I used to be a reader that could only read one book at a time and I HAD to finish the book I was reading even if it was terrible. That led to me ending up putting reading aside eventually because I couldn't move on to books that I would enjoy more. Now I read whatever I want whenver I want and I DNF a book (after giving it a chance of course) if I am not enjoying it. This has made me not only enjoy reading more but be introduced to soooo many more genres and authors that I would never even considered or know about. I have also honed in the type of book that I will end up enjoying a lot more which leaves me reading A LOT of books that I absolutely love. As opposed to maybe one or two books that I like in a year. I have read so many five star reads already this year and I KNOW I'll be reading many more.

Here is a list of books I've read this year that I maybe would not have read when I was staying in my "comfort" zone.

Kindred by Octavia Butler (it would have been hard for me to give a book from the 70's a chance because I would wonder if the writing style would be up my alley. This book was literally life changing! I read it in a 24 hour period!)

Babel by RF Kuang (I was extremely intimidated to read this book because I was worried that it would be too smart for me or I wouldn't be able to comprehend the themes. Well before that would have made me just not choose to read it but instead I gave it a try and it was absolutely incredible! Not only was the writing digestible but the storytelling is unmatched to anything else I've read).

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (reading historical fiction is actually something I am diving into more now. It's still a tough genre for me because the content is so heavy but I have read some AMAZING books that I would have missed out on by skipping this genre (The Nightingale being another one!)

All of these books were by authors I had never read before which previously would have made it even more intimidating for me because I would have been too caught up in whether or not I would like the style and if I didn't I would be stuck. But this new, freedom of my cage has introduced me to some amazing authors and now I will have a whole bunch of new worlds to dive into!