Why I Read Romance Novels
I’ll be the first to admit that I have a propensity towards criticism and pessimism. Take romance novels, for example – I could go on for hours about the general Decline and Fall of the Romance Civilization. But you know what? I still read romance novels. I still love them. And I still defend them to the death, despite all the weird looks I know I get from my friends. (Yes, LKY, I’m looking at you.)
I’m tired of whinging, and while I’m in the mood, I want to focus on the positive. With that in mind, here are the top five reasons I read – and love – romance novels:
5. I get to spend hours – literally – tootling with my reading records. Yup. I’m a nerd.
4. I get to travel the world from my sofa. When you get down to it, small-town Shropshire could be as foreign to some readers as the Alaskan wilds, and a romance novel can get to either for under eight bucks, often less. This leads to the fact that…
3. They’re a cheap and durable form of entertainment. Um, cost of movies these days? Not to mention the cost of a frickin’ frappucino, which disappears from your system in two hours unless it translates into fat, which then sits in your you-know-where for months?? Yeah, romance novels are cheap. Not least because…
2. I get semi-instant, renewable gratification. Warm fuzzy feeling. It’s worth it.
But the number one reason I read romance novels is that…
1. Romance novels are good. Full stop. And that’s the most important thing. Romance novels have given me Annique Villiers, Lord St. Vincent, Eve & Roarke, and innumerable excellent authors. It’s about the characters and the occasional plot twist, and it’s also about some damn good writing out there. Before I finished this blog I updated my statistics, and you know what? I’ve given out more As and Bs than Cs, Ds and Fs combined. I love them. I really, really love them.
So tell us why you read romance novels, and let’s celebrate the positive. Long live romance novels!
– Jean AAR