Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

Support or Ridicule?

What kind of reaction do you get from your "inner circle" about your reading habits?

Are you surrounded by readers or with "literary phillistines"?

Does your "special someone" roll his eyes when he sees you with a book or is he a "reader" like you, too?

Go ahead and share whether you exist in a "friendly" or "hostile" reading environment.

I have a huge support base for my reading habits.

YOU GUYS :D

No. Really!


As far as home, well my sister and mother got me into paranormal romance (I used to read historicals and now I find them dull lol) so they also support me and we chat about the newest things coming out :)

As far as my boyfriend goes.. well he pokes fun... I wish he didnt but hey guys are guys right? (unless you are super lucky and find one that reads the same books you do and if you are then I am so jealous of you! lol)

I definitely get eye rolls from my hubby. He's not a reader at all. My kids read a lot, so it's nothing new for them to see me with a book in hand because they almost always have one around as well. I have to say that most people love that I read so much, I just get crap for what I read. I get picked on for all the vampire books and the mushy romances so I find that I don't discuss particular books with many people. That is why goodreads is so fantastic!

I know what you mean, Melissa, when it comes to a hubby's "eyerolling."

My hubby cannot seem to grasp the concept of "reading for pleasure." He views reading as something you do to learn and/or to expand your knowledge, not to read stories.

Oh well, I guess, he just don't know what he is missing..LOL.

It's worse when he's bored and looking for something to do. Of course, my answer is read a book! I'm always telling him what he's missing out on, too! He loves all the paranormal stuff I like, but won't bother reading. I usually tell him some of the cool stuff I've read and he's all for listening to me, but it's never made him want to read something I've recommended.

My boyfriend doesn't care what I read. The only thing I get yelled at for is buying too many books! But really, he can't tell what's old and what's new so if I slip them on the shelf before he see he's none the wiser.

I do try to keep the gay-porn books out of eyesight though. I'm honestly not sure how he'd feel but I don't think he'd really care.

I do have a friend that used to make fun of the books I read but she's reading the same stuff now.

I still get made fun of for reading manga though, so I hide that from people. My coworkers know I read them but I don't really talk about it. Lol, it's such a dark secret!

But again, my boyfriend could care less. He's never made fun of me once for reading manga or anything of the sort. He never read comic books as a kid though so you'd think he would at least tease me about it. But nope, not a word.

Yz wrote: "My hubby cannot seem to grasp the concept of "reading for pleasure." He views reading as something you do to learn and/or to expand your knowledge, not to read stories."

I've tried to get my boyfriend to try some fiction but he won't. He reads business, psychology, and self improvement books for fun. He doesn't want to read something that's fiction. But he loves watching Law & Order and I keep saying well that's fiction, why don't you try reading a book that's like an episode of L&O and he just won't. He likes movies and other tv shows that are fictional but for some reason books are different. Oh well, I guess I should just be glad he reads for "pleasure" at all, a lot of men don't. But his books would put me to sleep!

They don't really understand why I like M/M romance so much and they do tease me about reading all the time. The other day my sister asked me a bunch of questions about gay sex LOL. She dropped me off at my house and then called me from the car a few minutes later with another question! I told her I have plenty of books she can read :)

LOL thats funny :)

You like what you like! And I think the M/M thing is intrigueing, as I have yet to read one of that type yet but the interest is there (too many other on my TBR lol).
And people will always be curious about what they don't understand :) Well that or mock/make fun of lol

My husband hates it when I pick up a book. He whines that I spend more time reading that with him. He doesn't read at all, hates any type of book. So he doesn't undertand my reading addiction. But oh well, I'm hoping he will eventually get over it.

My 2 year daughter sees me reading all the time and tries to read with me. I by her books all the time and she loves to read them.

I read for my pleasure and my family doesn't say much but there is a lot of eye rolling. Here's why: my brother and his wife, my aunt, my mother and my cousin are all English teachers. The crap they read for fun is amazing. You would think after teaching that shit all day 5 days a week, they would want something to take them away from it all. But no, they actually enjoy reading that junk. Go figure!

I get a little of both. My parents are my closest family, and they've always supported my reading. They are, however, workaholics. They support reading, but look at you a little funny if you say you spent the afternoon curled up with a book. "Wasn't there anything else that needed to be done?" I think reading is very active and engaging, but they seem to think you're not engaged if you're not moving around working. It's a strange double standard that we've unofficially agreed to disagree upon.

As for content, that's pure ridicule. I like PNR, YA books, and comics/graphic novels. I like to read most anything that's written well and can capture my attention/emotion with the tale, but I lean heavily to those genres. For my parents, anything that's not historical or Christian fiction is questionable. I get lots of eye rolls. Vampires and other paranormal creatures are all naturally evil, so why would you want to read about them? It's hard to explain that I like the world building of those novels, and the creative ways the authors build up the myths of their world. I read it because it's NOT real; it's an escape. If I wanted real, I'd go back to work and listen to some of the bad things going on in people's lives.

I'm lucky - my job is in libraries. So...I get paid to read, and recommend books to other people. Sometimes, though, my colleagues can get a little stuffy and preachy about 'literature' with a capital L - but as far as I'm concerned, people reading anything is exciting. I don't care if it's a magazine or a Pulitzer-prize winning novel, so I do expect the same consideration in return. As for the m/m stuff, my friends, family and work colleagues know I read it and they don't get it but they don't question it either LOL Am a huge paranormal romance fan, and graphic novels, too, as well as kids' picture books (hey, my nephews keep me young) and I absolutely love biographies and memoirs. My Sundays are always spent with a huge pile of books. My two best friends are not big readers, but when they do choose to read they choose the most intellectual stuff it's insane LOL My parents are big readers, and it was not unusual for me to read what was on their bookshelf as well as my own - from books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl to The Road to Gandolfo by Robert Ludlum was a normal weekend for me as a kid. I imagine I will always work with books. And love the hell out of it. And for those who would ridicule my reading tastes - and some of my highbrow colleagues do - forget 'em. I relate to all customers because I don't have snooty opinions about what they choose to read :D In fact, it's my job to encourage it LOL

You got it, Tosca. That's why I love working in a library, too. Any reading advisory class I've ever taken has always instructed us to suggest titles the reader will enjoy, not recommend what we enjoy. Unless that's what they ask for! :) Everyone is entitled to read what they enjoy, for whatever reason.

Since I'm a single mother, I can do (or read) what I want. After retirement, my father started reading Harlequin romances so we share. My mother (super religious) is so anti-Harry Potter it isn't even funny, so I just keep them out-of-easy sight (ie not in the living room) of my home so she'd have to go out of her way to see them. My fiance doesn't really read but he doesn't mind if I do. I saw the book he had for the last plane trip over and after reading a few pages I found an imported used copy online to buy so I could read the same book he was. I think he doesn't mind me reading as it keeps me outta trouble. lol Not that I'd get into any, but you know what I mean. It's a harmless hobby that keeps me company and keeps me busy.

Love working in a library to be able to read, without needing to buy... but, again, there's a lot of 'genre-snobbery' going around!
I've sometimes put genre books onto the 'librarian's choice' stands only to have them removed and replaced with 'real' books. As most library staff know, the genre fiction is read the most but, in my library, has the least room!
I flaunt what I read now - and don't care what my workmates think! Some think it's great that I'm the one mostly likely to find romance titles/covers hysterically funny... but I feel that the fact that I read them gives me more right to.
I find it ironic that the 'readers' services team' come to me - teens librarian - for help when working on fiction lists, particularly genre, because NONE of them read genre of any sort... no fantasy, no horror, no crime, nothing to sully their pure fiction reading.
I blame my mother for it all. Dad gets the blame for my love of sport biographies! Currently reading Sir Richard Hadlee's latest (for all non-NZers, it's ok if you've never heard of him... he plays cricket, a sport you probably have never heard of, either...)
I live alone - so I can read whatever the hell I like, when I like. And, if I'm not working the next day, can spend all night reading...

YAY Annie! A colleague made a comment recently that we don't promote quality reading - that we're not encouraging our readers to read great books. Merely 'good' books. My answer was that it's our job to promote whatever the reader wants. It's not our place to make quality judgements. And who the heck gets to judge what constitues a 'good' or a 'great' book? I wouldn't be the first eek.

You go Annie!! Yeah.

tosca wrote: "YAY Annie! A colleague made a comment recently that we don't promote quality reading - that we're not encouraging our readers to read great books. Merely 'good' books. My answer was that it's ou..."

You and Annie make some interesting comments Tosca and very timely too. Our library is under "review" as out HOL has retired and our council is looking at ways to "improve" services. So we have just had a consultant ïn to "audit" our services... Comments made are we have overstocked shelves (which is somewhat true) and we care too much about what our customers want! Very strange thinking for a public librarian. Anyway the consultant (and others I have too admit) think we have far too much "popcorn" fiction. But hey, I say, pop pop away! Our customers and visitors rave about our great selection of stock. We even have a lady that travels from Wellington to Levin to get out our bonk 'n' bite books.

My only concern about the popular fiction is that it doesn't always age well. But I don't think it should matter that much. That's what people read right? That's what draws people to the library. Why buy a book that's just going to sit on a shelf and would never grasp nobody's interest?

Annie wrote: "As most library staff know, the genre fiction is read the most but, in my library, has the least room! "
I think big readers have a tendency to get a bit snooty for no reason. (They just can't help themselves.) Somebody should knock them over the head with statistics on readers and their preferences. Face the truth guys, your average reader likes to be entertained by books, not bored to death by the some pseudo-intellectual experiment. Thanks Annie for sticking out for us and for yourself.

Libraries should strike a balance between reference books and classic literature and the popular books that people actually want to read. I go to the library to get older stuff I can't find or don't own, or popular new hardcovers I can't afford to buy. They have to stock what folks will read, or nobody will go the library unless they have a research paper to do.

I get support from my close family. They tease me about how many books I buy and own but my mother and sister reap the benefits. They read the books I buy. I get teased by acquaintances about reading trashy romance novels. I ignore. Lately, though, I've noticed when I got to grab dinner I get asked what I'm reading since I'll bring my book to read while I'm waiting for my food. People seem very interested in what I'm reading.

I've always read, my family apprieciate that's what I do, no one has ever complained about the money/time I spend on books, my hubby who moans about the time we all spend on the computer even suggested that I downloaded Adobe Digital if that was the only way I could read certain books...big big surprise there...:)I don't know any "book snobs" but I do get annoyed that I can't find Shakespeare at our local library, which incidently is really good in so many other ways....I just love reading so much, i love being absorbed in words, and I love toknow what other people are reading even if I wouldn't read it myself.

Well my husband makes fun of me all the time. But it's not in a mean way because he's just joking around. He likes that I am well read but when he sees me pull out a vampire romance he laughs at me.

My mom is a big time reader so she has always encouraged it. Now I am encouraging my 2 year old and her favorite time of day is storytime.

Thanks guys! I'll just stay on my soapbox - with your indulgence - for a wee bit longer...
'Quality' is such a judgement call. 'Chick lit' gets shelved in general fiction - the authors get invited to talk (or leapt upon with open arms when their publicist offers them)... but a romance author? Fantasy author?
Just because a book has a little love heart / dragon sticker on the spine doesn't mean it is automatically bad writing.
Formualic & crap writing is on every shelf in this building. Including the classics, I'm sure. [I wouldn't know - I've avoided them. I have a masters degree in English lit & all...:].
If I really LOVE a book I've read from the library - I'll buy it. And that's why there needs to be popular books available. Recession and all that... I try on clothes before I buy them, why not books?

Best quality writing, IMHO, that stands the test of time & can be read - & actually enjoyed - for generations?
The Duck in the Gun

They're all picture books - they're all at least 25 years old, some are 40 years this year.
I love picture books... at the moment, the only books I'm buying.

For more on me sounding off on this topic, read my blog & search for mcranty...
http://themadnessofhamsters.blogspot.com

Paige wrote: "Now I am encouraging my 2 year old and her favorite time of day is storytime."
Yay for storytime Paige! You just keep indoctrinating your daughter, just like your mother did for you.
And then we public librarians can keep our jobs in the future...

Oh I know what you mean about romance author visits! Trish Morey (Harlequin Mills & Boon writer) is in NZ for the Romance Writers of NZ conference next weekend and, when I contacted her to ask a favour, agreed. And then promptly asked if I could arrange a group of our local romance readers who might want to meet her and ask questions of her. She's also roped in Yvonne Lindsay (an NZ Harlequin M&B writer) to join in. It's gotten dead reaction from a few colleagues LOL But I'm persistent. Have emailed almost everybody on my romance newsletter list (except you, Annie, figured you'd be heads down at work heh) and personally invited them. I want this to work - I want this to be the biggest author event turnout they've ever had so I can thumb my nose at the romance-haters LOL Shallow, but hey, I can live with it. Failing the biggest, I just hope everyone has a good time :D

Amen Tosca! Kia kaha - it HAS to go well!!!
Send me the details - I'll pass it on, on the QT...

I think that genre writers have to work hard and writer better to be accepted because of the stigma associated with popular fiction. I honestly think it's probably easier to get a literary book published. I could be wrong, but I feel that way.