Chatting with Maya Rodale about Dangerous Books for Girls v.2

April 10, 2023

In 2015, I interviewed Maya Rodale about her fabulous book, Dangerous Books for Girls. (You can read the interview here.) Maya has updated the book and we sat down (via…

Read Article

the ask@AAR: Are there traits you hate?

April 7, 2023

In a recent discussion about Barbara Cartland, several readers bemoaned her incessantly giving her heroines heart shaped faces and small hands. The latter feature is, I’ve since noticed, quite common…

Read Article

the ask@AAR: What is your favorite trope?

March 31, 2023

A trope, according to Merriam-Webster, is a common or overused theme or device : CLICHÉ. I’m going to ignore the overused part of this today and focus on common themes in, of…

Read Article

On vacation…..

March 27, 2023

This week, I am in Iceland with my daughter. Thus, there will be no blogs other than the ask@AAR on Friday. So, enjoy the reviews and I’ll be back this…

Read Article

the ask@AAR: why do you read?

March 24, 2023

I’ve had a rather heated set of exchanges with my best friend Ann recently about our differing perspectives on why we read. She reads primarily to learn; I, to be…

Read Article

the ask@AAR: Which romances do body positivity well? Which don’t?

March 17, 2023

Today’s ask is a suggestion from BeckyK. She suggested we ask about body positivity— Do you enjoy books with plus size heroes/heroines? Which books/authors get it right? Which don’t? (This…

Read Article

Continuing on the movie theme….

March 13, 2023

I am writing this pre-Oscars so I have no idea who won although my money would NOT be on Top Gun: Maverick. I, like most Americans, did not see almost…

Read Article

the ask@AAR: What’s your favorite love story on film?

March 10, 2023

The Academy Awards–yawn–are this Sunday. I have seen just one of the films nominated for Best Picture and hardly any of the other films whose sets, actors, songs, and special…

Read Article

the ask@AAR: Should older romances (and books in general) be redone?

March 3, 2023

I have followed with fascination the uproar around the revised versions of Roald Dahl’s books. NPR has a great summary of what has happened. They write: New editions of legendary…

Read Article

What are you reading? Watching?

February 27, 2023

February has been, overall, a rainy month here. On top of that, I got COVID–for the second time (the first was in November of 2020)–got put on Paxlovid and then…

Read Article

the ask@AAR: What are the very best love scenes in romance?

February 24, 2023

My book club–the fun one–met last night and discussed Verity. It was not much loved. Many called out, in particular, the sex scenes. The words crass, vulgar, and filler were…

Read Article

AAR’s 2022 numbers for queer and AoC romances

February 22, 2023

According to an oft cited study by the romance bookstore The Ripped Bodice, in 2022 12.3% of romances published last year were written by authors of color. For the last…

Read Article