Ten Books I Was Surprised I Liked

Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is Ten Books I Enjoyed Recently That Weren't My Typical Genre/Type of Book. I've amended that just slightly because I read in so many genres, so I went with the more general topic of books that I didn't necessarily expect to like but did.

1. Macbeth by Shakespeare
I mean, I didn't love it, but for the longest time I've been convinced that I hate Shakespeare and I was apparently wrong.

2. Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
This series just didn't sound like the sort of thing I'd like, and I wasn't especially grabbed by the art. But I gave it a try based on the positive reviews I'd heard, and a sudden desire to catch up on graphic novels, and was sucked in right away.

3. Asking For It by Lilah Pace
Just the title and premise together made me cringe. I was very skeptical, but the story was well-crafted and the issues dealt with in a way that was sensitive and compelling and I really got into the story.

4. The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
To be honest, I was sort of dreading reading this book because it's science-y and not about people, plus I tend to struggle with nonfiction in general. It wasn't the easiest read, but I definitely liked it more than I thought I would.

5. Gunpowder Alchemy by Jeannie Lin
My initial reaction was kind of luke-warm, I think mostly because it was sold as a romance but it's more of a steampunk adventure story. What surprises me most about this book is how much it has grown on me since I finished it. It's the first in a series and I ended up pre-ordering number 2, which is waiting for me on my nook.

6. An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
Because again, science. I listened to this on my flight to Russia and I think I'll always associate the two. It had adventure, danger, and a whole lot of good advice about life.

7. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
I did not expect to read this entire book. In fact, it's super jam-packed with data, statistics, and facts about race and mass incarceration and I took me a while to get through because I had to stop frequently to process what I had just read. But there was no question of stopping - I always wanted to pick it up again and learn more.

8. A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev
Although I had some problems with this novel, it was pretty enjoyable overall. Because of my conflicted feelings after reading it, I am mostly surprised that I still think about it as often as I do. I've heard that the author's next book is comparatively dark which intrigues me because I think she would do that well.

9. Waiting On You by Kristan Higgins
I think I'm surprised every time I read a romance that I like, but in this case I've read 3 books of a contemporary romance series and am still enjoying the series. I didn't think I liked contemporary romance, but maybe I am wrong about that.

10. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
My view of this book, before reading it, was based entirely on thinking that the title was a bit too...sweet. There are a ton of mystery series out there that are too cozy for me and I think I thought this was one of them. The only reason I ended up reading it is because I was a desperate for an audiobook and didn't have any better ideas at the time. Although I haven't yet read any more books in this series, I'm definitely not opposed to doing so.

Have you read any books that you were surprised you liked? Share in the comments!