TTT: Not My Usual Faire

Occasionally I take a break from my fantasy/scifi obsession and read books that diverge from my usual faire. I don’t always click with them, but from time to time I do end up enjoying these books and they give me fresher eyes when I delve further in the books I usually read. That said, I don’t read that many non-fantasies/science fiction in a given year, so I’m pulling this list from the past two years.

Ten Books I Enjoyed Recently (last yearish) That Weren’t My Typical Genre/Type of Book

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – romance, contemporary, fiction, new adult
I mean, Levi is just…JUST. Sometimes I like my romances just so. This particular book has had me on a book rut at the moment. It’s a little scary how I haven’t moved on yet.

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb – romance, mystery, police procedural, adult
Eve and Roark? Phew, steamy all the way. I’ve read the second book in the series as well, and there is still constant steam and sexiness there. Totally something I’d read on the occasional basis.

Famous Last Words by Katie Alender – paranormal romance, mystery, young adult
I probably would never have picked this book up myself, but one of my writing students pretty much shoved this at me and told me to read it. So I did. It was pretty enjoyable and easy to read, so yeah, there’s that.

Inherit Midnight by Kate Kae Myers – mystery, adventure, travel, young adult
I got this book as an ARC on NetGalley, and really liked it! It was pretty much Rat Race for young adults, and I liked that it was fast paced and full of adventure.

Big Damn Sin City by Frank Miller – graphic novel, noir, crime, adult
I tend to read graphic novels on different genres more often than I do novels, so this isn’t too out of my comfort zone. All the same, the story and the noir isn’t usually something I read (I watch them, sure).

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake – paranormal, horror, romance, young adult
I was on a horror novel kick at the time, and I actually liked this book. The ending was a little lackluster, and some of the characters are kind of flat and 2-dimensional at times, but I still enjoyed it as a read.

Yes Please by Amy Poehler – non-fiction, memoir, humor, audiobook
I don’t think I would have ever picked the book up on hard copy, but I got the audiobook as a promotion and it was quite lovely listening to Poehler and various voices reminiscing about Poehler’s life. It was definitely something good to listen to right before bed.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks – science fiction, post-apocalyptic, zombies
I put this book up–even though it is sci-fi and up my alley–because it was written like a set of historical interviews. While they’re obviously fictional accounts, the accounts were interesting to read and almost felt as if we DID go through a zombie apocalypse. Except we didn’t. Obviously.

I might have to double-check that my family hasn’t turned into mindless zombies…

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – historical fiction, WWII, audiobook
Still one of the saddest books ever. I read this a couple years back as an audiobook, and Death is an interesting storyteller, albeit depressing considering why he’s even present in the first place.

The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells – science fiction, classic, 19th century literature
I try to limit my classic literature reading these days, because I find that I don’t have the patience for them anymore. This has nothing to do with the classics and mostly to do with my attention span. All the same, H.G. Wells has always been a science fiction master, and I did like The Invisible Man.