Dangerous Books for Girls

Why do so many rreaders hide the fact that they read romance novels? Why do people roll their eyes when they talk about the genre? Have you ever thought to question the assumptions and presumptions about the romance genre? I, too, had the same prejudice against the genre, though mine was akin to a betrayal. After spending my teenhood reading romance, I decided I was too “with it” and mature to read romance novels anymore. So I ditched it and joined the eye rolling masses. It's only in my late thirties that I rediscovered the joy of romance novels - how they lift my spirits, how they make me laugh and smile ... so many books have the opposite effect on me. During my twenties and thirties, I had a non-fiction phase where all I read were books on sustainable development, environment, nutrition and politics. Those books, while informative, often left me in a funk because they offered no solutions to our present dire circumstances. Fantasy books were great, but often left me sad by the evil I read inside. Literary books were nourishing but also frustrating ... well, the long story short, romance novels cheer me up like no genre can.

Rodale lists down every prejudice and discusses them thoroughly. Sadly, it would seem this prejudice has very deep roots, and it's roots that are buried in society's regard (or lack of) for women's freedoms, roles, intelligence and acceptance. That discrimination has bled into the genre that is “written for women and by women”. That is why I often feel angry when people snub the genre, because it feels like a snub against my desire to be a woman accepted on her own terms.

A must read!

As someone who doesn't gravitate to romance novels, I thought this was a necessary read for me when I saw the title. I know about the general negative perception of “trashy” romance books, that putting down something for a female audience comes to put down said audience as well, and I don't want to be anti-romance even though I don't read it often if at all. That said: this particular book was flat and repetitive at its worst. I still do want to recommend it to others, just not as the only nonfic meta on the genre. Something about the formatting–all the “because [phrase/noun here]” moments–wore me out and stopped being cute but it was really informative. I enjoyed that I did not agree with all the points (OK, I'm just biased against 50 Shades and any mention of it) because there was a bigger picture behind it all.

Pick this book up, romance fan or not. It's a quick enough read and makes for a very good discussion.