There was a good post this week over at Romancing the Blog that talked about how people who read romance will read other genres. And how people who don’t read romance tend to turn their noses up at it. And what we can do to change this.
I started thinking about genre fiction in general and how all categories have their lovers and haters. Fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, romance, chick-lit, etc. According to many people, you shouldn’t write or read any of these — because they’re just genre crap. The only books that are good books are non-fiction memoirs or literary fiction.
Whatever.Â
I love genre books, whether it’s romance, fantasy, or something in between. I like the conventions of genres — finding the magic ring in a fantasy book, figuring out who the killer is in a mystery, getting a happy ending in a romance novel. I’m not going to pick up a book on the history of ancient Rome any time soon. What I will be getting is the new Parker novel by Richard Stark.
People who look down their noses at genre fiction (including romance) don’t know what they’re missing — a wonderful time. It’s their loss.
What about you? Which genres do you love? Hate? Do you ever read outside your comfort zone? Inquiring minds want to know …