Tuesday, February 12, 2008

In the beginning there was a cover...

...and the cover ruined it for all.

Why the bad reputation for books within the romance genre?

Even just saying the word: Romance Book brings very clear images to readers all over. They picture the middle aged woman who's looking for a little bit of spark, sizzle, and general romance in their lives that have become fizzled over time. 

Just seeing the 'romance' section at the local Borders brings images to the mind. In my experience, people don't like to be caught in the section. They go, pick up the book, and depart.

It seems like it's on the bottom of the totem pole of respected fiction. But in 2006, according to reports, the genre sold 1.36 billion dollars, second only to the religious/inspirational books. So people are obviously reading...

Most people cringe at the thought of reading romance. They envision sex, sex, and more sex. It's the cover that does it. The guy who's muscle bound, dripping with computer enhanced animal sexuality and the woman who's tangled with him on the bed, seemingly on the edge of a climax. Because of looks people discount the plot, characters, and everything else that makes a good book, good. 

But there is more to the genre than sex. It just depends on the sub-genre. In fact, there are many that combat the typical image of 'romance books' and could easily move right into the fiction bookshelf if it wasn't for the adult content.

In the future, I will review fictional books that just so happen to be shelved in the romance aisle...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

so true! i wish they wouldn't have the pictures because honestly i DO get embarrassed. but then i was like frick it I'm reading it! haha i hope to get some good recommendation. i love romance books!