Musing Monday's (1)

Musing Mondays is a weekly Meme by Mizb @ Should Be Reading

This weeks musing asks... What is the last book that you learned something from? What book was it, and what did it teach you?

I usually only read fiction books, so I don't tend to learn new things though non-fiction novels. But, I did learn two important things from two fiction books that I read recently.

I'm currently reading The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory, and it's taught me that I don't like books about/including religion. The book isn't entirely focused on religion, but the beginning dragged on for me because the protagonist was so fixated on her relgion and God, and describing her 'saintly visions'. I was worried that I might not be able to finish this novel, but it's eased off the religion a bit and I'm starting to quite enjoy it. 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins taught me a new appreciation for dystopian novels. When I was at school, in Year 6 and Year 7, I was forced to read The Wind Singer by William Nicholson and The Giver by Lois Lowry. I hated both books so much that I stopped reading dystopian novels altogether. It was 5 years before I read another dystopian novel, The Hunger Games, and I enjoyed it so much that I've read, and am planning to read, a ton of dystopian novels this year.