Lured by the bodice ripping covers and wondering why any self-respecting girl would be okay with being treated that way, I read my first romance novel. I was ten years old at the time. Far too young to be reading such a book, but in at least some respects I had the maturity to understand far more than I should have. But I had five older sisters and four older brothers, ranging from three to sixteen years my senior. With my own parents divorced by the time I could walk, I made a study of watching how my siblings interacted with their boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives. Without realizing it, I’d become fascinated by human motivation and behavior. I’d also become a romance junkie. And that’s exactly what led me to filch my first Kathleen Woodiwiss novel from my oldest sister’s book collection. Only what I discovered wasn’t what I expected. They weren’t just heaving bossomed, Fabio covered, consensual-at-the-last-minute “smut”. I was actually learning about history, improving my vocabulary, beginning to think critically.
According to Wikipedia, romance novels are the most popular genre of modern fiction with sales comprising 55% of the market, an estimated 90% of which are purchased by women. While those numbers aren’t all that recent, the new popularity of erotic romance has undoubtedly made converts of many. With heat levels ranging from sweet to tie-me-up-and-spank-me, one driving plot force remains consistent—the development of romantic love and the familiar happily ever after.
So what is it about these books that keep women, and even some men, turning page after page? Though the endings are mostly predictable, is it the unpredictable plot twists or witty dialogue the great authors have down to a science? Is it the overwhelming desire for reality suspension, the wish that you too can meet a billionaire bad boy who only lusts for you? Is it the study of human nature and the development of a relationship between a given guy and girl? Or has devouring romance novels become a safe way to fulfill those fantasies we don’t dare talk about even to our loved ones? Whatever the reason, the guilty pleasure shared by millions has become a topic of debate among book clubs, news media, and has even spawned seven figure deals among publishers and movie producers alike.
What made you pick up your first romance novel? What keeps you reading them today? And would you classify them as literature or lady porn?
About Tracy Ward
I picked my first up at about 12 and I think it was a Danielle Steele just because it was sitting there. I think a lot of romance is literature but I definitely think the lady porn is out there as well. Especially in the age of the digital reader. I guess it just depends on what you want to read at any given time.
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Tracy Ward Reply:
October 9th, 2012 at 3:52 pm
You’re very right, Patricia. It does all depend on mood. I love a good steamy novel, but not all the time. Danielle Steele, of course, is one of the masters!
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I have to admit that I didn’t read my first romance until after my 4th child was born. It was a Susan Elizabeth Phillips book given to me by a friend to pass the time while I nursed in the middle of the night. It felt like a guilty pleasure at the time!
It’s been fascinating to see how the industry has evolved over the years, and how we’re in the thick of a new path with romance right this very moment. And I still can’t believe you have 9 brother and sisters… Crazy girl!
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I love S.E.P. However, it’s just been in the last year I’ve been reading her.
It has been fascinating watching the industry evolve. Love Fifty Shades or hate it, it’s done a tremendous service to the romance genre. Also, it’s gotten women talking…to their girlfriends and to their mates. That’s never a bad thing.
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Well for a start, can I just say I really hate the term Mummy/Lady porn. Why is it they dont call porn men look at or read Daddy porn? It’s just another way to triviliase women and what we read -aww, look at those sweet little thangs getting all hot and bothered by the big bad man spanking the young innocent virgin, aren’t they just so damn cute? Ugh! Shudder. Women have been reading romance and erotica way, way worse than 50 shades for decades now, its nothing new.
Sorry, feminist rant over
I picked up my first HMB when I was 11. For me its never been about wanting to “be” the heroine. I think this is the very thing that critics use to denigrate the genre the most – all those poor women reading romance will think that love comes all wrapped in a bow and they’re going to bag a bad boy billionaire. Like we’re stoopid!!! For me, before I bagged my poor computer geek it was about experiencing the rush of love and desire that unfolds in the book, that powerful surge of dopamine and since finding “the one” its been about reliving those feelings of love that are so damn wonderful, its falling in love again for a few short hours. I know I’m not going to meet some Italian Stallion count but I want to read about someone else doing it and live through every sigh and kiss and smile like a loon when they get their HEA. Okay, yes, in the real world it’s probably not going to last but I think that’s the lure of the HEA too. In a world where 50% of couples will split, its nice to go somewhere they wont, just for a few hours.
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Tracy Ward Reply:
October 9th, 2012 at 8:31 pm
Amy, you posed an interesting point which is another blog post unto itself. Is there a double standard between men and women on the subject of porn? Absolutely there is. But is it one sided? Maybe not. Perhaps I’ll tackle that next month!
I totally agree with you on the falling in love all over again point. Sounds like you’ve been with your beloved computer geek for a while and let’s face it, we need to do something to keep those feelings fresh. It isn’t about being these women many of us want, it’s the vicariousness of feelings remembered and the utter escapism we crave.
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What Amy Said
Right On!
I picked up my first romance sometime in junior high and fell in love for the first time and have been reading them and falling in love over and over again since. No, I didn’t expect to ride off into the mountains with a cowboy of my own or marry some secret prince or find out I was a secret princess- but a girl could dream. And I was seriously without any kind of boyfriend until college so hey- It was a way to feel those feelings and feel the satisfactory HEA that wasn’t in real life. Now, I did have a problem understand WHY my husband couldn’t communicate his feelings as well as some of those lovely heroes I’d been reading about for years… but that’s another blog
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Not only do real life men not communicate as well, Kim, but they rarely have six pack abs or male parts that hang to their knee-caps Granted, I don’t want to read about beer guts and shrinkage, but it’s refreshing to find the author who can make an average dude sound hot.
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I read my my first romance novel was Rosmary Rogers’ Love Play at age 17. It was the first book outside the mystery genre I’d ever read, other than what was require in school. And although I really can’t remember much about it, the book remains on my shelf in my office to this day–umpteen many years later and too many houses to count!
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Awww…you should bronze it!
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Hey Tracy, I didn’t start reading romance books until I was twenty something–but I read everything else and it was always the romance elements of those other books, whether it was Mary Stewart mysteries or classics like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights or Little Women that grabbed my attention the most. I think the first romance books I read were Kathleen Woodiwiss The Flame and the Flower and an early Sandra Brown category. I found a whole new group of authors and books to love. And I agree, it’s about reliving that feeling of falling in love. What’s better than that?
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