You might like historical or paranormal romance novels more. I struggle with contemporary romance for many of the reasons you describe. There’s a lot of meh romance out there. I recommend Dreaming of You or Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas or Indigo by Beverly Jenkins.
I meant to say this in my post but I forgot -- I truly feel that the genre is so deep and so broad, that I bet with enough trial and error I would be able to find a corner that fits. I will look into the titles you recommended, thank you so much!
To be honest, you bring up why I, a romance reader, don't bother with contemporary romance. Historical romances especially are good at exploring other relationships while still centering the romance one. Courtney Milan's the Countess Conspiracy does something interesting with siblings, for example.
The heroine has a complicated relationship with her sister. The hero has a complicated relationship with his brother. The book ends with those relationships resolving entirely differently but also in a way you don't expect with either.
Thank you for that! Did you see @Meghan's note above? She said the same about contemporary romance! The exploration continues!
I was thinking about you as I wrote my little report. I really hope it did not come across as dismissive and condescending. If I have learned anything from you and the romance community is that it's definitely worth doing the work of figuring out what specifically feels immersive and satisfying to read and you don't really owe anyone an explanation.
Oh no, you have been absolutely wonderful. Honestly, this sounds weird, but I like listening to people talk of what works for their reading and what doesn't even if it's books I personally like.
Finally somebody else who didn't like Book Lovers!! I do not understand what everybody sees in that book, and I myself am obsessed with EmHen.
Don't feel bad about the predictability of romance - it's one of the biggest reasons people don't vibe with the genre. It's also why I read a relatively limited number of contemporary romances and why I don't exclusively read romance. Some of them are so painfully predictable that all you can do is roll your eyes.
The teller of a good romance book is finding one that is either unpredictable (they do exist) or at least so all-consuming that the predictability becomes endearing rather than cringe. The reason I love Ali Hazelwood is not because her stories are that original but because the characters make me feel something. And I can't really say why that is because I know how cookie-cutter Millenial cringe they are. 🤷🏻♀️ But when you love the characters and their dynamics, it's easier to forgive mechanics and tropes and craft.
Which is to say, much as nobody wants to hear it, it just means you didn't pick the right romance book(s) for you haha. Good romance authors hide the mechanics and know how to be unpredictable. A lot of romance readers are just used to accepting the tropes and focusing on the character dynamics. And I also think contemporary romance (ie Book Lovers) is arguably one of the most predictable subsects of the genre...anyway. A valiant effort!! Thanks for playing!!
I need to send you flowers for all your guidance, enthusiasm and support through this difficult time for me!!! You know how I like my romances... 19th century + Russian. hahaha
“Everything is too composed” - yes!! I was vigorously nodding my head in agreement to everything you wrote about these romance novels, Petya. I’ve tried four different Emily Henry books and couldn’t stand any of them.
As a fellow skeptic, might I recommend The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society? It verges on too sweet at times, but never fully gets into eye-roll territory. Perhaps because it is more a story of community than a romance novel, but there is romance in it! You might enjoy this one.
And as some of the other commenters have mentioned, I might try historical romance (Georgette Heyer has been on my list).
My "problem" with Emily Henry is similar to my problem with other contemporary fiction that feels written in a way that seems to anticipate the book-to-tv adaptation and that really bothers me somehow. I love character driven, atmospheric story telling... but reading all this romance in such a condensed amount of time, I was struck by how much ink was spilled on minutia... tracing people's steps across rooms, describing meals and drink orders that did not seem to contribute to story or character arcs... and wondered if the writers are trying to make us believe that their book is as good as a movie?
And I feel that a lot with contemporary fiction in general - that books are being written with a screen adaptation in mind. But then... just write a screenplay?? Rebecca Makkai has a great post about this that I think is illuminating for readers, too, not just writers:
My preferred "off-season reading" is typically a whodunnit. It's definitely a genre where you can "hear the machinery" of the conventions of genre within it, but I think some of that is alleviated in a good mystery by still not knowing how it will end! But nevertheless I have still DNF'd mysteries that aren't working for me. And, sometimes, I'm also just not in the mood for genre fiction with strong conventions. It varies a fair amount whether I find "the machinery" charming or annoying by mood.
As I am exploring off-season reading, I have two genre authors that I have read and loved in the past --- Agatha Christie and John Grisham. I don't believe that Grisham qualifies as a "mystery" writer... but I think Christie does, right? Do you like her books?
Definitely! Christie is the gold standard writer of a whodunnit mystery I would say. In both cases I think those authors/genres tend to aim to surprise the reader, even within mystery or thriller conventions, so maybe that's something that works for you in off-season reading
I MUST get my hands on Fat Swim!! And you may have convinced me to read Loved and Missed, though I think I need to be in a good mental state before I break into it.
For the past 5 years or so, romance (mostly historical romance, and sometimes romantasy) has been my go-to “off season” genre. But I’ve been finding this year that I just CAN’T sink into a romance novel the same way I used to be able to. I think maybe I’ve gotten more sensitive to seeing the cogs turning in the way you describe… I’m not sure. One thing I know for sure is that my appetite for romantasy has completely plummeted. They’re all so same-y to me now, they make me feel like whatever the reading equivalent of gagging is. I don’t have such an outsized reaction to any other romance subgenres, though. Maybe I oversaturated myself in 2022-2023 and now I just need to wait until all the drugs have left my system? Lol
Lately I’ve been dabbling in other cozy genres so I’ve got a few other “off season” thoughts to bring. I should be able to join on the 9th unless something unexpected comes up! Can’t wait!
P.S. what you said about 831 stories being like Nashville had me cackling. It’s so true!! Something about that squeaky clean packaging and perfect marketing just turns me off immediately. Just had a long dinner conversation with my husband about this lolol Like why is something that SHOULD be right up my alley repelling me so much?
I've only just started reading your work - so you may have covered this already in a different post - but I think the 'four doors to reading' theory might explain why a lot of the romance genre doesn't always hit.
It was invented by librarian Nancy Pearl who posits that we have a main 'door' into reading and if it's lacking, we find it very hard to finish. If it's there, we tend to eat up the book! People tend to have primary and secondary doors. The books that get really popular tend to access all doors.
The doors are Plot, Character, Style and Setting.
Most romance readers are 'Plot' readers I think. Personally I'm a 'Character' reader, so if there's strong characters, I'm in but I'm generally not a romance reader. I suspect, based on what hits, you're a Style reader and so if the writing style hasn't been developed as strongly as other elements, it's probably why it's just harder to get into (my husband is a Style reader, which realising has helped me buy better books for him!)
It definitely helps me find good recommenders of books, because I know if someone is a Plot reader and recommends a book, I need to make sure it's also going to have at least some elements of character.
(That being said, did I wolf down ACOTAR because it made me feel 14 years old again? Yes, and I would say it's definitely Plot over Character. But on reflection, there were a few characters in there that kept me interested and I found the second book the best one because it focused on post-trauma character development.)
I am SO glad you are here and obsessed with your note. Nancy Pearl is one of my heroes! I really hope I get to meet her some day and tell her how much I love her. I haven't watched the talk, though, thank you for sharing it!!!
On to the four doors theory, I have had notes in a draft on this for ages and never get around to finishing!!! I love the framework so much and, like you, I love thinking about readers in that way.
I used to be a plot reader and moved away from that. For the last few years, I have really thought of myself as a Character and Setting reader... but your note is making me realize that I may have experienced another evolution and didn't even realize! THANK YOU for helping me see it. The universe is clearly conspiring with me on this one because I am considering signing up for Garth Greenwall's STYLE course, he just announced it!!!
I haven't read any of the ACOTAR novels but I love it when a book surprises you this way... no reason for you to like it and yet you can't put it down!
I’m a romance enjoyer (sometimes) but I agree with you that it can be frustrating that the genre moves are so predictable. Especially if you get an author who’s clearly just going through the motions. If we’re going to care about two people getting together, we have to accept the possibility (hypothetically, of course, since romances always and inherently end happily) that they might not. Some writers aren’t skilled enough to pull that off, and no decision has any emotional weight because we’re all just waiting for the smut scenes and the ending where they ride off into the sunset. Which is annoying! I’m more pro-banter than you though so I can coast on some fun banter for a while.
This is actually why I liked Rainbow Rowell’s new book, Cherry Baby, so much — it’s designed for you to not know who Cherry will end up with. I found that really refreshing (just wrote about it today actually!) but a lot of people disliked it. I honestly think there’s a subset, and maybe even just a set, of romance readers who kinda use the genre as unofficial therapy and get REALLY upset if a romance isn’t strictly feel-good. Feel-good books have their place! But it can feel limiting when it seems like a book is afraid to take risks.
The "feel good" good label is so strange to me because there is nothing that I love more than to be DESTROYED by a book. It can definitely start to feel heavy sometimes but even torment can be pleasurable when you are engaged and locked in.
I find a light series by a good author and read them sparingly as needed. I strung out the Jackson Brody books by Kate Atkinson that way for years. I suppose my genre is very good mystery. But it could be sci-fi or fantasy. A series that I know I love, squirrelled away for a rainy day. And I think I've finally lived long enough to reread some of my classic favs too. Hurray 49.
Gosh yessssss to all of this. I just can’t with the romance I’ve read -Book Lovers being one of the few- it was so twee and just effing annoying. I also don’t like tropes! I like a wacky ending, I don’t want to know going in how things turn out. I really need to read Loved and Missed. loved Big Swim and her prior novel Housemates.
I completely relate to your reaction to reading back to back romance. I would have a hard time doing that, but like the occasional one and books like Taylor Jenkins Reid’s as a “palette cleanser”…not a whole season, or month. Plot and dialog driven books are good to escape into. I used to read more mystery and thriller which would also fall into a similar category for me, but feel like i get that in my TV watching wth my husband these days.
Yes. In my mind, it made sense to read a bunch of them back to back so that I could get a feel for the genre and learn to spot some of differences within.
I love the idea of pairing challenging reading with easy television!
Oh, Petya! I loved reading this and TOTALLY resonate with everything you say! I have so often wished I could like these sorts of books...but I just can't. I do however need less intense reading in-between the harder stuff. For example, I'm doing a read/re-read of Jean Rhys this year, which I love but are not exactly...happy novels. My go-to in-between books are usually one of these 3 categories: a nonfiction, a re-read, or something by Anne Tyler, who I find easy but not formulaic and with unusual characters. So in April, for example, in between Rhys's second novel 'After Leaving Mr Mackenzie', I re-read 'The Millstone,' read 'Seaglass,' a gorgeous essay collection focused on nature, and 'Goodbye, Things,' a book on minimalist living.'
Dear readers: please excuse me and Kate, always noticing the million different ways in which we are basically the same person.
I have been organizing my non-fiction pile recently and noticing how excited I was about so many of the titles, which surprised me. I think for the reasons described above, I need to work some of it, for sure.
Also, one of the ideas I had for off-season reading was to pick an author that is literary but maybe a little more conventional than my typical and I had landed on taking Elizabeth Strout for a spin. I remember reading Olive Kitterige when it first came out and really liking it. And, I love reading stories that center older characters. I just went and did a little Wikipedia search on Anne Tyler, and she sounds maybe a little similar to Strout, too? AND, I just ordered They by Helle Helle after listening to an interview with her on the GRANTA podcast.... I think I am circling a theme. Thank you always for helping me figure out what I am thinking, Kate!
😄 omg I almost put that I turn to Anne Tyler OR Elizabeth Strout!! Once again- two bodies, one mind. I love Strout's writing, and yes, I think they are very similar. 'Lucy by the Sea' is one of my favourites. I also loved Helle Helle's 'This Should be Written in the Present Tense,' and want to get my hands on 'They.' Anne Tyler can be hit and miss, but I loved 'French Braid' and 'Red Head by the Side of the Road,' in particular. I read loads of hers during covid, when I just needed calm and reassuring books.
Ha! Just the other day I was wondering if Elizabeth Strout was the Anne Tyler of Maine. I also recently thought I would take a whack at Elizabeth Strout and so I re-read 'Amy and Isabelle.' I thought it was verrrry 1998? The only other thing of hers I've read is 'Olive Kitteridge' and I can't remember a thing about it. Hmm.
My off-season readings follow the same logic: kind of resting readings, something lightly, springy and summery. After saying that, this is true that so-called books easy to read could be so badly written that it's pointless to read them, it happens to me several times! Now even at off-season I'm still reaching for good books only. That makes me think about this one Harlequin's book, I've forgotten the title and the author, it was suppose to be a romance in an Asian country but all I've read in it was a Western women who refused any relationship with anyone, and with so many paragraphs summarizes extracts from the Bible...! That makes the link with your first question, "hearing the machinery of a book"? Yes it's always happen with genres books, I always find them Netflix-related. But it also happens with more "serious" books, where references can appear when we already know them. Writing a truly original novel is rare, avoiding writings formulas and methods is not easy. For instance, historical novels are still very formatted, and maybe this is normal for this category. Probably the most original novel until today remains House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski, but this is definitely not an easy one!
Eve... this book is definitely in the Top 10 I have ever read. My write up does not do it justice. I just listed to that GRANTA podcast interview with Boyt and she explains how aware she was that the premise of a family dealing with a family member with addiction is so boring (the experience of it in real life is anything but, but from a literary perspective it is)... and how mindful she was to make the book about something else, it's more about the estrangement between the characters than the drug addiction being the cause of it. It is truly amazing.
I think I’m going to regret ordering it from the library rather than buying it! It sounds like something my mum would love as well so maybe I’ll buy it for her so I can borrow it back!
I know this is a tough place for this response, but ... I go to romance looking for that predictability. To me, romance novels are to books as police procedurals are to TV. Are they the best TV? Hell, no! Do they serve a purpose--to provide unchallenging, or much less challenging, entertainment? Hell, yes! Sometimes I want The Wire; sometimes I want Law & Order. I can't live by quality TV/books alone.
I still have standards--there was so much I did NOT like about Casey McQuiston's The Pairing, for example--but I price in the predictability. To me, this is a version of the day book/evening book conversation we've been having recently. (I often listen to romances in bed--not for lubricious reasons, not that there's anything wrong with that, but because it's easy to find my place again if/when I fall asleep while listening!)
I really want to be open with my own back and forth with books and readings ... because in the past I have assumed so much rigidity and knowing when I compared myself to other readers and I just felt so bad about myself as a reader. Now I know better and I know we are all on a journey to discover what moves us and those reasons vary across time.
Also, I really mean this, I am not of the opinion that everything we do or touch must be GOOD, SERIOUS or IMPORTANT. We are human beings, not robots.
I love this idea of off-season reading. I had a few friends recommend the 4th wing series and have finished the first two so far. It's good entertainment and of course there are those "steamy" bits. ;) I've always enjoyed a good Dystopian novel (Hunger Games for example) but 4th wing was my first pull into Romantasy which I found to be a enjoyable genre.
I have no shame in admitting that I love the steamy bits!!! Not everyone can write a good sex scene, you must be so free to do it and I love authors who are willing to go there, regardless of genre!!!
You might like historical or paranormal romance novels more. I struggle with contemporary romance for many of the reasons you describe. There’s a lot of meh romance out there. I recommend Dreaming of You or Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas or Indigo by Beverly Jenkins.
I meant to say this in my post but I forgot -- I truly feel that the genre is so deep and so broad, that I bet with enough trial and error I would be able to find a corner that fits. I will look into the titles you recommended, thank you so much!
To be honest, you bring up why I, a romance reader, don't bother with contemporary romance. Historical romances especially are good at exploring other relationships while still centering the romance one. Courtney Milan's the Countess Conspiracy does something interesting with siblings, for example.
The heroine has a complicated relationship with her sister. The hero has a complicated relationship with his brother. The book ends with those relationships resolving entirely differently but also in a way you don't expect with either.
Thank you for that! Did you see @Meghan's note above? She said the same about contemporary romance! The exploration continues!
I was thinking about you as I wrote my little report. I really hope it did not come across as dismissive and condescending. If I have learned anything from you and the romance community is that it's definitely worth doing the work of figuring out what specifically feels immersive and satisfying to read and you don't really owe anyone an explanation.
Oh no, you have been absolutely wonderful. Honestly, this sounds weird, but I like listening to people talk of what works for their reading and what doesn't even if it's books I personally like.
Finally somebody else who didn't like Book Lovers!! I do not understand what everybody sees in that book, and I myself am obsessed with EmHen.
Don't feel bad about the predictability of romance - it's one of the biggest reasons people don't vibe with the genre. It's also why I read a relatively limited number of contemporary romances and why I don't exclusively read romance. Some of them are so painfully predictable that all you can do is roll your eyes.
The teller of a good romance book is finding one that is either unpredictable (they do exist) or at least so all-consuming that the predictability becomes endearing rather than cringe. The reason I love Ali Hazelwood is not because her stories are that original but because the characters make me feel something. And I can't really say why that is because I know how cookie-cutter Millenial cringe they are. 🤷🏻♀️ But when you love the characters and their dynamics, it's easier to forgive mechanics and tropes and craft.
Which is to say, much as nobody wants to hear it, it just means you didn't pick the right romance book(s) for you haha. Good romance authors hide the mechanics and know how to be unpredictable. A lot of romance readers are just used to accepting the tropes and focusing on the character dynamics. And I also think contemporary romance (ie Book Lovers) is arguably one of the most predictable subsects of the genre...anyway. A valiant effort!! Thanks for playing!!
I need to send you flowers for all your guidance, enthusiasm and support through this difficult time for me!!! You know how I like my romances... 19th century + Russian. hahaha
“Everything is too composed” - yes!! I was vigorously nodding my head in agreement to everything you wrote about these romance novels, Petya. I’ve tried four different Emily Henry books and couldn’t stand any of them.
As a fellow skeptic, might I recommend The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society? It verges on too sweet at times, but never fully gets into eye-roll territory. Perhaps because it is more a story of community than a romance novel, but there is romance in it! You might enjoy this one.
And as some of the other commenters have mentioned, I might try historical romance (Georgette Heyer has been on my list).
My "problem" with Emily Henry is similar to my problem with other contemporary fiction that feels written in a way that seems to anticipate the book-to-tv adaptation and that really bothers me somehow. I love character driven, atmospheric story telling... but reading all this romance in such a condensed amount of time, I was struck by how much ink was spilled on minutia... tracing people's steps across rooms, describing meals and drink orders that did not seem to contribute to story or character arcs... and wondered if the writers are trying to make us believe that their book is as good as a movie?
So true.
And I feel that a lot with contemporary fiction in general - that books are being written with a screen adaptation in mind. But then... just write a screenplay?? Rebecca Makkai has a great post about this that I think is illuminating for readers, too, not just writers:
https://rebeccamakkai.substack.com/p/youre-writing-a-book-so-stop-writing
Except that statistically, far more books are bought as potential film/TV properties than screenplays.
My preferred "off-season reading" is typically a whodunnit. It's definitely a genre where you can "hear the machinery" of the conventions of genre within it, but I think some of that is alleviated in a good mystery by still not knowing how it will end! But nevertheless I have still DNF'd mysteries that aren't working for me. And, sometimes, I'm also just not in the mood for genre fiction with strong conventions. It varies a fair amount whether I find "the machinery" charming or annoying by mood.
As I am exploring off-season reading, I have two genre authors that I have read and loved in the past --- Agatha Christie and John Grisham. I don't believe that Grisham qualifies as a "mystery" writer... but I think Christie does, right? Do you like her books?
Definitely! Christie is the gold standard writer of a whodunnit mystery I would say. In both cases I think those authors/genres tend to aim to surprise the reader, even within mystery or thriller conventions, so maybe that's something that works for you in off-season reading
Two of my most often re-read authors!
I MUST get my hands on Fat Swim!! And you may have convinced me to read Loved and Missed, though I think I need to be in a good mental state before I break into it.
For the past 5 years or so, romance (mostly historical romance, and sometimes romantasy) has been my go-to “off season” genre. But I’ve been finding this year that I just CAN’T sink into a romance novel the same way I used to be able to. I think maybe I’ve gotten more sensitive to seeing the cogs turning in the way you describe… I’m not sure. One thing I know for sure is that my appetite for romantasy has completely plummeted. They’re all so same-y to me now, they make me feel like whatever the reading equivalent of gagging is. I don’t have such an outsized reaction to any other romance subgenres, though. Maybe I oversaturated myself in 2022-2023 and now I just need to wait until all the drugs have left my system? Lol
Gagging... in a BAD way!!! I was literally groaning... like.... driving and screaming NOOOO THAT's SO BAAADDDD. hahaha
I hope you can make it to our Zoom on the 9th! I have high expectation that the group will bring good off-season ideas!!!
Lately I’ve been dabbling in other cozy genres so I’ve got a few other “off season” thoughts to bring. I should be able to join on the 9th unless something unexpected comes up! Can’t wait!
P.S. what you said about 831 stories being like Nashville had me cackling. It’s so true!! Something about that squeaky clean packaging and perfect marketing just turns me off immediately. Just had a long dinner conversation with my husband about this lolol Like why is something that SHOULD be right up my alley repelling me so much?
The more perfect the marketing campaign, the more I want to run!
I've only just started reading your work - so you may have covered this already in a different post - but I think the 'four doors to reading' theory might explain why a lot of the romance genre doesn't always hit.
It was invented by librarian Nancy Pearl who posits that we have a main 'door' into reading and if it's lacking, we find it very hard to finish. If it's there, we tend to eat up the book! People tend to have primary and secondary doors. The books that get really popular tend to access all doors.
The doors are Plot, Character, Style and Setting.
Most romance readers are 'Plot' readers I think. Personally I'm a 'Character' reader, so if there's strong characters, I'm in but I'm generally not a romance reader. I suspect, based on what hits, you're a Style reader and so if the writing style hasn't been developed as strongly as other elements, it's probably why it's just harder to get into (my husband is a Style reader, which realising has helped me buy better books for him!)
It definitely helps me find good recommenders of books, because I know if someone is a Plot reader and recommends a book, I need to make sure it's also going to have at least some elements of character.
(That being said, did I wolf down ACOTAR because it made me feel 14 years old again? Yes, and I would say it's definitely Plot over Character. But on reflection, there were a few characters in there that kept me interested and I found the second book the best one because it focused on post-trauma character development.)
Here's Nancy's TED talk on it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjDMbixPSeQ and a summary https://teralynnchilds.com/nancy-pearls-four-doors-reading/
It's my favourite party question
I am SO glad you are here and obsessed with your note. Nancy Pearl is one of my heroes! I really hope I get to meet her some day and tell her how much I love her. I haven't watched the talk, though, thank you for sharing it!!!
On to the four doors theory, I have had notes in a draft on this for ages and never get around to finishing!!! I love the framework so much and, like you, I love thinking about readers in that way.
I used to be a plot reader and moved away from that. For the last few years, I have really thought of myself as a Character and Setting reader... but your note is making me realize that I may have experienced another evolution and didn't even realize! THANK YOU for helping me see it. The universe is clearly conspiring with me on this one because I am considering signing up for Garth Greenwall's STYLE course, he just announced it!!!
I haven't read any of the ACOTAR novels but I love it when a book surprises you this way... no reason for you to like it and yet you can't put it down!
That leaves out THE most important door for me - THEME.
I’m a romance enjoyer (sometimes) but I agree with you that it can be frustrating that the genre moves are so predictable. Especially if you get an author who’s clearly just going through the motions. If we’re going to care about two people getting together, we have to accept the possibility (hypothetically, of course, since romances always and inherently end happily) that they might not. Some writers aren’t skilled enough to pull that off, and no decision has any emotional weight because we’re all just waiting for the smut scenes and the ending where they ride off into the sunset. Which is annoying! I’m more pro-banter than you though so I can coast on some fun banter for a while.
This is actually why I liked Rainbow Rowell’s new book, Cherry Baby, so much — it’s designed for you to not know who Cherry will end up with. I found that really refreshing (just wrote about it today actually!) but a lot of people disliked it. I honestly think there’s a subset, and maybe even just a set, of romance readers who kinda use the genre as unofficial therapy and get REALLY upset if a romance isn’t strictly feel-good. Feel-good books have their place! But it can feel limiting when it seems like a book is afraid to take risks.
I loved her book Slow Dance! I don't know that it was marketed as romance but it is a romance novel.
I liked that one too! I think people who read that one were expecting more of a romance novel with her new one, and I can see the confusion
The "feel good" good label is so strange to me because there is nothing that I love more than to be DESTROYED by a book. It can definitely start to feel heavy sometimes but even torment can be pleasurable when you are engaged and locked in.
And it’s a totally different feeling from difficult stuff happening in real life IMO!
I find a light series by a good author and read them sparingly as needed. I strung out the Jackson Brody books by Kate Atkinson that way for years. I suppose my genre is very good mystery. But it could be sci-fi or fantasy. A series that I know I love, squirrelled away for a rainy day. And I think I've finally lived long enough to reread some of my classic favs too. Hurray 49.
Oooh... I have a friend who reads Kate Atkinson a lot. Your note reminds me to ask her about it!
It's so fun to jump levels in life and revisit earlier experiences that you can now assign new meaning to. HURRAY to our 40s and beyond!
Gosh yessssss to all of this. I just can’t with the romance I’ve read -Book Lovers being one of the few- it was so twee and just effing annoying. I also don’t like tropes! I like a wacky ending, I don’t want to know going in how things turn out. I really need to read Loved and Missed. loved Big Swim and her prior novel Housemates.
The Emily Henry novel felt very childish to me, too!
Loved and Missed is just... STUNNING. My little writeup does not do it justice!
I completely relate to your reaction to reading back to back romance. I would have a hard time doing that, but like the occasional one and books like Taylor Jenkins Reid’s as a “palette cleanser”…not a whole season, or month. Plot and dialog driven books are good to escape into. I used to read more mystery and thriller which would also fall into a similar category for me, but feel like i get that in my TV watching wth my husband these days.
Yes. In my mind, it made sense to read a bunch of them back to back so that I could get a feel for the genre and learn to spot some of differences within.
I love the idea of pairing challenging reading with easy television!
Oh, Petya! I loved reading this and TOTALLY resonate with everything you say! I have so often wished I could like these sorts of books...but I just can't. I do however need less intense reading in-between the harder stuff. For example, I'm doing a read/re-read of Jean Rhys this year, which I love but are not exactly...happy novels. My go-to in-between books are usually one of these 3 categories: a nonfiction, a re-read, or something by Anne Tyler, who I find easy but not formulaic and with unusual characters. So in April, for example, in between Rhys's second novel 'After Leaving Mr Mackenzie', I re-read 'The Millstone,' read 'Seaglass,' a gorgeous essay collection focused on nature, and 'Goodbye, Things,' a book on minimalist living.'
I'm really agree for Anne Tyler, her novels are so well-written and refreshing!
They have such quirky characters and you instantly love them!
With your endorsement, now I must read her!
Dear readers: please excuse me and Kate, always noticing the million different ways in which we are basically the same person.
I have been organizing my non-fiction pile recently and noticing how excited I was about so many of the titles, which surprised me. I think for the reasons described above, I need to work some of it, for sure.
Also, one of the ideas I had for off-season reading was to pick an author that is literary but maybe a little more conventional than my typical and I had landed on taking Elizabeth Strout for a spin. I remember reading Olive Kitterige when it first came out and really liking it. And, I love reading stories that center older characters. I just went and did a little Wikipedia search on Anne Tyler, and she sounds maybe a little similar to Strout, too? AND, I just ordered They by Helle Helle after listening to an interview with her on the GRANTA podcast.... I think I am circling a theme. Thank you always for helping me figure out what I am thinking, Kate!
😄 omg I almost put that I turn to Anne Tyler OR Elizabeth Strout!! Once again- two bodies, one mind. I love Strout's writing, and yes, I think they are very similar. 'Lucy by the Sea' is one of my favourites. I also loved Helle Helle's 'This Should be Written in the Present Tense,' and want to get my hands on 'They.' Anne Tyler can be hit and miss, but I loved 'French Braid' and 'Red Head by the Side of the Road,' in particular. I read loads of hers during covid, when I just needed calm and reassuring books.
Ha! Just the other day I was wondering if Elizabeth Strout was the Anne Tyler of Maine. I also recently thought I would take a whack at Elizabeth Strout and so I re-read 'Amy and Isabelle.' I thought it was verrrry 1998? The only other thing of hers I've read is 'Olive Kitteridge' and I can't remember a thing about it. Hmm.
My off-season readings follow the same logic: kind of resting readings, something lightly, springy and summery. After saying that, this is true that so-called books easy to read could be so badly written that it's pointless to read them, it happens to me several times! Now even at off-season I'm still reaching for good books only. That makes me think about this one Harlequin's book, I've forgotten the title and the author, it was suppose to be a romance in an Asian country but all I've read in it was a Western women who refused any relationship with anyone, and with so many paragraphs summarizes extracts from the Bible...! That makes the link with your first question, "hearing the machinery of a book"? Yes it's always happen with genres books, I always find them Netflix-related. But it also happens with more "serious" books, where references can appear when we already know them. Writing a truly original novel is rare, avoiding writings formulas and methods is not easy. For instance, historical novels are still very formatted, and maybe this is normal for this category. Probably the most original novel until today remains House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski, but this is definitely not an easy one!
What a good point, Tarik. MOST BOOKS are formulaic, which is a reason to be even more devoted and grateful for the ones that are not!!!
Glad to hear such a good review of Loved and Missed, there’s a copy currently sitting at the library waiting for me to collect it!
Eve... this book is definitely in the Top 10 I have ever read. My write up does not do it justice. I just listed to that GRANTA podcast interview with Boyt and she explains how aware she was that the premise of a family dealing with a family member with addiction is so boring (the experience of it in real life is anything but, but from a literary perspective it is)... and how mindful she was to make the book about something else, it's more about the estrangement between the characters than the drug addiction being the cause of it. It is truly amazing.
I think I’m going to regret ordering it from the library rather than buying it! It sounds like something my mum would love as well so maybe I’ll buy it for her so I can borrow it back!
I know this is a tough place for this response, but ... I go to romance looking for that predictability. To me, romance novels are to books as police procedurals are to TV. Are they the best TV? Hell, no! Do they serve a purpose--to provide unchallenging, or much less challenging, entertainment? Hell, yes! Sometimes I want The Wire; sometimes I want Law & Order. I can't live by quality TV/books alone.
I still have standards--there was so much I did NOT like about Casey McQuiston's The Pairing, for example--but I price in the predictability. To me, this is a version of the day book/evening book conversation we've been having recently. (I often listen to romances in bed--not for lubricious reasons, not that there's anything wrong with that, but because it's easy to find my place again if/when I fall asleep while listening!)
This is NOT an anti-romance space!!! TRULY.
I really want to be open with my own back and forth with books and readings ... because in the past I have assumed so much rigidity and knowing when I compared myself to other readers and I just felt so bad about myself as a reader. Now I know better and I know we are all on a journey to discover what moves us and those reasons vary across time.
Also, I really mean this, I am not of the opinion that everything we do or touch must be GOOD, SERIOUS or IMPORTANT. We are human beings, not robots.
The Pairing was so boring! I totally gave up halfway through.
I love this idea of off-season reading. I had a few friends recommend the 4th wing series and have finished the first two so far. It's good entertainment and of course there are those "steamy" bits. ;) I've always enjoyed a good Dystopian novel (Hunger Games for example) but 4th wing was my first pull into Romantasy which I found to be a enjoyable genre.
I have no shame in admitting that I love the steamy bits!!! Not everyone can write a good sex scene, you must be so free to do it and I love authors who are willing to go there, regardless of genre!!!