The Journal
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Thoughts on books, reading, culture, and the literary life.
A New Modesty Code for Romance
February 18, 2026Something has changed at Amazon, and it is not good.* Over the past several weeks, many romance titles have begun returning the same message in Amazon’s SiteStripe interface: This product…
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Eternity: a movie review
February 16, 2026In David Freyne’s winning film Eternity, the newly dead have endless themed paradises to choose from. If you can imagine it, it’s an option. There’s Beach World, Nudist World, Studio 54…
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Wanna meet some trolls?
February 13, 2026Anyone looking for tragedy needs to, literally, do nothing but read, watch, and, god help you, scroll. It’s harder to find joy. If you are lucky enough to be in…
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It’s been a great thirty years….
February 6, 2026This is a hard column to write. So I’ll just say it: AAR is retiring. All About Romance launched in 1996. It was created by the incredible Laurie Gold, and…
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Reviewers’ Bests from 2019 to 2025
January 30, 2026As we prepare for our 2026 AAR Top 100 Romances poll, I’ve been trying to narrow down the books that will be in the final poll–it’s just too overwhelming (and…
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What books should be included on our upcoming AAR Top 100 Romances poll? Vote and let us know!
January 23, 2026Here are the books, published in the last ten years or so, AAR readers have suggested we consider for our upcoming Top 100 Romance Novels of all time list. I’ve…
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The Best of 2025 – Dabney’s List
January 16, 2026Last year, I only read 23 books published in 2025. Of these, seven got five full stars from me and four more garnered four stars (on Goodreads.) For the purposes…
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the ask@AAR: What are your top ten romances of the past decade?
January 9, 2026We are gearing up–I promise!–for the 2026 AAR Top 100 poll. We last did one in 2018. What romances, published since then, do you think belong on the new list?…
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Hello world!
January 3, 2026Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
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My New Year’s goal: Fail
January 1, 2026Here is my goal for 2026: Fail. I’m going to fail to start listening to podcasts because, frankly, I like my own thoughts and the sound of very little. I’m…
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the ask@AAR: What were your bests of 2025?
December 19, 2025It’s that time of year where everyone–NO, Spotify, I am not 72!–makes, shares, and reads endless Best of Lists. Over the next few weeks, you’ll see more of our Best…
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Whether you believe or not, I wish you a Merry Christmas!
December 12, 2025I lost my faith in God by thirteen, though not before giving the heavens every chance to make their case. I’d sit in my tree fort, legs dangling (it was…
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