I'm a romance reader. I know we get mocked and poked fun at, but I also know I'm not in a minority. There are millions of people who read romance books. Even some men (and I know one of them!).
I started reading romance the summer I was in California. Prior to it, I was something of a voracious reader. I read spooky RL Stine books as an adolescent. I always filled my Book-It card for free pizzas at Pizza Hut. I never got into the girly-ish books like Sweet Valley High, I didn't read classics like Jane Eyre and I've never read any of the Harry Potter books.
I read romance. I love to read romance. I started with Elizabeth Lowell which was, as a teenager, an eye-opener since some of her books are pretty steamy. I moved on to a Harlequin series--every month, I received 4 books. I devoured them. They definitely weren't long enough for me to really get caught up in a story.
Then I discovered Nora Roberts. She's a master storyteller. I've since collected almost every book she's ever written, including the never-to-be-republished Promise Me Tomorrow.
From Nora, my horizons continued to expand. And I'm an addict.
Romance always ends with a Happily Ever After. Before that happens, it's been known to cause a few tears, a few laughs, and lots of sighs. There's almost no subject that's been untouched by romance. In the course of all my reading, I've learned about archeology, the music business, art, restaurant management and a plethora of other subjects. There's always something new to learn.
The genre is constantly being stereotyped: women who read it have their heads in the clouds, they have unrealistic views of relationships and sex and they don't have enough intellect to read real writing.
I'm sure I could hunt down study after study that breaks all those stereotypes. Readers of romance have happier marriages, better sex lives, understand the difference between fiction and real life, etc.
Personally, I know my vocabulary has been expanded by some of the terminology I picked up from reading books. I know what to expect from my relationship with the Mister. After being married for 10 years, and reading romance for 15, I think I can say that what happens in books isn't what I'd like from him.
And every single time I pick up a new book from a favorite author, I know at least one guarantee is bound to be met--a happy ending.
When life is shitty, when work has you so stressed out you're smoking 3 cigarettes at once, when family and drama is making you want to run far, far away, and the news station is reporting this that and the other depressing news, you know without a doubt you can pick up a romance, escape for a bit, and know things will end up ok. The characters may not be real, but if the writer has done his or her job, you believe they are, and you believe the ending they're left with--and that's at least one thing you can always look forward to, and find a bit of satisfaction from.
Not a bad deal.
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