So Meg Cabot posted a rant today about mandatory reading lists, and how much she hated them, entitled “How To Foster a Hatred of Reading,” in response to a NY Times article entitled “The Future of Reading.” I think part of Cabot’s argument is sound—if you want to foster a love of reading in kids, forcing them to read isn’t the greatest idea. Kids aren’t exactly enamored with things that look like work, and mandatory … Continue reading How to foster a love of reading and literary analysis →
It’s been a little while since we’ve done any cover snark, and how do we herald the return of this time-honored feature? With bad fantasy covers, of course. If there’s a genre blessed with even worse covers than romance novels, fantasy (especially sword-and-sorcery high fantasy) would be it, with science fiction hot on its effete elven heels. So put on your robe and wizard hat, and get ready to cast Level 8 Cock of the … Continue reading And now for a slight change in pace: fantasy covers on the chopping block →
Part 1 of the Books What I Read While On Summer Vacation can be found here. Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas (Historical Romance – European), St. Martin’s 2007 Grade: B I went on quite the Lisa Kleypas roll this summer, and immersed myself, yea verily, in her ocean of fluffy romance goodness. Cam is a bit of a rarity for a Kleypas hero: more sunny-natured than not, and refreshingly angst-free, despite his half-gypsy, half-Irish … Continue reading Summer Round-Up: Books What I Read While On Summer Vacation, Pt. 2 →
Y’all, I managed to get more leisure reading done in the past three months than I have in the past two years combined. It’s amazing what being stuck on a plane or a bus will do to one’s reading time, not to mention the one month I spent laid up in bed from a one-two whammy of a really nasty summer flu, followed by strep throat. (Lymph nodes the size of ripe plums, dudes. It … Continue reading Summer Round-Up: Books What I Read While On Summer Vacation, Pt. 1 →
Don’t Tempt Me was a strange reading experience for me. While I was reading it, I was so captivated by the chemistry between the hero and heroine that I couldn’t bear to stop. I resented every minute I had to spend working, sleeping or shopping. I cheerfully ignored cats, friends, roommate and boyfriend in favor of finishing the book. I haven’t read a book this way in a very long time—I think the last time … Continue reading Don’t Tempt Me by Loretta Chase →
While I was on the Book Tour of Much Bosom Heaving, one of the top questions I got wasn’t, to my surprise, “What is a cuntweasel? Is it a weasel made of cunt, or a weasel whose native habitat is a cunt, or a verb for a maneuver from a cunt that is exceptionally limber? Enlighten us, O Muse!” No, one of the questions people asked me most consistently was “Do you have a list … Continue reading Candy’s Favorite Romances: A Work in Progress →
Evil Auntie Peril wrote one of the most fascinating series of articles I’ve read in a while about selective filtering in romances. Essentially, she points out that certain types of details or tropes make it into romance novels because they’d be “historically accurate” (e.g., heroes who rape the heroine), but others are decidedly excluded because, while they may (or may not) be historically accurate, they’re icky, and pull you out of the fantasy—and chief among … Continue reading On historickiness, and ahistoricity →
Chew‘s premise is morbid, hilarious and delicious: in the near future, chicken has been outlawed in the United States because of an uncontrolled outbreak of avian flu. Or is it? Is it instead a gigantic governmental conspiracy? Regardless, chicken parts are now the hottest thing on the street, because as one characters observe: “You outlaw chicken, and only outlaws have chicken.” The FDA (minor quibble: why the FDA, and not the USDA?) is now in … Continue reading Chew Issue #1 by John Layman and Rob Guillory →
I love Kate Beaton. I love her so hard. I think the essence of that comic can be summed thusly: It is a truth universally acknowledged in Romancelandia, that a single brooding man in possession of a dickbag nature must be in want of a Magic Hoo-Hoo to reform him. Nice dudes are nice, but dickbags are (generally speaking) easier to write when one is looking for fodder for generating conflict, and more exciting to … Continue reading Dude Watchin’ With the Brontes →
Dudes! I’m in ur Bay Areas, stealin ur mantitties. And also signing books. And, should you wish it, your mantitties. Or your womantitties. I’m easy. Time: 2 p.m. Place: Bay Books, 1669 Willow Pass Road, Concord, CA Come one, come all, and heckle the hell out of me.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the role romance novels play for its readers and authors ever since reading Teresa Medeiros’ inspiring and heart-wrenching post about why she writes romance novels. If you’ve been buried underneath some sort of Internet rock and haven’t read it yet, go have a look-see. That piece does more to allay doubts about the power of popular fiction to make a substantial, beautiful difference in people’s lives than anything I’ve … Continue reading On the role romance novels play →
