I started reading romance in a rather backwards way. I confess to having thought the stereotype of clichéd storylines and all-around silliness and stupidity was true. The covers and titles didn’t help much, either. I always seemed to think that the big names in romance must embody that stereotype, since they were so successful. Thus I stayed far, far away from them and spent my time reading lesser known authors, or at least the ones who didn’t make the bestseller lists. It wasn’t until my late teens that I even picked one up.
The blogging world, however, has really opened my eyes to other books. The word of mouth is amazing and as I find other readers with similar tastes, I find I value their opinions much more than I do any of the myriad review sites around, both on- and off-line. And many of these people said I had to try these authors.
And so this summer I am. But I suppose for this to make much sense I’d have to tell you which authors I was avoiding. Please don’t gasp too much. As of the beginning of the summer, I hadn’t read Linda Howard or Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick. Or Nora Roberts. Yes, I am an avid romance reader and had never read a single one of La Nora’s books. JD Robb, yes, but never a Nora Roberts. Even the fact that the Robb books are some of the only books I’ll buy new in hardcover, I never had the urge to pick up a Roberts. And okay, I read a few Jayne Castles. That doesn’t really count, though, does it?
Yup, hadn’t read them. Oh, I had this idea that someday, when I had nothing else to read, I’d try them. But until then, I couldn’t care less about their latest release, or how loved their backlist was. I just always figured all the hype was way overrated. I was quite happy going through life having never read a single one of their books. But one day when I was browsing my library’s online catalog, I noticed an entry for the newest Amanda Quick book, Second Sight. Hmmm, I thought to myself and clicked “hold.†And thus my little personal challenge started. If I was going to read one of her books, might as well try to read some of the books of the others I always told myself I had no interest reading.
Well, I’ve finished most of my personal challenge now. And it feels good. So far, I’ve read Second Sight by Amanda Quick, Angels Fall by Nora Roberts, and Cover of Night by Linda Howard, as well as a couple of Ms. Howard’s Mackenzie series. While I won’t repeat my thoughts on the books I read since I did/will do that on my own blog, I do plan to read more from these authors. I’m still trying to decide which Jayne Ann Krentz book to read this summer, but if the experience is anything like the previous ones, I’ll be adding yet another author to my list of ones to look out for. It’s a very long list. And all you people keep making it longer.
I took the plunge and survived. Is anything else willing to do the same or has done something similar? Are there any authors you’ve avoided for silly reasons? Try one. A few hours of your time isn’t a huge risk. You might find it worth it.
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I’ll read anybody once. I’ve never not read an author because of something they wrote (unless it was heavy erotica – just not my thing).
Of course, I may not read an author again if that first experiennce isn’t a good one.
*sigh* Someday I’m gonna have to take that plunge, too. I don’t think I’ve EVER read a big name romance.
*thinks*
I’m pretty sure I’ve read every one of the big names.
Mind you, I don’t read them any more, but I have read at least one book by most of them. I’ve certainly read at least a dozen books by each of the authors you named though.
I’m embarrassed to say that I haven’t read any of them either…unless you count JD Robb.
Oddly enough, I posted about this just the other day. Until last Friday, I had never owned a Nora Roberts book. There was no good reason for it other than I seem to be behind the curve on a lot of things.
My husband and I read The Da Vinci Code for the first time in July.
I know she’s not ‘romance’, but I’ve never read an Anne Rice. So many of my friends have read and highly recommended her work, but I just can’t bring myself to — and I don’t know why! In terms of genre, I read everything and anything, so it’s not her subject matter that leaves me cold. Am I missing out??
Oh – and a note to y’all who don’t read Nora Roberts: Most of her books are wonderful and very well executed, and others are just … crap. So if you’re considering her, please ask your ‘romance’ friends for a recommendation – otherwise you may get a dud that turns you off N.R. for ever. That would be a shame.