A nice, accessible play for those new to the format is: 'Grief Is The Thing With Feathers' by Max Porter which anyone who has lost a loved one will immediately be able to relate to.
My general comfort zone is third person writing. I would say I’m not as immediately keen on first person writing, it’s an instinctive thing to me. I see something is in first person and I’m immediately less interested than I would be if it was written in third person. That being said, every time I ignore that feeling and just read the thing, I usually have a fine time with it and it’s a non-issue. That has not stopped it from being an immediate turn-off however, I imagine it’s just something innate that I’ll probably always deal with when reading.
I am the prime example of someone going outside their comfort zones (contemporary fiction for me) - all because of BookTube channels like yours as well as many many others. It’s a joy to experience new and different genres. Wonderful video, friend! 👏🏻😊
Hey Olly, great video! I'm kind of the opposite to you I guess, when it comes to comfort zones - I read lots of different types of books; fiction, non-fiction, comics, poetry, plays etc but I definitely have a comfort zone in terms of fiction genres. I have up until recently stuck to horror and thriller with a tiny bit of fantasy thrown in. In the last couple of months I've started trying some stuff outside my comfort zone and I'm loving what I'm reading, and finding that it's really given me new things to think about and experience. So far I've only tried a couple of classics and some hard sci-fi but I've just set myself a challenge for next year in fact - I've assigned each month a genre that I don't usually read (or have never read) and I'll read a couple of books from that genre to try and expand my reading experience a bit more. I know I won't like everything I try, but fingers crossed I'll find some new favourites too! On the subject of plays - I love reading plays and used to read a lot more of them (I'm a theatre graduate). The Pillowman is a fantastic play! If you like that one then you might like to try some work by McDonagh's contemporaries (of the sort of work that was often termed 'in-yer'face' theatre due to its sometime controversial and confrontational style and content), like Sarah Kane, Anthony Neilson, Philip Ridley to name but a few. If you want any recommendations for specific plays let me know! Love your videos mate, have only found your channel recently but have already got so many new books for my TBR based on your recommendations! All the best 🙂
Thanks Alex! Glad to hear you're getting out of your comfort zone. I'm looking forward to the Pillowman - if I fancy more plays afterwards I'll let you know. Thanks for the kind words about the channel - really glad you're enjoying it!
That’s a funny saying about olives! Great vid! I love all kinds of books. I haven’t read romance yet, but I’ll probably try it one day. Yeah, there are so many awesome comics these days. Stephen King’s son Joe Hill said he never felt comfortable as a writer until he started writing comics. His comics Locke and Key and The Cape are brilliant! Fatale and Criminal and The Fade Out from Ed Brubaker are astonishing. The Sixth Gun and Harrow County by Cullen Bunn are amazing. American Vampire by Scott Snyder is astonishing! The first volume is co written by King. Yeah, you turn the page and boom! There it is! Very different from prose. I get most of my comics from the library and Instocktrades 👍📚📚📚📚
I've had a GREAT literature professor while I was studying English and American literature. He made us read several plays, novels, a little poetry. At first, I saw it as an assignment to read the plays for example, since I thought I would not enjoy reading plays at all. However, The ones he chose (Buried Child by Sam Shepard, among others, which was absolutely amazing and horrifying) were really good (in my opion, at least). He made me appreciate various different forms of literary art and I will always be grateful to him for that. So I wholeheartedly agree to what you're saying here! Thanks for reminding me of my favorite professor! :D
Some good thoughts there. Obviously I'm sold on going outside comfort zones but no doubt have blind spots still (telephone directories?). A poem you might enjoy is The Long Take by Robin Robertson, actually a novella in poem form - not crime exactly but defo LA noir, very atmospheric and compelling.
I have so stepped out of my comfort zone this year, especially with classics that I never thought I'd read, more recently Lonesome Dove which is brilliant so far!
Had to switch the notifications to all because you're the greatest...Also can't wait to hear your thoughts on Kristopher Triana...also there is a fantastic dark literary fiction called Away From Every by Chad Pelley I just read and I thought it was a masterpiece and I think you'd enjoy it!
If you haven't read it or seen it performed, a play I'd recommend is Cormac McCarthy's 'The Sunset Limited.' There's not much action, it's just two characters sitting in a room talking about life and death, good and evil, as one of them tries to talk the other out of suicide. It was adapted into a movie starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel Jackson, and (in my opinion) it has career best performances from both of them.
Around 10 years ago, I used to belong to an internet group that encouraged other members to read outside their comfort zone. Each month you could volunteer to join, then someone else, randomly selected, would suggest a few books outside your comfort zone. It was fun. I read a few interesting books and a few duds. Outside my zone are romance and YA.
Oh man, I'm that way with food, too. And maybe with everything...I don't really like new things hahahaha I'm open to try reading poetry and plays... as long as there's horror in them haha, I think it's easier to leave your comfort zone when there is a hint of familiarity to be found!
True! And someone else pointed out that if you look hard enough you can pretty much always find things that are in your comfort zone but also out of it
A poem I think you would like is “The Cremation of Sam McGee” by Robert Service. As for a play, I enjoy reading _The Seven Year Itch_ by George Axelrod every couple years. Great fun. I got outside my comfort zone with my first westerns during June on the Range this year. Epic fantasy is outside my comfort zone, but I have recently finished the first book in _The Lord of the Rings,_ and want to finish the series this year.
I agree, Robert Service's poems are fantastic. My favourite is "The World's All Right" - always a good one if you're feeling a bit down. I actually have the record (!) audiobook of Spell of the Yukon, which I inherited from my lovely mum. Must get a record player! Robert Burns' poetry is also brilliant and really funny, but I'm not sure if it'd have the same appeal for people who don't speak Scots? Tam o' Shanter is, in my very Scottish opinion, the best poem ever written.
'The Pillowman' is an *amazing* play! I saw the wonderful Broadway production (which had one of the scariest moments I'd ever seen on a stage). Previously, I had (on a hunch!) seen McDonagh's 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' (on one of my trips to London) and I've followed McDonagh's career ever since.
It's been a goal of mine to expand my personal library for the past couple years. This video reminded me I have yet to read any of the plays I bought... And now I am very inspired to go do that haha so thank you!
Last week I closed my eyes at the library, walked along the shelves, and picked out three random books. Two of them are definitely books I'd never pick. It's gonna be interesting!
@@CriminOllyBlog I ended up with a Lee Child (fun), a true crime about Texas serial killers (scary! and thus usually avoided), and a romance (ugh...I'll give it a go, though).
I think you're probably right that this is a good idea... if there wasn't enough of my preferred 'zone' to read in. When I've read all the fiction novels I want to read then I might step outside that comfort zone. I do read a bit of non-fiction. I read Endurance by Alfred Lansing the other day and was so engrossed I went off on a tangent and read lots of other Arctic/Antarctic non-fiction. Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton is utterly fantastic and then I read In the Heart of the Sea by Nathanial Philbrick about the Nantucket whaling expedition that inspired Moby Dick. But poetry and plays? Comics? Life is too short when there are still so many good novels to read. Maybe having a degree in English puts you off reading plays and poetry for life? Maybe it was just Waiting for Godot.
Ha! Yeah I do wonder if one of the reasons I don't read poetry or plays is because of having to read them at school. Agree that In the Heart of the Sea was great! Thanks for watching (and sorry it has taken me so long to reply!)
"House of Leaves" by Mark Danielewski is one of the first mystery books ive ever tried to read. Heard really interesting things about it, and it is gripping , but its hard to read. 100% out of my comfort zone.
I feel like most reads are out of my comfort zone. I've never really learned to read critically and came to enjoy reading really late in life. It is a big reason why I started doing the booktube thing. I don't have anyone to talk about books with so I can get on and try and talk about what I read. ✌️🤘
I occasionally read out of my comfort zone, why not, you may end up liking the book. Occasionally I will read Science Fiction, or I try to read a non-fiction book a month, find out I like it, so many things to learn about and it doesn't bother me like when I was forced to read in school, I can choose the subject I want to learn about. Of course, I have to understand what I am reading, it cannot be garble on the page and over my head. That is for both Science Fiction and Non-fiction and also fantasy. Those genres are out of my comfort zones.
I feel like this when it comes to music, as well, (I suppose any kind of media, really) where I find music that is out of my comfort zone at times. My preference is mostly Rock, Metal and Pop music, and I know there are different subgenres of Rock, Metal and Pop as well, but even though I grew up with Rock music as it's what I love the most, from Alternative, Indie, Heavy, Classic and Punk, too, but when it comes to Metal music, I am not keen on Death Metal or Black Metal, but I prefer Classic Metal, Heavy Metal, Alternative Metal and Melodic Metal too, as that is what I love, and Pop, I love mostly Pop Music from artists I like, and it's what I love, but I am not keen on Grime and most Hip Hop music, but I do like Eminem, The Black Eyed Peas and Akon, but it's a genre that I never really been into, but even though most pop music has elements of Grime and Hip Hop in the style a lot more, nowadays, I don't really follow it and enjoy pop music from artists I like, however, I have always been a rock music fan the most, even liking Acoustic Rock and Country Rock too, and even Country Music is what I love too, and so I love a lot of different styles of music and in various genres, even some out of my comfort zone over the years, but it's what I love and it helps to find my liking to music by stepping out of my comfort zone and really enjoy what I enjoy.
I had no idea that I would like to listen to readers of horror, pulp, and that kind of thing. I have grown so much by listening to your and others sharing about your loves. I definitely want to venture into maybe some pulp and adventure fantasy but NO HORROR. and NO CHILD ABUSE or pedophilia...
I enjoy poetry. Since you Iike crime, I recommend Execution Poems by George Elliott Clarke. Clarke discovered that a couple of distant cousins were executed in the 1940s, before they abolished the death penalty in Canada. The poems look at race and poverty but they're darkly beautiful. He also wrote a novel, George and Rue, about the same subject, which I didn't like as much.
So glad I found you. I’ve definitely gotten out of my boring comfort zone beginning with the pandemic, and so surprised to fall in love with a diversity of plain good writing: westerns, all sci-fi, fantasy and a return to horror have been a delight. Onward to poetry and non-fiction!
I started getting comics from the library a few weeks ago for the first time in years, so I've had a similar experience to yours recently. I really want to get into short stories again. I think I will make that a big point next year of reading at least one a day
As a kid I would read whatever I could get my hands on so that Louis L'Amour, Thomas Hardy, Nancy Drew, war comics, John Greenleaf Whittier, etc. were all kind of the same. As an adult it's all sort of the same for me still. I listen to a lot of horror and thrillers during the torturous elliptical exercise session in the morning because it's easy and a good distraction. And Stephen King's "The Fairy Tale" is nine miles too long.
I must agree. BUT… I’m lazy sometimes. There are benefits and good surprises, but to know it demands time. My way: I give 4 or 5 pages in credit. If the book gains my attention, I follow. Id not, goodbye. James Joyce’s Ulisses never caught me, for instance.
the first book i ever read was an excellent biography of Thomas Edison. my wonderful aunt gifted me the first two, actually. the second was a collected biography of famous scientists. i remember being amazed that i plowed through 'all those pages.' then she gave me The Count of Monte Cristo and i just couldn't get into it at that age. i felt that i failed her. it was horrible! not the book, but the lack of impetus to finish. i later read Robinson Crusoe and was amazed how good it was and i didn't want it to end. i haven't read a biography since. when i wander from contemporary fiction, it's to the classics. The Heart of Darkness hugely affected me as i read it in a farmhouse at night i was tasked to paint. gads. recently the Glass Bead Game was engaging and the satires of Juvenal and his glimpses into Roman life. i have Gogol's Dead Souls on my pile here. looking forward to that one. i find the introductions are what snag me. the context explained in the lobby. ha! i also really enjoyed China by Edward Rutherfurd. my first real foray into historical fiction. fascinating. btw, currently savoring every page of the Hydrogen Sonata. trust in Banks.
I'm showing you my limited ability to express myself, but my enjoyment of poetry is very different from my enjoyment of a good novel which is also different from a good biography. It's like comparing a view of the mountains dressed in beautiful autumn colors to a delicious piece of cheesecake. They are both pleasurable but very different. Also, the subject of the written piece plays a big part for me. Something may be beautifully written, but if I don't care for the subject, I won't like the book. Your thought provoking videos are fun!
I left a comment on Michael Vaughn’s video from this morning about classics. I asked him what he would consider to be modern classics. To that question, I thought it would be a good exercise for you booktubers to all weigh in on what you all would consider to be a classic since perhaps 1950. This would be an interesting way for you all to read outside your comfort zone. For example, I think Shogun and Dune are exceptional novels and are “classics”, as is perhaps “Walking With Destiny”, a recent biography of Churchill.
Definitely agree re Dune, although it’s been a while since I’ve read it. In a similar vein (popular genre fiction) I would suggest Lonesome Dove and The Shining.
Since I was a kid I always get very curious for books that are out of my comfort zone. However I have rules. For example. I don’t read a uncomfortable book before going to sleep or read something heavy if I’m dealing with life in not a positive way. I also take a break if there’s something that I need more time to process. That’s why I have more than 5 books that I’m ready at the same time. Some find it ridiculous that I’m reading so many books at the same time, but I need what I need.
The thing is, everything crosses over. It's pretty much always possible to find something within your comfort zone, that also qualifies as something outside your comfort zone. For instance: The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins is one of those classics, but it also happens to be one of the first detective novels, and a very good one too. As a horror reader, there are essential classics, such as the works of Edgar Allan Poe, and once you've read his prose, you find you have poetry too, and once you've read Poe's poetry, could you still say you don't like poetry? The obvious answer would be, "Nevermore!".
Only poem I've ever liked is Resume by Dorothy Parker Razors pain you; Rivers are damp; Acids stain you; And drugs cause cramp. Guns aren’t lawful; Nooses give; Gas smells awful; You might as well live. I'm going to try and read more though.
I've dabbled out of my comfort zone over my many years and found it too much like hard work. Why make yourself uncomfortable for the sake of it? I've got less adventurous in my reading habits with the passing of the years.
I think if it feels a lot like hard work then sticking with what you know you like is the right thing to do. These last couple of weeks, for me, it’s felt quite easy
Prose fiction, well what a shock. Yeh like no kidding, some of us (ME !) knew that 🤣. I can't believe you found Fever Pitch more difficult than the poetry. I feel the need to commit seppuku but of course that would cause an international incident. 😉 I do wanna read My Friend Dahmer. My comfort zone is engine manuals, WW2 non-fiction (and some fiction), anything military history related, scientific history, any non-fiction actually. I've recently come across J-idol magazines...interesting. I'm not doing poetry EVER. It's for sissies 🤣
@@CriminOllyBlog I just looked it up and apparently he didn't write as many as planned. There's a trilogy, the Fallen, starting with "Fallen Blood" that deals with the US South.
![โอ้เธอช่าง... - บี้เดอะสกา ft. ต๋อง เทวัญ (Prod. by ป๋าเพชร) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zbWhiLFmVL0/mqdefault.jpg)
A nice, accessible play for those new to the format is: 'Grief Is The Thing With Feathers' by Max Porter which anyone who has lost a loved one will immediately be able to relate to.
Thank you Bex!
My general comfort zone is third person writing. I would say I’m not as immediately keen on first person writing, it’s an instinctive thing to me. I see something is in first person and I’m immediately less interested than I would be if it was written in third person.
That being said, every time I ignore that feeling and just read the thing, I usually have a fine time with it and it’s a non-issue. That has not stopped it from being an immediate turn-off however, I imagine it’s just something innate that I’ll probably always deal with when reading.
That’s interesting! I’ve never had a preference one way or the other on that. Good that it doesn’t stop you reading things though
I have the same comfort zone issue. Excellent discussion.
Cheers, Michael!
I love these video where you talk about these topics... we can all learn something by stepping outside our comfort zones 🤗
Thanks Kris!
I am the prime example of someone going outside their comfort zones (contemporary fiction for me) - all because of BookTube channels like yours as well as many many others. It’s a joy to experience new and different genres. Wonderful video, friend! 👏🏻😊
Fantastic! And yes it’s been great watching you rediscover genres you hadn’t read for a while 😊
@@CriminOllyBlog PREACH! 👏🏻👏🏻
@@M-J *preaches*
@@CriminOllyBlog 🙌🏻
Hey Olly, great video! I'm kind of the opposite to you I guess, when it comes to comfort zones - I read lots of different types of books; fiction, non-fiction, comics, poetry, plays etc but I definitely have a comfort zone in terms of fiction genres. I have up until recently stuck to horror and thriller with a tiny bit of fantasy thrown in. In the last couple of months I've started trying some stuff outside my comfort zone and I'm loving what I'm reading, and finding that it's really given me new things to think about and experience. So far I've only tried a couple of classics and some hard sci-fi but I've just set myself a challenge for next year in fact - I've assigned each month a genre that I don't usually read (or have never read) and I'll read a couple of books from that genre to try and expand my reading experience a bit more. I know I won't like everything I try, but fingers crossed I'll find some new favourites too! On the subject of plays - I love reading plays and used to read a lot more of them (I'm a theatre graduate). The Pillowman is a fantastic play! If you like that one then you might like to try some work by McDonagh's contemporaries (of the sort of work that was often termed 'in-yer'face' theatre due to its sometime controversial and confrontational style and content), like Sarah Kane, Anthony Neilson, Philip Ridley to name but a few. If you want any recommendations for specific plays let me know! Love your videos mate, have only found your channel recently but have already got so many new books for my TBR based on your recommendations! All the best 🙂
Thanks Alex! Glad to hear you're getting out of your comfort zone.
I'm looking forward to the Pillowman - if I fancy more plays afterwards I'll let you know.
Thanks for the kind words about the channel - really glad you're enjoying it!
That’s a funny saying about olives! Great vid!
I love all kinds of books. I haven’t read romance yet, but I’ll probably try it one day. Yeah, there are so many awesome comics these days. Stephen King’s son Joe Hill said he never felt comfortable as a writer until he started writing comics. His comics Locke and Key and The Cape are brilliant! Fatale and Criminal and The Fade Out from Ed Brubaker are astonishing. The Sixth Gun and Harrow County by Cullen Bunn are amazing. American Vampire by Scott Snyder is astonishing! The first volume is co written by King.
Yeah, you turn the page and boom! There it is! Very different from prose. I get most of my comics from the library and Instocktrades 👍📚📚📚📚
Yeah I’ve heard great things about Hill’s comics. Need to check them out!
I've had a GREAT literature professor while I was studying English and American literature. He made us read several plays, novels, a little poetry. At first, I saw it as an assignment to read the plays for example, since I thought I would not enjoy reading plays at all. However, The ones he chose (Buried Child by Sam Shepard, among others, which was absolutely amazing and horrifying) were really good (in my opion, at least). He made me appreciate various different forms of literary art and I will always be grateful to him for that. So I wholeheartedly agree to what you're saying here! Thanks for reminding me of my favorite professor! :D
Thank you! Glad to have brought back some happy memories!
Some good thoughts there. Obviously I'm sold on going outside comfort zones but no doubt have blind spots still (telephone directories?). A poem you might enjoy is The Long Take by Robin Robertson, actually a novella in poem form - not crime exactly but defo LA noir, very atmospheric and compelling.
That sounds right up my alley, I’ll check it out. Thanks Roy.
I have so stepped out of my comfort zone this year, especially with classics that I never thought I'd read, more recently Lonesome Dove which is brilliant so far!
Yeah Lonesome Dove is amazing!
Had to switch the notifications to all because you're the greatest...Also can't wait to hear your thoughts on Kristopher Triana...also there is a fantastic dark literary fiction called Away From Every by Chad Pelley I just read and I thought it was a masterpiece and I think you'd enjoy it!
Thank you! Nor heard of Pelley, but I'll check him out. Thank you!
If you haven't read it or seen it performed, a play I'd recommend is Cormac McCarthy's 'The Sunset Limited.' There's not much action, it's just two characters sitting in a room talking about life and death, good and evil, as one of them tries to talk the other out of suicide. It was adapted into a movie starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel Jackson, and (in my opinion) it has career best performances from both of them.
I’ve never heard of that, either the play or the movie. I’ll see if I can find it on a streaming service - thanks Craig.
Around 10 years ago, I used to belong to an internet group that encouraged other members to read outside their comfort zone. Each month you could volunteer to join, then someone else, randomly selected, would suggest a few books outside your comfort zone. It was fun. I read a few interesting books and a few duds.
Outside my zone are romance and YA.
I used to read only horror, Now I read SCI-FI/Fantasy, Manga, and Asian literature. Junji Ito is my favorite mangaka.
That does sound like an interesting experiment!
That’s great! I’ve just read Ito for the first time and really enjoyed him
Oh man, I'm that way with food, too. And maybe with everything...I don't really like new things hahahaha I'm open to try reading poetry and plays... as long as there's horror in them haha, I think it's easier to leave your comfort zone when there is a hint of familiarity to be found!
True! And someone else pointed out that if you look hard enough you can pretty much always find things that are in your comfort zone but also out of it
A poem I think you would like is “The Cremation of Sam McGee” by Robert Service. As for a play, I enjoy reading _The Seven Year Itch_ by George Axelrod every couple years. Great fun.
I got outside my comfort zone with my first westerns during June on the Range this year. Epic fantasy is outside my comfort zone, but I have recently finished the first book in _The Lord of the Rings,_ and want to finish the series this year.
I’ll have a look for that poem! Glad JOTR helped you try some new things
I agree, Robert Service's poems are fantastic. My favourite is "The World's All Right" - always a good one if you're feeling a bit down. I actually have the record (!) audiobook of Spell of the Yukon, which I inherited from my lovely mum. Must get a record player! Robert Burns' poetry is also brilliant and really funny, but I'm not sure if it'd have the same appeal for people who don't speak Scots? Tam o' Shanter is, in my very Scottish opinion, the best poem ever written.
'The Pillowman' is an *amazing* play! I saw the wonderful Broadway production (which had one of the scariest moments I'd ever seen on a stage). Previously, I had (on a hunch!) seen McDonagh's 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' (on one of my trips to London) and I've followed McDonagh's career ever since.
I’m looking forward to reading it!
I try to read outside my comfort zone once in a while. About to read a graphic novel which is not usually my thing. 😊💙
Excellent! Hope you enjoy it!
It's been a goal of mine to expand my personal library for the past couple years. This video reminded me I have yet to read any of the plays I bought... And now I am very inspired to go do that haha so thank you!
Fantastic! Hope you enjoy them!
Plays and poetry are also outside my comfort zone.
Last week I closed my eyes at the library, walked along the shelves, and picked out three random books. Two of them are definitely books I'd never pick. It's gonna be interesting!
Oh that sounds fun! Unless you walk into someone!
What were the books?
@@CriminOllyBlog I ended up with a Lee Child (fun), a true crime about Texas serial killers (scary! and thus usually avoided), and a romance (ugh...I'll give it a go, though).
@@Priscilla_Bettis a nicely varied trio!
I think you're probably right that this is a good idea... if there wasn't enough of my preferred 'zone' to read in. When I've read all the fiction novels I want to read then I might step outside that comfort zone. I do read a bit of non-fiction. I read Endurance by Alfred Lansing the other day and was so engrossed I went off on a tangent and read lots of other Arctic/Antarctic non-fiction. Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton is utterly fantastic and then I read In the Heart of the Sea by Nathanial Philbrick about the Nantucket whaling expedition that inspired Moby Dick. But poetry and plays? Comics? Life is too short when there are still so many good novels to read. Maybe having a degree in English puts you off reading plays and poetry for life? Maybe it was just Waiting for Godot.
Ha! Yeah I do wonder if one of the reasons I don't read poetry or plays is because of having to read them at school.
Agree that In the Heart of the Sea was great!
Thanks for watching (and sorry it has taken me so long to reply!)
"House of Leaves" by Mark Danielewski is one of the first mystery books ive ever tried to read. Heard really interesting things about it, and it is gripping , but its hard to read. 100% out of my comfort zone.
I loved House of Leaves! But yeah I think it’s out of most people’s comfort zone!
The books that are outside my comfort zone are older denser books that digress in long paragraphs yet still suck me in
Those can be very rewarding!
I feel like most reads are out of my comfort zone. I've never really learned to read critically and came to enjoy reading really late in life. It is a big reason why I started doing the booktube thing. I don't have anyone to talk about books with so I can get on and try and talk about what I read. ✌️🤘
I don’t think I read very critically either, tbh. I think I mostly just like a good story 😊
I occasionally read out of my comfort zone, why not, you may end up liking the book. Occasionally I will read Science Fiction, or I try to read a non-fiction book a month, find out I like it, so many things to learn about and it doesn't bother me like when I was forced to read in school, I can choose the subject I want to learn about. Of course, I have to understand what I am reading, it cannot be garble on the page and over my head. That is for both Science Fiction and Non-fiction and also fantasy. Those genres are out of my comfort zones.
Yeah I think it's something that's definitely worth doing sometimes. Thanks for watching!
I feel like this when it comes to music, as well, (I suppose any kind of media, really) where I find music that is out of my comfort zone at times.
My preference is mostly Rock, Metal and Pop music, and I know there are different subgenres of Rock, Metal and Pop as well, but even though I grew up with Rock music as it's what I love the most, from Alternative, Indie, Heavy, Classic and Punk, too, but when it comes to Metal music, I am not keen on Death Metal or Black Metal, but I prefer Classic Metal, Heavy Metal, Alternative Metal and Melodic Metal too, as that is what I love, and Pop, I love mostly Pop Music from artists I like, and it's what I love, but I am not keen on Grime and most Hip Hop music, but I do like Eminem, The Black Eyed Peas and Akon, but it's a genre that I never really been into, but even though most pop music has elements of Grime and Hip Hop in the style a lot more, nowadays, I don't really follow it and enjoy pop music from artists I like, however, I have always been a rock music fan the most, even liking Acoustic Rock and Country Rock too, and even Country Music is what I love too, and so I love a lot of different styles of music and in various genres, even some out of my comfort zone over the years, but it's what I love and it helps to find my liking to music by stepping out of my comfort zone and really enjoy what I enjoy.
Thanks Lewis! Really interesting comparison!
I had no idea that I would like to listen to readers of horror, pulp, and that kind of thing. I have grown so much by listening to your and others sharing about your loves. I definitely want to venture into maybe some pulp and adventure fantasy but NO HORROR. and NO CHILD ABUSE or pedophilia...
That’s great Denisa, I’m really glad my channel and others have helped you!
I enjoy poetry. Since you Iike crime, I recommend Execution Poems by George Elliott Clarke. Clarke discovered that a couple of distant cousins were executed in the 1940s, before they abolished the death penalty in Canada. The poems look at race and poverty but they're darkly beautiful. He also wrote a novel, George and Rue, about the same subject, which I didn't like as much.
Thank you! I’d not heard of Clarke but I’ll check him out.
So glad I found you. I’ve definitely gotten out of my boring comfort zone beginning with the pandemic, and so surprised to fall in love with a diversity of plain good writing: westerns, all sci-fi, fantasy and a return to horror have been a delight. Onward to poetry and non-fiction!
Thank you, Emily! And yes "plain, good writing" can be an absolute joy and is what makes up most of my reading.
Thanks for watching!
I started getting comics from the library a few weeks ago for the first time in years, so I've had a similar experience to yours recently. I really want to get into short stories again. I think I will make that a big point next year of reading at least one a day
I think the one a day approach is a great one for short stories. It’s also a great way to sample lots of new authors
As a kid I would read whatever I could get my hands on so that Louis L'Amour, Thomas Hardy, Nancy Drew, war comics, John Greenleaf Whittier, etc. were all kind of the same. As an adult it's all sort of the same for me still. I listen to a lot of horror and thrillers during the torturous elliptical exercise session in the morning because it's easy and a good distraction. And Stephen King's "The Fairy Tale" is nine miles too long.
You’ve reminded me I need to start using our elliptical again 😂
I must agree. BUT… I’m lazy sometimes. There are benefits and good surprises, but to know it demands time. My way: I give 4 or 5 pages in credit. If the book gains my attention, I follow. Id not, goodbye. James Joyce’s Ulisses never caught me, for instance.
That seems like a pretty goof way to do it!
I love reading outside of my comfort zone, but I think I did too much of that this year; I barely read *any* mysteries!!
Well you know what you need to do for the rest of the year!
I've discovered some wonderful books by stepping outside my comfort zone. It's exciting when that happens.
Fantastic!
the first book i ever read was an excellent biography of Thomas Edison. my wonderful aunt gifted me the first two, actually. the second was a collected biography of famous scientists.
i remember being amazed that i plowed through 'all those pages.'
then she gave me The Count of Monte Cristo and i just couldn't get into it at that age.
i felt that i failed her. it was horrible! not the book, but the lack of impetus to finish.
i later read Robinson Crusoe and was amazed how good it was and i didn't want it to end.
i haven't read a biography since. when i wander from contemporary fiction, it's to the classics. The Heart of Darkness hugely affected me as i read it in a farmhouse at night i was tasked to paint. gads.
recently the Glass Bead Game was engaging and the satires of Juvenal and his glimpses into Roman life. i have Gogol's Dead Souls on my pile here. looking forward to that one.
i find the introductions are what snag me. the context explained in the lobby. ha!
i also really enjoyed China by Edward Rutherfurd. my first real foray into historical fiction.
fascinating.
btw, currently savoring every page of the Hydrogen Sonata. trust in Banks.
Heart of Darkness is such a great book! I really need to reread it
@@CriminOllyBlog yea man. a road trip, but upriver. every bit the classic. freaken chills.
I'm showing you my limited ability to express myself, but my enjoyment of poetry is very different from my enjoyment of a good novel which is also different from a good biography. It's like comparing a view of the mountains dressed in beautiful autumn colors to a delicious piece of cheesecake. They are both pleasurable but very different. Also, the subject of the written piece plays a big part for me. Something may be beautifully written, but if I don't care for the subject, I won't like the book.
Your thought provoking videos are fun!
Oooh that’s a great analogy! Glad you enjoy these videos. They’re fun to make!
Excellent video!!
Thanks, Shannon!
I left a comment on Michael Vaughn’s video from this morning about classics. I asked him what he would consider to be modern classics. To that question, I thought it would be a good exercise for you booktubers to all weigh in on what you all would consider to be a classic since perhaps 1950. This would be an interesting way for you all to read outside your comfort zone. For example, I think Shogun and Dune are exceptional novels and are “classics”, as is perhaps “Walking With Destiny”, a recent biography of Churchill.
Definitely agree re Dune, although it’s been a while since I’ve read it. In a similar vein (popular genre fiction) I would suggest Lonesome Dove and The Shining.
Since I was a kid I always get very curious for books that are out of my comfort zone.
However I have rules. For example. I don’t read a uncomfortable book before going to sleep or read something heavy if I’m dealing with life in not a positive way.
I also take a break if there’s something that I need more time to process.
That’s why I have more than 5 books that I’m ready at the same time.
Some find it ridiculous that I’m reading so many books at the same time, but I need what I need.
I think we all need to find the way of reading that works for us! Personally, I struggle if I'm reading more than 2 things!
The thing is, everything crosses over. It's pretty much always possible to find something within your comfort zone, that also qualifies as something outside your comfort zone. For instance: The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins is one of those classics, but it also happens to be one of the first detective novels, and a very good one too.
As a horror reader, there are essential classics, such as the works of Edgar Allan Poe, and once you've read his prose, you find you have poetry too, and once you've read Poe's poetry, could you still say you don't like poetry? The obvious answer would be, "Nevermore!".
That's a really great point! I guess the trick though is to look for that stuff rather than sticking to the run of the mill within your comfort zone
💙
Thanks Moira!
Have you read High Fidelity by Nick Hornby? I *cough* liked the movie more but still enjoyed the book.
I haven't yet - the idea of a book about record collecting definitely appeals more than one about sports
Only poem I've ever liked is Resume by Dorothy Parker
Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren’t lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.
I'm going to try and read more though.
That's great!
I've dabbled out of my comfort zone over my many years and found it too much like hard work. Why make yourself uncomfortable for the sake of it? I've got less adventurous in my reading habits with the passing of the years.
I think if it feels a lot like hard work then sticking with what you know you like is the right thing to do. These last couple of weeks, for me, it’s felt quite easy
Prose fiction, well what a shock. Yeh like no kidding, some of us (ME !) knew that 🤣. I can't believe you found Fever Pitch more difficult than the poetry. I feel the need to commit seppuku but of course that would cause an international incident. 😉 I do wanna read My Friend Dahmer. My comfort zone is engine manuals, WW2 non-fiction (and some fiction), anything military history related, scientific history, any non-fiction actually. I've recently come across J-idol magazines...interesting. I'm not doing poetry EVER. It's for sissies 🤣
Please don’t commit seppuku, I need you to keep me grounded!
Engine manuals sound like great fun 😒
I haven't read any, but Robert Jordan has written many military-history books and I think he's a masterful author!
@@joanthompson5606 I didn't know that!
@@joanthompson5606 Really ? I'm curious, but I cant find anything about that. His wiki page doesnt mention it.
@@CriminOllyBlog I just looked it up and apparently he didn't write as many as planned. There's a trilogy, the Fallen, starting with "Fallen Blood" that deals with the US South.
Very thumbrully, but if you like stories more you orient to prose; if you are into the beauty of language etc you orient to poetry. I think
That makes a whole lot of sense, and I’m definitely a “stories” person
I like everything but no romance. Do you tried to read personal diaries?
I've never read any I don't think
No comfort zone for Olly? 😮😅
Doesn’t seem fair does it!
@@CriminOllyBlog it sounds really uncomfortable 😎
@@AnnNovella 😂😣
No good reading when all the most informative books have been and are systematically removed from your local libraries all over the world.
Really? Which books in particular?