Abstract
When I go to a restaurant, I always order the same thing. At the theater, I always choose the same type of movies. When I go in a bookstore, I always head in the same direction: first, new paperbacks (because the heft of a hardback makes reading in bed awkward); then the sale tables and mysteries; followed by adult fiction, occasionally history, then finally, the children's department.
When I read reviews, or look at advertisements I focus on the types of books - fantasy, historicai fiction, contemporary literature, mystery - I already enjoy. I have favorite authors, like Kristin Heitzmann,J. K. Row ling, and Donna Jo Napoli, and I always look forward eagerly to their next publication.
But reading only what you like can be kind of like the Atkins' Diet: steak and salad are great, but I couldn't eat them every day. (Couldn't afford it either, but that's another story.) Don't nutritionists say you should eat from a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains in order to get all the nutrients you need to ensure good health? Well, I'm not a nutritionist and I don't play one on TV. But I am a librarian' which makes me (in a way) a genre-nutritionist: maybe even an idea-nutritionist. (Bear with me.) And I have become convinced over the last few years that we need to be reading beyond our comfort zones. So what 'cha eatin'? Why We Need Variety in Our Diet
Recommended Citation
Moore, Melissa
(2005)
"Reading Beyond Our Comfort Zones,"
The Christian Librarian: Vol. 48:
Iss.
2, Article 4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55221/2572-7478.1613