What I plan on doing for my unit 2 opinion piece is writing about how romance has had an impact on it’s readers in a positive way. I plan on discussing this because romance is one of the genres that has been the most looked down upon, if not the most. The reasoning behind this? Because it is the genre that is “most catered towards women and for women.” Many people begin with romance because many of its books are light and fluffy, making it an easy read. The romance industry has fought particularly hard for the acceptance and diversification of the genre and its books for decades. There has been progress for the genre itself, authors, and other genres and their authors as well. This has helped people feel more comfortable and represented in what they read, it is a way for them to be seen and heard. Since the pandemic hit, I have seen how there has been a change and an increase in readers, me included. I had not read since I was in middle school, however, when I had time to read again, I first started with a romance and absolutely loved it. The first book that I read and loved during the pandemic was from the series A Court of Thorns and Roses, I was so amazed with the story and the characters. When I finished the first book, I moved on to the second, third, fourth, and then finally the fifth. I could not get enough of the series and the genre overall. I then picked up other types of books within the genre, I’ve read contemporary romance, fantasy romance, historical romance, rom-coms, and so much more. Over the course of these two years, I have read over 150 books and most of them being fiction/romance. This topic overall is incredibly important to me, and I want others to understand why many other romance readers feel the same way and feel like the genre has had a big impact on them. Romance offers mental and emotional comfort and safety that may not necessarily be present in people’s day to day lives, it may offer a temporary escape, or it may help their view of romance and/or relationships for their own lives.
I want to hear more about what books you read, and how or when your mind changed or embraced this idea in the first place.
You know I like details!
I am glad you are getting a discussion going. Personally, I find a lot of romance in the old books I read. I love books that are 100 years old and I guess I tend to prefer women authors. Libraries wouldn’t classify these books as “romance,” per se, but there is a lot of it in them.
I don’t find that romance has changed all that much when I read those books. People still care about the same things.
I read a book written in the 1700s, and even though it was so old that the language was different, human nature was much the same.
I don’t know what the romance “genre” really is. Can you explain it?
I love to read and watch shows or movies in the romance genre. However it has been about 5 years since I’ve picked up a romance book or any book. The last book, well technically textbook I read was the anatomy laboratory manual, macroeconomics, chemistry and biology. I do agree with you that books in general help people temporary escape their lives and help them relax. But now I find it really hard for myself to pick up a book on my own and read it. I only read books or textbooks that are required for my classes. I guess a time goes on, this was how I lost complete interest in reading anything outside of school. I avoid reading whenever possible. I’m interest to see how your opinion piece plays out.
Thanks, Jenny.
I wonder if someone could break down for us what constitutes a book as “romance”? Like are there essential things that happen, or essential recurring character types…
Then, maybe, we would see what is the “story within the story” in the Opinion piece.
I think romance books or movies have a central love story between characters and also different emotionally satisfying, sad, dramatic, and happy or heartbreak endings. An example of a movie may be Titanic. In the movie, “Rose and Jack meet when Jack comes upon Rose trying to work up the nerve to throw herself off the back of the ship. Yes, that’s how miserable she is. He succeeds in convincing her to come back over the railing, but she slips in the process. Jack hauls her back on board, landing on top of her—and of course, this is when other people come upon them and entirely misunderstand the situation.” I think that this is how the love story started and how the movie started to become a romance.