What do you think of Romance novels?

Question

I think they are trashy and can't stand when women read them. What do you think?

To comment on the second answer, I feel the same way towards movies; I don't watch them.

And if you only like them for the plot, then why do you read mindless garbage, giving money to the likes of Nora Roberts instead of reading something like Jude the Obscure? (I'm reading it right now, its fantastic.)

I should throw in that when I say Romance novels, I mean the modern crap. Stuff like....like....Wuthering Heights I don't consider to be garbage. That is good work.

Answer 1

There are some very good authors who write beautiful love stories. There are some really generic authors who write trashy garbage that I think are the type of books you are thinking of.

I think it's too big of a genre to completely dismiss as all being the same.

Answer 2

Saying they are all trashy is a cliche. Come on now. Have you read any? Every author is different. Some are talented some are not just like any other genre of book. I think the best kind of romance is an all around story. Adding mystery, paranormal, etc... And IMO Nora Roberts is a fantastic writer with a lot of range. Obviously she is doing something right she is very successful and has written hundreds of books. Putting all romance books into the same "trashy" group is a little small minded and snobbish to me. I'm sorry if that offends you but you asked for opinions and that is mine.

Answer 3

As a rule, I try to be well read and that means, I read everything. I will read technical books on electronics, physics and stuff like astromony. Then after I've read one of those, I will pick a Science Fiction work or maybe a horror novel, and then maybe the next book will be an autobiography or biography. After that one, I might read a children's book and then a mainstream fiction or a mystery. Once in a while, I will read one of those romance novels and sometimes they are not so bad. I will say however, that not only women read those "trashy" romance books, but I've seen men read them as well. There's room for all kinds of books and it doesn't matter what one reads, what matters is that through reading, the mind is enriched and your vocabulary and verbal articulation become highly improved.

Answer 4

Ah, romance novels. *Long, drawn-out weary sigh.* Don't you just hate the modern stuff that gushes out from the pens of mediocre, fantasizing writers lacking imagination? 'Cause I do. Yes, they're trashy. By gosh, they're dirty, disgusting, and gross. To heck with kissing and too intimately described carnal pleasures! They don't do only good at all, except to distract the reader from the plot, if there's any at all. The only good (and I mean GOOD, as in Pulitzer-Prize winning) and remotely modern romance novel I've ever read is Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. That's epic. That's monumental. That's quality. If all romance writers wrote like Mitchell, or Thomas Hardy for that matter, I wouldn't have a problem with the genre. But they don't, and thus the matter stands.

Answer 5

They're good for light entertainment. I like the stories more so than the luv scenes. The luv scenes are all the same and get rather tedious after awhile. Some romance novels have a mystery twist to them or include historical facts about the settings they take place in. I like them for a change now and then...especially if I'm in a reading slump.

Answer 6

I think anyone should be able to read anything they'd like without being criticized because their taste is different from one's own.

As love is one of our strongest emotions, it finds itself in most stories, even those in other genres.

I've enjoyed romances - happily ever after can be a good thing. There's paranormal, historical, regencies, Gothic, contemporary, medical...it goes on and on.

I sell on-line, and often have men buying books considered "cozy mysteries" - strong female, usually has some relationship problems, has to solve some kind of case. I suppose they feel a need to read in secret?

And if I'm not mistaken, there are some male writers that have contributed to the trashy romance genre. Thank you - it's equal opportunity. :)

Answer 7

You're so full of yourself.
I bet you don't even know who Heathcliff is. You're just trying to make yourself sound all intellectual when you're just some self centered child. I bet you're one of those kinds of people who still laugh at the word "fagged". Some people like romance novles, and even if they are stupid, that doesn't mean you have to rip on them. You're an obnoxious *sshole; and you dont see anyone ripping on you for reading war novels, even though a lot of times that is a bunch of nonsense also. Just so you know, cursing, blood, and killing, can be a lot lower and trashy then a few simple love conflicts. A lot of times its an insult to war veterans. Stop being a dumb*ss if you want to sound smart, ya jiggalo. Martha Stewret is more of a man than you are, or ever will be.

Answer 8

I do not read romance novels at all but I respect the right of anyone to escape to a place that makes them happy. Did you know that Nora Roberts also writes under the pen J.D. Robb where the main character is a kick-butt woman dective?

Answer 9

Romance novels range from the silly to the excellent. Saying they are trashy is just ike saying science fiction is all pulp, or adventure stories are all bloodthirsty or murder mysteries are all dull. I read some romance novels. I also read science fiction, fantasy, historical novels, children's books, mystery, adventure and cross-genre. About the only books I avoid are sports stories and hatchet jobs... oh, and the so-called "problem novels", since I prefer to enjoy my reading.

Answer 10

Other people can read whatever they want to read.
Personally, I think they can be entertaining - yes, they can certainly be trashy and brainless, but I could say the same for the majority of Hollywood movies that come spewing out year after year.