefully, I will be able to accomplish this goal; though it may take me a long time.

Any suggestions? What are you currently reading? Are you stick in a pattern or are you branching out?

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