What's in Your Library Bag Wednesday??

So, what's in your library bag this cold, cold Wednesday evening? Have you stepped out of your comfort zone this week and tried something new or are you reading a favorite genre?? Me, I don't step out of my comfort zone near enough. I made the comment to a co-worker this morning that I have no problems reading something new every week, however, it is all the same type of a book: specifically paranormal romance. I am starting to feel like a broken record. With that in mind, I have decided that I am going to try something new: The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson is in my library bag tonight. I have heard what a great mystery it is albeit a bit violent. From what else I hear, it doesn't really have romance either; we shall see if I can get hooked like everyone else. I'll let you know.

For now, I thought I would tell you about a conversation I had with a co-worker this morning, who shall remain nameless. I was asking her what I should write about, since I tend to read and write about the same types of books most of the time. She started out by suggesting childhood favorites like the Little House on the Prairie and then much like, If You Give a Mouse a Muffin, she started talking about the first "naughty" book she ever read. Naughty in this instance means a bit of semi graphic romance, if you know what I mean. Anyway, back to her story. It was actually when she was in school and she and a group of friends all read the same book and probably "giggled" about it to each other (my words not hers). One of her friends went as far as to highlight the "naughty" parts. She told me how her mother got quite upset at the time. Funny thing is, my "naughty" book story is that I didn't really read any "naughty" books until I was out of college. And then it was a book suggested to me by none other than my own mother!!! That particular book remains one of my favorites and I have gone on reading from there, including romance of some sort or another in most of the books I read. I suppose, that particular book has shaped a lot of my adult reading.

Getting hooked on romance for a while did make me forget some of my childhood favorites, though. As a young reader, I tended to go after fantasy stories; A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle being one of my all time favorites. More recently, the Harry Potter stories brought back to me my love of fantasy and now I usually combine the two in my reading choices: fantasy and romance. But like everything else in life, you can get stuck in a rut, so to speak. I love the books I've been reading. Don't get me wrong. I just want to be able to expand and stretch my reading horizons a bit. How about you?