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IST 605: Contemporary Romance Literature

A LibGuide for those curious about contemporary romance literature.

Why Romance?

Why You Should Be Reading Romance Novels 

Sad and challenging books have their place in the world, but there is plenty of room on your bookshelves. Romance is written to be enjoyed (Green, 2019).

 

Focusing on the importance of reading fiction by and about women, this article details the many reasons why reading romance is enjoyable. They help diversify one's bookshelf, and among other things, are known for their predictability; they always end happily, and that fact is a comfort to readers who might be looking for something softer and easier to take in. 


Why You Should Read Romance 

The fact of the matter is both romance and speculative fiction often have completely ridiculous, implausible, and wholly inappropriate things going on and yet only one of them is predictably portrayed as something readers should be ashamed of liking (Luhrs, 2017). 

 

An interesting and heartfelt essay exploring the author's own relationship with romance, and what kept her from proudly being a romance reader for years. Within, the author questions why shame is associated with reading romance but not any other genre fiction, and offers reasons as to why romance should be as read and as celebrated as any other book.