Romance, like horror suffers from a huge lack of respect, especially among library workers. Yes there are some in our ranks who love these genres, but in general, horror and romance get disparaged as not as “good” as other genres. I often argue in my programs that this is a direct result of the fact that both genres appeal to the readers’ emotions, thus making them more susceptible to being waved off as less serious. And with Romance, everything is magnified because it is a genre mostly read and written by women. This is a fact that is undeniable.
No matter the reason, the truth is that many of you [library workers] don’t like Romance, don’t read it personally, and as a result, don’t really understand what the appeal of the genre is to its fans. The remedy for this is to educate ourselves and a genre study is a fun way to do this. It allows allows you to learn from others, gathering different perspectives as you go.
As we embark on this 2 year journey through romance, one you can all follow along via the notes, I am going to add to the conversation by providing another level of training, the voice of romance fans from all over sharing their personal passion for romance [pun intended]. I am tagging all of these posts “Why I love” in the hopes that some day other genres will also be represented under this label.
Today we begin with Rachel Stevenson. Rachel is a librarian in Erie County, Pennsylvania. She received her masters in library and information science from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009 and her masters of art in arts administration from Goucher College in 2014. Stevenson is an avid reader and love traditional Regency romances, historical fiction especially about the World Wars and the Long Weekend, Jane Austen, and historical mysteries. She acts as Lois Alter Mark’s bibliotherapist on her blog Midlife at the Oasis and has been featured in the Huffington Post.
Right after the Romance NYT controversy, which is part of our first Romance Genre Study Assignment [and which I also blogged about it here], I was a guest at the PA Lib Association Annual conference. Many of us were chatting about it and Rachel, was one of the most vocal about why the whole hub-bub made her mad. I asked Rachel to share her passion for romance with my readers. Below, is her response and the very first Why I Love Romance guest post.
If you are a romance fan, drop me a line and we can talk about you contributing to this series.
But for now, here is Rachel.
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I have a group of fabulous friends and every time we talk the badinage flows. Badinage? You might say. Well it’s a word I recently learned while reading romance novels. It means witty conversation. Romance novels are how I grow my vocabulary even though most people think the romance industry is selling mendacious propaganda and they get all lachrymose and mumpish about it. Personally, I think they are all a bunch of quidnuncs and should go study lepidoptery instead. Most of the people who decry the romance industry would prefer we pay obeisance to “better genres” like literary fiction and Nobel Prize winners. Even Hillary Clinton has criticized the romance industry and I bet she hasn’t read a romance book either ever or in a really long time.
Years ago I was ashamed I read romance, but not anymore. Now I read it freely, openly, with abandon, and I even talk about it with people I think would look down on romance novels. Why? Because romance isn’t bad. It doesn’t hurt us. And it can have some really positive aspects. Case in point….my vocabulary.
The opening paragraph uses words that many people have never heard before and I learned them all from reading romance novels. Romance is like every other genre out there. Some are really bad. Some are really good. And some are in between. I’m sure we can all find Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning novels that fall into the exact same categories. I’m actually convinced to win a Pulitzer all you have to do is write a 700 page novel that someone wants to read. So Diana Gabaldon and George R. R. Martin should be next.
Romance books fall into so many categories and the category I read the most take place in the Regency time period when Jane Austen was alive and mad King George III (he’s the guy we fought against in the Revolutionary War) could no longer rule so his son took over as Prince Regent hence the title The Regency Period. This period ended when George III died and his son, George IV became king. Look at all that history I just learned and it came from reading romance novels.
In Regency England the upperclasses were better educated knowing words and phrases from the Ancient Greek and Latin. Women needed to know how to speak French and Italian as well as their native English to be considered accomplished. So today when I read a Regency romance, the authors I choose research well and include history and correct terminology in their stories.
For me this is great. I love words. As a librarian I like to learn new words and I like to share them. I like to use my two years of Latin to try to figure out some of the Latin words like quidnunc, which means a person who gossips. My Latin tells me that quid means what and nunc means now. So the Latin translation is “what now” and of course that is perfect to describe a gossip because they always want to tell you what happened now. Or quidnunc. Obviously they know their French as well since badinage comes from the French term “to jest”.
Finding these words is like a hidden treasure in romance novels. Not only do I get a good story with a happy ending I also get to sleuth by looking up words I’ve never heard before and then go deeper by finding out from where they originated. If you have teenage children you should be pushing romance novels on them so they too can build their vocabulary. Mendacious and lachrymose are great SAT words. And here’s another newsflash not all romance have sex. Shocking I know. Not everything is a bodice ripper. In fact, traditional Regencies, what I read most, barely have any sex at all because women and men didn’t just sleep around whenever. There were very strict rules about men and women and what they could or could not do. If you were found alone with a man….you had to marry him. Even if it was by accident. Even if you’ve only just met. Even if you despised him. If they were that strict for just being in a room alone with a man you have no idea what premarital sex would get you.
For those who are intrigued, but not enough to find a dictionary mendacious means a lie. Lachrymose means full of tears or weepy (hint: for those of us who are also adults but read children’s books there is a Lake Lachrymose in Lemony Snicket’s A Serious of Unfortunate Events). Mumpish is sullen and lepidoptery is the study of moths. Finally obeisance is deferential respect like something you would show Queen Elizabeth II if you ever happen to meet (in a romance novel you just might!). And these words are just a few. Each book is filled with more words than I can count that I have not heard before and am willing to learn and use to broaden my vocabulary.
So what we need to do is not only broaden our vocabulary, but also our minds by reading romance novels. I just finished one by Mary Balogh that taught it was kindness that is the most important aspect of love. To be kind and to be treated kindly in return. Now that doesn’t seem like a bodice ripper or a bad story for our children to learn while growing up. In conclusion, don’t judge romance just because you think you know what it is and what the plot devices are. Stop being so Spanish Inquisition and become inquisitional. Pick up a romance novel. Try it out. Learn a new word and maybe learn something new about life, love, and yourself.
I am so proud to have Rachel as my bibliotherapist. She finds books I would never have discovered on my own, and every book she has recommended has been a must-read and a true learning experience. If she says to read romance, trust me, we should all start reading romance.
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