Essays & Musings
What We’ve Been Thinking About
Thoughts on books, reading, culture, and the literary life.
the ask@AAR: What are the very best love scenes in romance?
February 24, 2023My 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…
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AAR’s 2022 numbers for queer and AoC romances
February 22, 2023According 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…
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the ask@AAR: If we were to create a list of THE 100 Romances Every Romance Reader Should Read, what would you put on it?
February 17, 2023Later this year, AAR will ask readers to choose their 100 Top Romances as we’ve done many times over the decades. What does that mean? Are these the best romances…
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Read any great classics lately?
February 13, 2023Recently my book club read The Great Gatsby. This was, I hazard, the fourth time I’ve read it–I actually listened to it. It was phenomenal. The language–oh my giddy aunt–as…
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the ask@AAR: How has romance changed since you first started reading it?
February 10, 2023Today’s ask is a suggestion from AAR reader BeckyK. (It’s a great one!) How has romance changed since you first started reading it? What changes do you feel are for…
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the ask@AAR: Will older heroines in romance mean older parents?
February 3, 2023I have been thrilled to see more love stories published with older protagonists. I’ve just finished reading one–coming out this summer–where the heroine, age 49, is determined to get married…
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2022: A Year of Book Sales in Review
February 1, 2023Every year, I review the books purchased from Amazon by AAR readers. In 2022, our sales dropped, likely due to Kindle Unlimited. Through our links, readers bought 15,280 books for…
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the ask@AAR: What’s the most imaginative romance you’ve ever read?
January 27, 2023As a child, I loved fantasy–The Chronicles of Prydain, The Dark is Rising Sequence, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, The Wrinkle in Time Quintet–these were books I read repeatedly, happily…
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The Best of 2022 – Dabney’s List
January 23, 20232022 was not my best year for romance reading. I read only three DIKs published in 2022 and, when I look at my Goodreads list, there isn’t a single five…
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the ask@AAR: Is there still a canon for romance? What books should or shouldn’t be on it?
January 20, 2023Almost exactly a year ago, I asked whether or not AAR should, as it typically does every five years, do a new Top 100 poll. As is the case with…
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the ask@AAR: Will ChatGPT ruin the writing? The world?
January 13, 2023It’s fair to say I’m obsessed with ChatGPT. What’s that, you ask? Hmmm… let me try and explain. ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence bot that answers questions in fairly fluent…
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Talking with Jane Porter
January 8, 2023Jane Porter is one of the few romance writers writing love stories that, among other things, feature Baby Boomers. Her latest book, Flirting with the Beast, features a smart, sexy…
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