I have been very quiet lately. Midterms. Mommyhood. Wifehood. Oh yeah, and the few, fleeting moments that I steal for myself when I stubbornly sit and refuse to let anything else take away from my reading time. This has been my life of late. I try to catch up with blogs – but I mostly catch up via Twitter. Sounds like everyone’s having a grand time – which warms my heart.
I have a confession to make.
I have drifted away from more “literary” reads (if you can call them that) and have started reading books that are more romance oriented, historical fiction romance to be exact. You know the type – bold heroine, dashing hero, hot passionate sex and an adventure with lots of horse-back riding that inevitably leads to ever-lasting love in a grand castle of sorts. Completely and utterly unbelievable.
I’m eating it up. My brain is thanking me for the break from incessant thinking and analysis.
At first, I thought it a bit ironic considering my loathing of 50 Shades of Grey…but these books have strong characterization, strong (albeit, formulaic) plots and they have (what I think is) a good grounding in history (important for historical fiction).
Now, as I write this, I realize that these books aren’t trashy after all. I think I would insult the legions of fans of this genre to call these books trashy. They are pure fun and definitely help me unwind from long, stressful days.
Hmmm….change in direction for my blog? Who knows? In the meantime, I will keep reading and (hopefully) writing about my new-found interest in romantic historical fiction.
Do you ever find yourself reading (or doing) something completely out of character and find it totally refreshing?
Those are not my kind of books at all, but I do highly support straying away from what you “should” read and reading some of what you lust after, whether it’s trashy romance or sci fi or courtroom drama or Harry Potter! Sometimes we need to give in to our urges and read what we want!
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I agree with Rebecca.
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I would normally agree as well…it’s been a nice break though. Nice to hear/chat with you again Heather 🙂
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Ditto, Karen!
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Heather, you agree because I’m a smarty! 😉
(But I think you’re a smarty, too!)
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Hahaha!
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I didn’t think they were my kind of books either. Could just be the head space I’m in right now. If anything, I think I’ll appreciate my next “literary-read” all the more. Thanks for reading!
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I think it’s great that there are so many books that can appeal to us when we need them. There’s always a book to fit our minds and moods! I’ve strayed from literary fiction and spent most of my time in the YA genre lately. Sometimes, we just want something new or different from our books and the only way to get that is to try new genres!
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I agree. What would you recommend in the YA genre? I find that when I read YA I always tell myself I should read more of it…
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This used to be my genre of choice many years back. I think I overdid it though and I haven’t looked at historical romance in a long while. My fun/trashy/guilty reads these days tend to be thriller/horror/vampire…everyone needs something light to unwind.
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Yes, many of my students like the vampire/fantasy books. It’s probably a genre I’ll dive into next…strictly to relate to my students, of course 🙂
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Hi Karen. Great post. I think a change now and then is spot on. Then, when you go back to what you used to do, it seems brighter, you enjoy it even more. Good historical romancy author I think is Tracy Chevalier. I suspect you may have read her, but if not, she’s great. Did Girl with a pearl earing, amongst others. have a great christmas and a cracking 2013. Nikki
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Thanks Nikki! And, thanks for the recommended author. I haven’t read her, but have heard of the title. I have to admit I’m ready to go back to books I normally read – but it has been a much needed break. A Merry Christmas to you and yours as well and a fantastic New Year!
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