August is Read a Romance Month: Links to Help You Help Patrons

Thanks to Kimberly over on the always fabulous and now newly remodeled YA focused Stacked, I found out that August is read a romance month.  In Kimberly's essay she talks frankly about her recent "embracing" of herself as a romance reader.

There are a couple of thoughts that popped into my head after reading her piece from a RA training perspective.

First, since August is "Read a Romance Month," get out there and make a romance display, or at least make up a quick sign and put it near your romance books.

Second, although I am not a fan of Romance, it always troubles me how much Romance is belittled and put down.  As a horror fan and expert, I know exactly how the Romance people feel.  Genres that appeal first and foremost to your emotions, especially primal ones (love and fear in these cases), never get the respect they deserve.

In Publisher's Weekly last week, best selling romance author Kristan Higgins addressed this head on when she wrote this blunt and eloquent essay on why Romance is regularly dismissed and why the people who do it are stupid. Everyone who works with romance readers-- and that is EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU-- needs to read this essay.

And Third, I thought I would use this opportunity to share resources for all of you to use to help your romance patrons.  Don't worry about whether or not you like the genre (or any genre for that matter). Instead, use the reader's enthusiasm and love for romance to get you excited about helping him or her.

So here are some links to get you excited and to point you in the right direction:

• The Romance Writer's of America has THE BEST writers association website. They have an entire section on Romance as a genre, including the mind blowing industry statistics [over 1 billion dollars in romance sales a year!].
• If I could only have one romance resource I would choose Smart Bitches, Trashy Books no question. Just click through an look. They help me look like a romance expert.
• Speaking of me not being a romance expert...click here for all of my adventures in romance including longer lists of resources and reviews of the few romances I have read.
• And don't forget that NPR Books dubbed the summer of 2015, "The Summer of Love."  Click here to read my posts on that with links to their resources and lists.

Oh, and you could always join the party and read a romance this month.  You still have time. Use the links to find the perfect romance for you. Practice on yourself and be your own readers' advisor.