Long, long ago, on an internet both similar and different from the web we browse today, Smart Bitches was born. The site launched on 31 January 2005 with a review for Angel-Seeker by Sharon Shinn and for The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann, and here we are, THIRTEEN YEARS LATER, with still many books on our TBRs, many thoughts about the genre, and many things to talk about.
Thank you for being here, for keeping the site going, and for being part of the Smart Bitches community. We wouldn’t be here without you.
This anniversary is bittersweet for me, too, what with the recent closure of so many websites I loved and valued. The web changes constantly in large and small ways.
And yet, Smart Bitches continues to grow. Our audience is growing month-to-month, and year-to-year, as more readers find us and hang out to read reviews, leave comments, ask questions, and help us solve HaBO after HaBO. The number of email messages I receive from readers looking for recommendations for one more romance has increased, too, as have the number that say, “I didn’t know this kind of site existed and I am SO HAPPY to find you!”
Welcome, and welcome back. It’s time to celebrate 13 years!
This year, I’m also doing a little something extra. Thirteen is also the year at which many young Jewish people have their bat mitzvahs, so this year, I’m throwing a bat mitzvah for the site. On Saturday, 3 February, I’ll be posting a dvar torah, also known as a “drash,” about that week’s torah portion, Yitro. So the site will be having a digital bat mitzvah, and I hope you’ll stop by to read and celebrate a little more.
But today we also celebrate! And I love doing giveaways with themes built around the traditional anniversary gifts, and the suggestion for the 13th anniversary?
Lace!
Oh, there’s a lot we can do with that. I found some fun and pretty and even some silly lace-adorned items to give away, and I hope you like them!
I think this tote and the one below it are so cute.
This teal blue cotton tote has a lace panel sewn on the front, and can hold everything, including your wallet, e-reader, water bottle, and phone. And…whatever else you need. Snacks? Emergency kitten? Vitamin C? Whatever you need, it’ll fit! The bag is 14″ by 14″, and very lightweight — only 7 oz.
I love socks like these! On the bottom, it says, If You Can Read This… Bring Me a Glass of Wine! One winner will receive a pair of nifty socks, which are lightweight and soft cotton blend, trimmed with lace.
I really dig this bracelet – which is actually two bracelets, one a thick band of lace and the other gathered with a buckle charm. The artist is in Latvia, so shipping may take a little bit longer, but I think this bracelet duo is adorably nifty.
And finally, one last sentimental prize. When Smart Bitches began, I was living in a house that had been owned by someone who did lace tatting – a very old form of lace weaving. Pretty much every time we’ve moved into a space or moved out of one, we’ve found something left behind by the prior owners, and we’ve probably left something behind, too.
In my office where I worked on the site in the very early days, the prior owner had hung a tatted lace heart in the window that looked over the yard. I like to look out the window when I write, and I stared at or through that lace heart while pondering. We left that tatted lace heart for the next owner of that home, but when I saw this one while looking for ideas, I immediately thought of it.
So, to celebrate when the site began, and (forgive me) the heart of what we do here, I want to send one winner a tatted lace heart of their own to hang in a window.
Ok, now that you’re all rolling your eyes at my schmoopyness, let’s do some giving away of things!
To enter, just leave a comment and tell us why you hang out here with us. Reviews? Humor? Cover snark? HaBOs? Sales?
Standard disclaimers apply: We are not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law. We will pick one winner by random integer for each of the items listed above. Must be over 18 and ready to lacily, lazily read and do other things. Pants are always optional. Do not fear the 13th anniversary, for it is also the baker’s dozen, and that’s one extra delicious item for you to enjoy. Speaking of, we recommend pastries as often as humanly possible. Comments will close Tuesday February 6, 2018 around noon ET, and winners will be announced shortly thereafter.
Whatever it is that keeps you coming back to Smart Bitches, thank you. It’s an honor to hang out with all of you from each part of the globe each day, and I’m so glad you’re here.
Thank you for being part of Smart Bitches. Happy anniversary to us!
ETA! We have winners! Congrats to Jenny P, Malena, Michelle, TheoLibrarian, and JaneDrew!
Thank you to everyone for leaving such lovely comments, for celebrating with us, and for being part of a truly wonderful internet community. Every anniversary is special and this one meant a lot to me. Thank you.
Happy anniversary! I found this site after someone posted it to the RomanticSF yahoogroup way back in 2006. I favorites are HABO and cover snark. I’ve found so many new wonderful authors via this community. What can I say? I love smarkiness.
Big fan of the snark, the humor, the reviews, and I am damn near dependent on the monthly “Whatcha Reading?” threads.
Sometimes life is stressful and SBTB offers a lovely respite from all. that. stress!!!!
I love cover snark and the Bachelor/Bachelorette recaps are genius! I enjoy the book reviews and you have introduced me to a lot of wonderful new authors. Thank you!
Congratulations! I hang out here because I love spending time with people who love the romance genre. Rec League is a blast.
This is a great site and I hope you have many more happy years. I love the book recs, cover snark, Bachelor recaps, podcast recs, and of course, books on sale!
I use SBTB website for professional and personal use. All the book reviews assist me in ordering titles especially in subgenres I don’t read. Also, who doesn’t love the humor?
I lurked here for so long before I said anything aloud… but I remember the first time I commented it was because your write-up on the Twilight phenomenon was so well considered. Happy anniversary & thank you for continuing to be here… and for each time you stand up and push back and speak truth to the shamers and defamers. It helps, for those of us who were told that women like us wasted our time reading these books and not something “improving,” to see alllllll the good books and eavesdrop on the excellent conversations, and realize that yes, here we are, all (mostly) sane, upwardly mobile, moral, some religious, and all thoroughly excellent people — reading. romances. You remain proof of awesomeness.
I come here for the laughs. You gals are awesome.
Happy 13th!
This site brought be out of a 18 month reading slump. As I moved into my thirties the YA I devoured as a single twenty something was losing its appeal but I wasn’t finding myself in the books I was turning to.
Somehow I found you and a sales post for A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James. Here I remembered the way I voraciously devoured romance in high school. Somehow I forgot romance was an option.
Here I find the books where I can find myself. Here I remembered why I am a capital R Reader.
Happy Anniversary! The Pink Palace is the gift that keeps giving!
I don’t follow a lot of blogs, but SBTB is one I know by heart (although you are also saved to my favorite sites on all my electronic devices). I come here to mingle with my tribe: to wonder at the cover snark, to snort tea thru my nose because of the comments, to solve the HABO after everyone else has, to put actual sounds to the voices in my head thru the podcasts, and of course to luxuriate in the books (the sales, the reviews, the budget-busters!). To be with people who are unabashedly in love with Romance is a heart-opening experience. Thank you for hosting us for 13 years, and here’s to another 50 or 60 more!
How do I love thee, let me count the ways!
I found SBTB sometime in the last year or so – I’m not even sure how! I suppose it’s irrelevant at this point; the most important part is that I’m here.
I couldn’t tell you what I love most, but here’s a list in no particular order: cover snark (because there’s so much wtfery there), Bachelor recaps (also lots of WTFery), book suggestions (my TBR is at 200 right now and grows every week) and finding authors that correspond with my reading preferences. I would not have found them on my own, as I was stuck in my lane and didn’t think about trying someone new unless I was desperate.
There are 2 things that are most important to me:
1 – I have discovered that it’s ok for me to like (love) trashy books. I am a smart woman but I am not a fan of what others might consider intellectual or “smart” reading (I think of them as book club material). I have learned so much from reading what I love and I learn it in ways that are enjoyable to me.
2 – This community is compassionate and special. I read the contributors messages/articles and find that I can relate to so many things. Cat on your lap? check Snow outside? check No a fan of the holidays? check
Thanks for providing a place where I can fit in.
Wow, thirteen years. Congratulations!
I come around for the reviews, the humor, and the news. The site’s had a lot of changes over the years, but I still enjoy it.
I have found so many new authors.
I have made friends in real life bonding over this site.
I’m a sucker for smart women who can make me laugh through writing.
But more than anything? SMTB is one of the things that gave me confidence in my reading choices. The community that I found here–and by extension the wider romance world–taught me to ignore the idiots who looked down on me for reading romance. Also, the tools to show the REALLY annoying ones why they’re wrong. I’m a third generation romance reader (and my mom and grandmother are smart as hell)so I don’t know why that was such a hard lesson for me to learn but it was.
Happy Anniversary! Here’s to many many more!
Happy anniversary! I started coming to this site at the urging of my roommate Barbara, who shared my love of books and writing and who has regrettably left us. I keep coming back for all the thoughtful discussions of romance tropes and trends, the reviews, and the great sense of humor. Although I don’t read much romance—fantasy and YA are more my genres—I have found the romance community to be whip smart, generous, and thoughtful. Thanks for letting us play in your yard!
Happy 13th Anniversary! And thank you to Sarah and all of you that make this site awesome.
I didn’t know there was a community for romance novels before landing here. I was blindly getting books from the free list of amazon kindle books and knowing that there HAD to be a place where people did reviews of these books so I knew what I was getting into. I found your site and I have found so many amazing books, not just romance, but sci-fi and fantasy too!
Thank you!
Happy anniversary everyone! 🙂 I love this site because of the humor, the heart, and the community. You guys recommend the best books and have helped me spread the love of romance fiction to all the people I work with and all of the library patrons I help. I can’t thank you all enough.
I’m here for reviews, snark, and your podcast that brings you lovely ladies and amazing authors I love into my living room. Thank you so much for the community you’ve built.
I came for the reviews and stayed for the community. And Elyse’s Bachelor blogs are now appointment reading for me!
I am so grateful for this site and the Twitter person that led me here. Other than Nora Roberts, I had never really read much romance (my main reads were “chick lit,” which I know can be part of romance). This site and its community have opened me up to so many wonderful reads. I love reading smart, funny people talk about books, love, intimacy, politics, diversity, and so much more. Thank you for creating and keeping alive a place for intelligent, kind, funny people (especially women) to talk about all of these things. What you do is so very important, especially in these trying times.
Happy 13th – Mazel Tov! The internet, and sites like SBTB, have given me a connection to other readers, and especially romance readers, that I didn’t have IRL. It sounds cheesy to say that the internet has changed my life, but it’s true on so many levels.
I definitely came for the reviews and recommendations but fell in love with the snark!
I love the community! I originally came for the newsletter where the reviews and books on sale are my favorites, but I stay for the podcast.
Happy 13th Anniversary SBTB. <ay you have 13 more wonderful years here online.
I found your site by chance and fell in love with the snarkiness, humor and all the fun you guys have. Thank you for brightening up the world wide web with your brand of humor, fun and great reads to enjoy.
Happy 13!
I’ve been a romance reader for more than 50 years, but SBTB has broadened my view of the genre and introduced me to so many authors and sub-genres I would probably never have found on my own.
I read the site every day and love so many of the features: Cover Snark of course, RHG’s historical cookery, the thoughtful reviews and features that list new books of all types and tropes.
I also love the community. It’s so refreshing to read the sensible, thoughtful and polite comments instead of the vitriol and hate that pollutes so much of the internet today.
Thank you to Sarah and all her staff as well as all the wonderful women (and occasional men) who make this a great place to visit every day. And may this site endure for at least another 13 years!
My favorite thing is cover snark but I also love the reviews. The reason I started looking at the site was 100% because of the title though.
happy anniversary! i enjoy the reviews, news & sales info on the site and stop by (almost daily) to see what’s up and interesting.
Reviews and the funny commentary. I am a daily visitor!
I’m more of a lurker, I love this site though. The reviews point me in the right direction. I love the cover snarks. The humor is contagious. Keeps be coming back daily.
Happy Birthday! Mazel Tov!
I come for the party in each post. 🙂
I love cover snark, HaBO, reviews, features, hide your wallet, podcasts, movie reviews, TV recaps, and everything else.
L’claim, congratulations on 13 magnificent years. Sarah, your website has been part of my morning routine for so many, many years. Between the website and podcast you have introduced me to so many romance genres. Thank you for championing diversity and the authors that tell their stories. From a believer in HEA, thank you to you bitches.
I will never not get a thrill every time you include Judaism in your site (and incorporating it into the romance world) and just live your Judaism. It brings me such joy to see it and reminds me that I can keep living mine as well.
Thank you! I cannot wait for the dvar! 🙂 Congrats on the big 1-3!
I began reading this site because of the ebook sales but I stay because you introduced me to the wonder that is the romance genre. You and your staff create each week a marvelous mix of reviews, snark, and posts. I love the podcasts and listen to them over and over. Thank you for all the work you do here. In this crazy world we now live in, reading about weresharks and talking peens is what keeps me sane and happy. Blessings on all of you Bitches out there.
Happy Anniversary! I’ve been following y’all since about 2009, I think. You were the first site that showed me that being a romance reader is nothing to be ashamed of, and now I profess my love of romance loud and proud! Thank you for that.
I come for the reviews and sales but it’s the HABOs that always keep me here the longest 🙂
Congratulations and Happy Anniversary!
I am old enough (and British enough) not to feel comfortable using the word bitch outside the kennels, but I do appreciate what you do on this site. I appreciate your reviews and the thoughtful discussions that often arise from them, particularly the very civilised discussions, even including impassioned disagreements that might develop. Over the last year or two you have opened my eyes to the wide range of sub-genres of the romance novel. I feel like I’m always picking up new ideas/information here and that’s always a good thing. I think you have fostered a very positive community here and I’m pleased to be a visitor to SBTB. Thank you.
I don’t even know how long I’ve been visiting — 7 or 8 years at least; maybe more, as I think I found you through RWA. But I am here every day because it is such a wonderful community. Living in a place where I have very few friends nearby, it’s comforting to know that I can find smart, insightful, funny women at the click of a mouse. From the reviews complete with trigger warnings and the intelligent, never argumentative comments, you all have put so much effort into making this a safe and comfortable place to hang out with like-minded people. Mazel Tov, and thank you so much for these 13 years!
I came for the Cover Snark, I stayed for the reviews. Happy 13th Anniversary! ❤️
The books. Definitely the books. And reading what other intelligent people have to say about all things reading.
Happy Anniversary!
I’m here for it all! I’ve found so many great reads through reviews and I love a good HaBO. In fact, helping Nalini Singh find a novella a few years ago remains one of the greatest achievements of my life. 🙂
Happy Anniversary! Thanks for all the years of fun and laughter!
Happy Birthday! You are invaluable!
Because you’re my people!
Because I’ve found in reading SBTB reviews, the prescreening of meh books is done for me1
Because I look forward to the Friday podcasts!
Because you watch Bachelors for me!
Because cover snark
Because CNN makes me said and the world is a scary place.
‘nuf said