Blue Falcon’s Romance Journey
In a recent post, Jacqueline asked, “The Hero, the Heroine, or the Love Story?” querying about what people read romance novels for. I answered in the comments section, but I also felt like I wanted to elaborate a bit more. Hence, this post.
I read romance novels for all the reasons Jacqueline stated, plus these other reasons:
I Read to Escape the World
I work in human services, working with people with extensive trauma histories and helping them find their way back to more solid ground. It’s a very emotional job and I need to find a counterbalance to that. Reading is that counterbalance.
I Read for Entertainment
Reading, for me, has always been an enjoyable pastime, and it remains one to this day.
I Read to Learn
People who scoff at romance novels say you can’t learn anything from them. I strongly disagree. I have learned many things from romance novels; I have learned how to be a better, kinder, smarter person from reading these books. I’ve also learned what NOT to do, thanks to the many crappy heroes in the books I’ve read. Thanks, guys.
I Read to Experience New Things
I’ve not traveled much in my life, due in part to many things, one of which is a fear of heights. In books, I’ve traveled from Abilene to Zimbabwe and every place in between.
I Believe in Love
I’m not a believer in Happily Ever After, but I do strongly believe that loving someone and being loved in return is one of the greatest things a person can have in the world.
What are the reasons you read romance novels?
By Blue Falcon
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I talk so much about my personal reading experiences, it seems almost redundant to explain why I read romance. As long as I alternate the genres that I read, I can always enjoy a good romance.
If I define why I read romance, I can split it up into 3 eras of my life:
Age 12 – 16: I was a young, ambitious student. I had lots of fiction and textbooks to read for school, but romance was my fun. We didn’t have a lot of $ growing up, but with used book stores and libraries, romance was an affordable hobby. The books helped to educate me, they took me to other worlds, and fulfilled my longing for romance, which I had never experienced.
Age 20 – 25: I was a young mother with a lot on my plate: a baby, a job, then marriage (yes I did it out of order) then buying a home. I read to relax and get away from stress. But by age 25 my daughter was 5 and I was homeschooling and working from home, so I had no time to read for pleasure or relaxation!
Early 30’s to present: I started a reading renaissance when we cut the cable cord in 2009. With no TV I turned to books for entertainment. I re-read old favorites and was introduced to new authors. After a time, however, the newer books lost their charm. They seemed so similar, so I read romance on and off before switching to other genres. I found that this helped me enjoy older works, but the “new” romances (post 2010) still failed to charm. There was so little variety like in books from the 1970s – 2000s. That’s when I realized I was a retro girl at heart.