Hey look a new post! Ala-bit a short one, but hey, it's something!
Thanks so much for the patients everyone, I really appreciate it! Also, I want to give a huge thanks to Anita, who gave me a blog award last week! I'll get to officially accepting and posting is in a day or two, but in the mean time, thanks Anita!
Now on to business...
It's a short one today, but it's something I have been thinking about a lot lately. Romance novels.
Did you know that romance outsells every other genre every year? Like, by a lot... a whole lot. Why is that not common knowledge? Because most romance readers don't admit to being one. Romance readers like me. There is a lot of romance I enjoy--Mary Balogh being my all time favorite--but do I wear a 'Romance Novel Reader' shirt to the super market? No. Why? The same reason everyone else is embarrassed to admit they love romance. We all know that when the average person hears 'romance novel' they picture this:
...and this...
...and of course...
The Cover! Seriously? The cover, which 90% of the time has absolutely nothing to do with the actual book! Seems really stupid, but that's all it takes. When people see a horribly cheesy cover, they assume the story inside is equally as lame and cheese-filled. Okay, yes, sometimes that is the case (we all know there are terribly corny bodice-rippers out there), but more often than not, the cover has nothing to do with the actual story. Hell, sometimes the characters aren't even described correctly! The blond bombshell on the cover is actually supposed to be a mousy brunette school teacher, etc.
*Sigh*
When the overly cheesy, Fabio-style covers came into popularity, I'm not sure, but I'm thinking it was 80s early 90s. What I have noticed lately however, is that publishers are starting to realize just how horrid those old covers are, and have begun to give some of their older titles face lifts. For instance,
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| This... |
 |
| ...is now this. |
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| Dancing dreamily... |
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| ...to pretty bow. |
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| And my personal favorite... |
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| ...oh yeah, much better. |
Long live romance!
Holy cow, I don't think the guy in the top one is wearing any clothes at all!
ReplyDeleteYes! It's time people realize that there is more than just $2.99 supermarket smut out there!
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
I grew up in 'supermarke smut' becasue that is what my grandma had. Not that she knew I was reading them. Hehe!
ReplyDeleteYou know who has gotten really sneaky--inspirational! It used to be that you would know an inspirational romance before you picked it up. Now, you can be half way through the book before you figure it out!
ReplyDeleteYes! Totally with you on that one Arley! I don't mind an inspirational, but don't spring it on me! :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in high school, yeah the 80's, I loved romance novels and Fabio. I'd buy the book if he was on the cover because those books were usually good. Gentle Rogue, I totally remember this book.
ReplyDeleteBut hiding my romance novel behind my math textbook so I wouldn't get teased got old. Glad to see a revamp of the covers.