Armchair BEA – Day 4: Giveaways and Beyond the Borders

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BEYOND THE BORDERS

It’s time to step outside your comfort zone, outside your borders, or outside of your own country or culture. Tell us about the books that transported you to a different world, taught you about a different culture, and/or helped you step into the shoes of someone different from you. What impacted you the most about this book? What books would you recommend to others who are ready or not ready to step over the line? In essence, let’s start the conversation about diversity and keep it going! 

I tend to get stuck in a genre rut: I can spend months reading nothing but sci-fi/fantasy and not care a bit that I’m neglecting the rest of the books in the universe.  Except that somewhere along the way I started caring about all those other books (and, honestly, I didn’t want to turn into that girl who quotes Dune at parties).  So, to make myself step away from the dystopian-magic-spacey-wacey stuff I added memoirs to the list of books I wanted to review.  I still primarily read my favorite genres, but every once in a while I like to try something different.

I don’t always like the books I’m asked to review, but I DO like reading about other lives – REAL LIVES – that are often quite different than mine.  It’s not some earth-shattering, life-altering, “oh my gosh memoirs changed my life” sort of thing, but it keeps my mind open to new ideas.  I might learn the ins and outs of mountain climbing, or I might follow a single mother on her journey through America.  I might spend some time with a janitor who happens to see ghosts, or perhaps tag along on an actor’s visit with Mother Theresa.  I might not like it, but at least I’m trying something different.

And I might not quote Dune at parties, but I definitely taught my son to walk without rhythm.