Lately, I've been having low attention span. I want everything to be snappy. I usually care much for details, but now I just want something to do, something to entertainment myself with.
Since I've just finished reading SLEEPERS, which is not your usual perky book. In fact it is kind of disturbing, leaning more on the heavy side. This time I want something equally fast and light. I don't want to delve into deep human drama for a while. I'm not in the mood for subtleness either. While Fantasy and sci-fi may have too much details for my current mood, I think I can just go and read something from my brother's shelf. Adventure genre would be nice or my usual thriller formula books written by my default writers. But you know what, I think I'm in the mood for romance.
I am a voracious reader and my shelf carries titles from different genres. I may be more familiar in one genre, but that doesn't mean I don't get a taste of everything. I read from thriller to erotica, from fantasy to classics, from romance to contemporary. Anything interesting, brilliant and captures my current mood is good enough for me. I am not really picky on genres. My mood dictates it.
Though I must admit, reading mass-romance novels came as a surprise for me because I'm really not into romance. I'm not raised to like the damsel in distress characters, my personality and ambition give me the drive to hate these helpless ladies. I was raised in a non-affectionate, professional household. My personality is anti-cheesiness and programmed to hate hormonal drama. So naturally, romance novels didn't really appeal to me.
I discovered this genre rather late. My first experience was reading Judith McNaught's best seller Someone Like You that was recommended by an officemate who loves to read books, only romance books that is. She is a certified romance books collector so if I was to do this right, I knew I was in good hands. When I saw the book she wanted me to read right there and then I wanted to laugh. The title was such a giveaway. Though I kind of expected that the title would be a total crap, but I never thought I'd really go through it. I thought it was a joke. But I did carry on to put the curiosity aside. I wanted to know first hand why the romance novels built such an empire. Well, I finished the book in 2 days reading it during breaks. I was hooked.
I never mocked romance novels again. I didn't actually convert to a major fan, but I do respect them now. Romance books are entertaining. It's light and it's a fantasy even for self sufficient women whose characters appeal have their own strengths. The lead characters are not as stupid as I thought. Romance books sometimes teach us bullish women to have fun and entertain the possibility of a heartfelt romance. Deep inside our career oriented minds that don't really care much for sassiness and drama in the real world, romance novels provide an escape into another side of being a woman that we sometimes tend to forget. Who doesn't want to be wooed and be swept away anyways? The lead characters aren't stupid. They're not dramatic. They're strong women who found love and forged with it. They're not like a confused teenager like Bella Swan you'd want to strangle. They have their own lives and they fell in love with men built up to be desirable, but with agreeable flaws. I guess there's a certain appeal reading about strong women who break their walls because of true love.
After my Judith McNaught experience, she instantly belonged to the list of my formula writers like Robin Cook and John Grisham. I bought a couple of more titles, read it when the mood demanded and was entertained. After McNaught I came across a romance-fantasy-viking series of Josie Litton. When a high school friend saw me buying the copies titled: Dream of Me and Believe in Me, she laughed out loud and couldn't believe I was sane enough to waste time on it. I understood her reaction and told her I was exactly that person laughing loud and judging romance titles a couple of months ago. Then I ended up becoming a staunch defender. Romance books, for sophisticated readers who haven't experienced it, immediately slam them as crap. Well it's not pulitzer prize winning material. It might not be that deep and insightful, but it still a reliable solid entertainment for whoever's open minded and accepting.
Appreciating romance books taught me to be more open minded. Reading romance novels became a turning point of my reading life when I became more flexible to appreciating different genres. I realized a good story, written in an appealing tone, creates a good book. It doesn't matter what the genre is. As long as the reader is transported and entertained, I think the book served its purpose. And right now I'm in the mood for a light, heart warming, passionate love story. Checking out the romance books I have in store.
Since I've just finished reading SLEEPERS, which is not your usual perky book. In fact it is kind of disturbing, leaning more on the heavy side. This time I want something equally fast and light. I don't want to delve into deep human drama for a while. I'm not in the mood for subtleness either. While Fantasy and sci-fi may have too much details for my current mood, I think I can just go and read something from my brother's shelf. Adventure genre would be nice or my usual thriller formula books written by my default writers. But you know what, I think I'm in the mood for romance.
I am a voracious reader and my shelf carries titles from different genres. I may be more familiar in one genre, but that doesn't mean I don't get a taste of everything. I read from thriller to erotica, from fantasy to classics, from romance to contemporary. Anything interesting, brilliant and captures my current mood is good enough for me. I am not really picky on genres. My mood dictates it.
Though I must admit, reading mass-romance novels came as a surprise for me because I'm really not into romance. I'm not raised to like the damsel in distress characters, my personality and ambition give me the drive to hate these helpless ladies. I was raised in a non-affectionate, professional household. My personality is anti-cheesiness and programmed to hate hormonal drama. So naturally, romance novels didn't really appeal to me.
I discovered this genre rather late. My first experience was reading Judith McNaught's best seller Someone Like You that was recommended by an officemate who loves to read books, only romance books that is. She is a certified romance books collector so if I was to do this right, I knew I was in good hands. When I saw the book she wanted me to read right there and then I wanted to laugh. The title was such a giveaway. Though I kind of expected that the title would be a total crap, but I never thought I'd really go through it. I thought it was a joke. But I did carry on to put the curiosity aside. I wanted to know first hand why the romance novels built such an empire. Well, I finished the book in 2 days reading it during breaks. I was hooked.
I never mocked romance novels again. I didn't actually convert to a major fan, but I do respect them now. Romance books are entertaining. It's light and it's a fantasy even for self sufficient women whose characters appeal have their own strengths. The lead characters are not as stupid as I thought. Romance books sometimes teach us bullish women to have fun and entertain the possibility of a heartfelt romance. Deep inside our career oriented minds that don't really care much for sassiness and drama in the real world, romance novels provide an escape into another side of being a woman that we sometimes tend to forget. Who doesn't want to be wooed and be swept away anyways? The lead characters aren't stupid. They're not dramatic. They're strong women who found love and forged with it. They're not like a confused teenager like Bella Swan you'd want to strangle. They have their own lives and they fell in love with men built up to be desirable, but with agreeable flaws. I guess there's a certain appeal reading about strong women who break their walls because of true love.
After my Judith McNaught experience, she instantly belonged to the list of my formula writers like Robin Cook and John Grisham. I bought a couple of more titles, read it when the mood demanded and was entertained. After McNaught I came across a romance-fantasy-viking series of Josie Litton. When a high school friend saw me buying the copies titled: Dream of Me and Believe in Me, she laughed out loud and couldn't believe I was sane enough to waste time on it. I understood her reaction and told her I was exactly that person laughing loud and judging romance titles a couple of months ago. Then I ended up becoming a staunch defender. Romance books, for sophisticated readers who haven't experienced it, immediately slam them as crap. Well it's not pulitzer prize winning material. It might not be that deep and insightful, but it still a reliable solid entertainment for whoever's open minded and accepting.
Appreciating romance books taught me to be more open minded. Reading romance novels became a turning point of my reading life when I became more flexible to appreciating different genres. I realized a good story, written in an appealing tone, creates a good book. It doesn't matter what the genre is. As long as the reader is transported and entertained, I think the book served its purpose. And right now I'm in the mood for a light, heart warming, passionate love story. Checking out the romance books I have in store.
No comments:
Post a Comment