Hello and a very warm welcome to damppebbles. It’s Tuesday which means it’s time for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday post. I’ve decided to take part in That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday meme to mix things up a little here at damppebbles. Add a little bit of variety to our bookish weeks.

The meme was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish but has lived with Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl since January 2018. It was created to encompass a love of books, of lists and to bring readers together. If you would also like to take part then you’re very welcome: the more, the merrier. Just make sure you link back to Jana’s post every week. If you don’t have a blog then no problem, just add your list to the comments below.

This week’s theme is a Freebie/Throwback (come up with a topic you’d like to do or go back and do an old topic you missed or just want to do again!) and I’ve chosen Books I Enjoyed That Are Outside My Comfort Zone. I did actually come up with a version of this topic off the top of my own head. But then I saw it was on the archive list so I’ve used Jana’s title as it was much clearer than the gobbledegook I came up with!

I’m very much a specific genre reader. I tend to read crime, psychological thrillers, horror and mysteries. In short, the dark stuff. But every so often I do read other books. Actually, in truth, I tend to listen to other genres on audiobook. ‘How many’ is the big question though? Enough to come up with a list of ten? I’m feeling uncertain at the moment…

---

1. The Lifeline by Libby Page
I read this last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve written a review, just haven’t published it yet. Look out for my thoughts on this lovely book in September!

---

2. Calling WPC Crockford by Ruth D’Alessandro
Yes, it’s crime-y. But it’s also memoir-y and I don’t tend to read any memoirs or non-fiction.

---

3. The Last Goodbye by Tim Weaver
You may be thinking ‘this looks an awful lot like something you would read, Emma’ and you’d be right. BUT, and here’s the thing, it’s the TWELFTH book in the series and I haven’t read ANY of the earlier books. Comfort zone is officially smashed to pieces 😂

---

4. On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel
This author isn’t known for writing crime and it’s not really a crime novel. It does *sort of* feature a serial killer though. I knew before going in that it’s not a book I would normally choose for myself. I’m glad I gave it a chance though because I ADORED it. Book of the year status!

---

5. Fireborn: Twelve and the Frozen Forest by Aisling Fowler
Middle grade fantasy fiction! I read and reviewed this book with my daughter who was 10 years old at the time (she’s 14 now!). Sadly we didn’t finish the trilogy but I would like to read them myself one day. Daughter is now into murder mysteries like her mum. I’m very proud!

---

6. The Measure by Nikki Erlick
I loved this audiobook! The emotion 😭

---

7. The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
Another audiobook I loved! If you know of any books that are similar to this book then please do let me know. I’ve been looking for something like it but so far I’ve failed. Magical realism apparently.

---

8. The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg
Described as Disney on steroids! I couldn’t resist this fantasy thriller. I just don’t read a lot of fantasy.

---

9. The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

---

10. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

---

That took a bit longer than I expected it to. I had to go back over twelve years to find these ten books! All great books, all took me out of my comfort zone a little (a lot in some cases).

Have you read any of these books? Based on the above, do you have any recommendations for me? Open to all non-crimey suggestions as it was one of my 2025 bookish goals to step outside of my comfort zone a little more. Are you taking part in Top Ten Tuesday this week? Let me know in the comments.

So there we have it! If you fancy joining in next week then head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl’s blog to find out what the next topic is!