STRANGE – Leave Your Comfort Zone.
Read something that you normally don’t pick up. (For me, it’s poetry, YA, fiction by US authors, or mystery.)
In the comment section, tell us why you don’t make a habit of reading this genre and include a link to your review, not to the first page of your blog.
If you don’t have a blog, please write a short review.
9for09.wordpress.com 
I never read nonfiction or stories about murder…I have just never been into them even though I LOVE mystery/crime shows on TV and in the movies. I usually stick to chick lit, drama, or romance novels….so this should be an adventure. I’ll be reading “If I Am Missing or Dead: A Sister’s Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation” by Janine Latus.
I am probably going to use one of my Lost In Translation books as I usually read most types of books.
I don’t like biographies. I’ve found most of them to be quite boring, but autobiographies are better. So I’ll try another. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by himself.
I am using a short story book here – I don’t like short stories, never have – not quite sure why.. I read The House on Mango Street- review is here – http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2009/01/house-on-mango-street-by-sandra.html
A word from your host:
I finished an anthology by high school creative students.
I don’t like reading this type of book, because I hate to become accustomed to another voice. I usually don’t read works by high school students. But this book helped me to break out of my regular pattern!
Review of Umbra 2002 is below.
http://booksandotherstuff.blogspot.com/2009/01/blog-post.html
I chose “Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass” by Lewis Carroll for my “Strange” book. The Disney movie has always given me the creeps!
I chose “Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass” by Lewis Carroll for my “Strange” book. The Disney movie has always given me the creeps! My review can be read here: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=96286789&blogId=476163416
Aubrey – great review on AiW.
I think that the movie would have scared me also!
I’ve read ‘The Sleeping Doll’ by Jeffrey Deaver for this. Here is the review:
http://vanillaprinzess.livejournal.com/11462.html
Poetry is out of my comfort zone, especially epic poetry. I just have a hard time understanding it. I read Gilgamesh (surprisingly easier to read than I thought!), an ancient epic poetry classic. My review is here: http://5-squared.blogspot.com/2009/03/gilgamesh.html
I chose to read Jane Austen’s Emma. Everyone seems to love Austen, and I’ve always felt intimidated at reading her works. My review is here: http://dogeardiary.blogspot.com/2009/04/emma.html“.
Veerna – thanks for participating in this category.
I can’t make a comment in your blog. Sorry.
I picked up my first graphic novel – The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg – and I absolutely loved it!
For “strange” I’ve posted a review for “Ill Met by Moonlight” by Sarah Hoyt.
Read and reviewed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency: http://blog.chainreader.com/2009/05/no-1-ladies-detective-agency.html
This was just unlike anything I’ve really read before, and only had it because it was a book club selection that I never read. For some reason, it just didn’t seem like my kind of book, which is why I chose it for “strange.” But I really liked it!
Since I graduated from college, I don’t read a lot of feminist or social criticism. But I’m very glad I picked up bell hooks’s All About Love: New Visions. My review is up over here.
Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well is strange for me because I never read poetry: http://jacketsandcovers.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/oh-pray-my-wings-are-gonna-fit-me-well/
Of Dreams and Realities by Frank L. Johnson. It’s a collection of poetry. I am trying to read more poetry.
This was something that I don’t usually read. First of all I have nothing against adult books I just prefer YA because I teach Middle School. Plus this falls into the mystery which is okay just not the romantic part. I really did enjoy the book and will read more by this author.
My strange was The Watchmen because I have never, ever read a graphic novel before. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to.
Then Man Created God by D.G. McLeod. It’s an argument against the existence of God. I tend to avoid literature arguing over the existence of a Divine Being. Heck, I tend to avoid religious fiction as well, and I certainly never planned to review any so this was strange for me. But at the same time it felt like I cleared a roadblock. 🙂
I’ve never been able to read a biography. There’s just something about the style that puts me off, usually dry, or too much detail but whatever it is I’ve avoided biographies like the plague! So, for this I chose a biography on Eleanor of Aquitaine. Not sure what it was but I got through this and kind of liked it. Was it the person, was it the author or the combination? It worked. I finally read a biography.
http://cafeshree.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/eleanor-of-aquitaine-a-life-alison-weir/
My book read for this category was Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, because I don’t often read fantasy. My review is here: http://abookblogofonesown.blogspot.com/2009/08/chapter-13-review-jonathan-strange-mr.html
Greetings,
Tiina
I haven’t read a lot of plays or Russian lit other than school, so my pick for this category was a book of Chekhov plays. A little on the bleak side but also gave me a lot to think about!
~Rebecca
Here’s my review: http://sequesterednooks.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/chekhov-the-major-plays/
Surrealism is pretty much outside my comfort zone, and Les Enfants Terribles, pretty ,uch fit the bill!
I read Erin Hart’s Haunted Ground as my pick for this category. Great read! You can see my full review here:
http://eveningreader.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/9-for-09-haunted-ground/
I never read Poetry so when I was asked to review this book for the Green Books Campaign…I was excited, Scott Zieher’s Impatience
http://kristinasfavorites.blogspot.com/2009/11/green-books-campaign-impatience.html