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Sep
01
On Busting into New Genres
2010 at 5am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
This post inspired by Bookrageous Podcast, Episode 2.
People, I am doing something I never thought I’d do (and which I’m pretty sure I SWORE I’d never do) in a million years.
I am reading a romance novel!
That’s right. It’s a book all about love and the search for Mr. Right—or maybe just Mr. Right Now—(And sex. I hope to god there’s some steamy sex to make it worthwhile). And the cover is sky blue with shoes on it. Shoes! On the cover of a book! And I’m reading it! I feel like I’m in that episode of 30 Rock where Liz Lemon goes to the beach and reads a pink book entitled Novel for Women.
I’m approaching my twenty-eighth birthday and I’ve never read a book like this. Sure, I’ve read some books that could be classified as “women’s fiction,” and I’ve taken “chick lit” to the beach a few times (I’m putting these classifications in quotation marks because I don’t totally buy into them, and I tend to think books with the same subject matter but written by men are treated and classified differently), but I’ve never read a real, true romance novel. I’ve never had the desire to.
I will confess: I have always assumed that romance novels are cheesy, formulaic, reductive (in the sense that they present women as desperate-for-love stereotypes), and lacking the kind of literary merit I look for in the books I read.
Some might say this makes me a snob, but I think it means I know myself and what kinds of books I respond to, and because I don’t have unlimited reading time, I prioritize my reading choices accordingly. You will find no hair-tearingly earnest essays about why it is nobler/wiser/better/more upstanding to read out of your comfort zone on this blog. Oh no, I am decidedly not about the guilt trip here (but I will reserve the right to mock you openly if you attempt to extol the virtues of anything written by Stephenie Meyer).
What I *am* about is a healthy attitude toward experimentation (you were waiting for the innuendo, weren’t you?) and willingness to take feedback from trusted friends, and that’s where this little romance-reading adventure comes from. I never read romance novels because I never thought I would find them interesting. I have a problem with suspension of disbelief, and my attitudes about love, sex, and marriage aren’t exactly traditional, and, well, I just made a bunch of assumptions about romance novels and the kinds of people who read them.
There. I said it.
My attitudes about romance novels have been shifting these last few months, though, and it’s because I have found myself in the company of progressive, intelligent, awesome women who share many of my worldviews and also love to read romance. So I’ve begun to think it’s not so much that romance novels aren’t right for me but that I just need to meet the right one.
Enter Sarah from the superfabulous best-romance-site-on-the-web Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and a Twitter conversation—really, where else could this happen—in which she offered to make a custom recommendation based on my reading taste. When an expert makes an offer like this, the only acceptable answer is “yes,” so I rattled off a few of my recent favorites (Mr. Peanut, Day for Night, A Visit from the Goon Squad), and she diagnosed me as someone who likes multiple lines of narrative and layered plot lines (right on both counts), and she sent me off to order Jennifer Crusie’s Bet Me (cover with link in right sidebar).
I’m about a quarter of the way through the book now, and so far it’s…well, it’s different. I don’t know what to expect or how to review it since I don’t have an big-picture understanding of the genre, and I’m fighting my urge to be critical about the fact that the heroine is a frumpy woman with low self-esteem. The writing is snappy, and the banter is witty, and I’m doing my best to lose myself in a story that I know is supposed to be a fantasy.
And I’m waiting for it to get dirty.
Will I become a fanatical reader of romance novels after this? Probably not. But I’m satisfying a curiosity and hoping that I’ll discover another kind of “palette cleanser” book for in between the heavier reads, and, if nothing else, I’ll be able to say I’ve done it. And you just never know until you try, right?
That’s the beauty of experimentation.
I’d love to hear about your reading experiments here, and I hope you’ll stay tuned for a special Bare Necessities romance edition from Sarah in the next few weeks.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rebecca Schinsky, Sharjah Book Fair. Sharjah Book Fair said: On Busting into New Genres | The Book Lady's Blog http://t.co/NaPT7yr Do you ever try new styles, for 2010 Book Fair we will have comics! [...]
I have to admit, I was shocked when I saw on Twitter that you were reading a romance! I typically don’t read romance myself either. I read a lot of in my late teens/early twenties and it’s just not the genre for me. I don’t have anything against the genre per se, but it’s not one of my favorites.
That said, I think it’s wonderful that you are reading outside your comfort zone. I think everyone needs to do it every once in a while, just to get a glimpse of what else is out there.
So….since you are being all experimental-like, what’s the likelihood of me getting you to read some horror fiction?
Jenn’s Bookshelves´s last [type] ..Review- Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky
Kudos to you for stepping outside your reading box! I hope that you find you enjoy this book enough to influence your views on reomance novels.
Michelle´s last [type] ..It’s Time! KidlitCon and The Cybils
Last year, half the book covers were headless, busty women in fancy dresses. This year, it is legs/feet by the ocean. I think there is like a master memo just passed around from publisher to publisher each year. Hey I am proud that you are experimenting. I generally find myself a little too cynical for romances, and I do alot of eye-rolling, but I WILL try them if my back is against the wall, and sometimes it isn’t so awful.
Sandy´s last [type] ..Sunday Salon- The Big Grabowski
I’ve never read a full on romance either, and it’s my plan to read one soon. I’m not against them, I’ve just found other books instead. Though perhaps the fact that there are so many trashy-looking ones on shelves put me off. So it’ll be interesting to hear what you think.
This was such a fun post – I’m always trying to pepper in a couple of books that fall outside my comfort zone into my “To Read” list. I used to never read nonfiction books, but I picked up a memoir last summer and now memoirs are one of my favorite genres.
Meg´s last [type] ..Overcoming My Pride and Embracing Young Adult Novels
Next thing you know you will be reading The Ginger Bread Tryst
http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2010/01/23/review-the-gingerbread-tryst-by-nichelle-gregory/
I don’t read this genre either, or chick lit, or ‘women’s fiction” just not interested.
Pam´s last [type] ..Review- Butterfly by Sonya Hartnett
Chances of me reading horror fiction are substantially higher than the chances that I thought I’d ever read romance….so ask away while I’m feeling frisky!
I never read any romance novels until a couple of years ago. Mostly because when I was growing up (and to this day) my Mom almost exclusively read Harlequins. The titles and covers were just too much. I couldn’t possible read that.
But a couple of years ago, I read one which lead to another. I still love fiction, but contemporary romance is good once in a while. The key is to find good romance. It is out there. I would also recommend Julie James. The pacing reminds me of my favorite screwball comedies.
Congrats on reading out of your comfort zone. The very first romance novel that I read was by Jennifer Crusie also, “Anyone But You”, which I enjoyed even though I questioned whether a low-slung dog could really get up a fire escape (unless it was not one of those vertical ladder fire escapes). My usual reading fare is mysteries and sci-fi, but I really got into reading romances after a few very depressing YA reads (and not even “Mockingjay”). With romances, I’m assured of a happily ever after, the lead characters won’t die, and the characters who suffer the most will get their happy rewards. Now, how can I pass that up? I still read mysteries and sci-fi (and YA books) but I do read romances in between.
I will admit, I have had a couple of predetermined ideas about the “romance” genre too. Recently though I have had a friend recommend a couple and I have really liked them. I really love the sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy stuff, so I don’t like reading just straight out romance, but when it has some of the paranormal mixed in there I like it
I think stepping out of the box can be a good thing. First the meme’s then the romance books, it’s a whole new Rebecca 
Meaghan´s last [type] ..Waiting on Wednesday-Afterlight
I don’t read romance, nor do I plan to start. It’s a combination of some of the same pre-conceived ideas you mentioned all the Harlequins I saw my mom read (Colleen’s comment rang a bell!). Better you than me!
Re: “I’ve read some books that could be classified as “women’s fiction,” and I’ve taken “chick lit” to the beach a few times (I’m putting these classifications in quotation marks because I don’t totally buy into them, and I tend to think books with the same subject matter but written by men are treated and classified differently)”: my post yesterday on the #Franzenfreude thing touched on that, and Jennifer Weiner would agree with you on that point. (FTR, Franzen’s novel totally sounds like one I want to read, even if it is written by a guy
.) I think there’s something to it myself.
Good luck with the experimenting!
Florinda´s last [type] ..Book Talk- Mockingjay- by Suzanne Collins w-a few spoilers
This is crazy…I have been thinking about trying out romance as well. Looking out of r suggestions. I don’t want to read a bad one my first time otu.
Jennifer-Girls Gone Reading´s last [type] ..Review- The Stuff that Never Happened
My mom reads these type of books all the time — and as a curious teenager, I would pick the books off the shelves reading through them for the juicy parts. Yes, they were formulaic, especially the Harlequin ones. But that was a long time ago; I’m sure some parts of the genre has evolved since then.
But, it would be cool for someone like Sarah to recommend a book for me based on my reading tastes
!
Valerie´s last [type] ..“By Fire- By Water”- a Novel by Mitchell James Kaplan