Essays & Musings
What We’ve Been Thinking About
Thoughts on books, reading, culture, and the literary life.
Mr. Malcolm’s List and color-blind casting
September 7, 2022Over the weekend, my mom, Dr. Feelgood, and I watched Mr. Malcolm’s List. The film, based on a novel and then a short film by Suzanne Allain, tells the tale…
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Happy Labor Day!
September 5, 2022Here in the US, today is Labor Day, a federal holiday which means most people have it off. It’s a holiday famous for parades, picnics, and parties and though it…
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the ask@AAR: What makes an erotic love story work?
September 2, 2022Every few years, I reread Anne Calhoun’s Uncommon Passion. I read it for the hero’s powerful redemptive arc, for the way Calhoun shows us her characters’ interior lives–she is a…
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Looking for a cool podcast?
August 31, 2022FMK Lit is a podcast where hosts Neil and Claire read two romance novels, a straight one and a queer one, and then play fuck marry kill with the characters….
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the ask@AAR: What do we think about Anne Stuart?
August 26, 2022We’ve reviewed Anne Stuart 36 times. She began writing in 1977–I believe her first published book was Barrett’s Hill. We didn’t review her until 1996 when we gave Prince of…
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Got any good news you’d like to share?
August 24, 2022The world is so often full of gloom and doom. Somedays, I find myself thinking ENOUGH ALREADY! There is so much to be joyful for! Let’s think about that for…
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the ask@AAR: What are your pet peeves in romance?
August 19, 2022Weird confession: I struggle with stories where all the children have extremely distinctive names. I attribute this to growing up in a town with an infamous family who had six…
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the ask@AAR: Does anyone still read short stories?
August 12, 2022I’m on my annual large family vacation–there are three generations here, ages 17 to 85. In a conversation about choices with a few of my nephews, I referenced The Gift…
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And the best mystery/suspense novel you’ve read lately is…..?
August 10, 2022For some reason, in the summer, I gravitate toward reading mysteries. I’m currently reading Jane Harper’s next book and, prior to that, read the latest by Megan Miranda and by…
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the ask@AAR: What do we think about Kristan Higgins?
August 5, 2022We’ve reviewed Ms. Higgins 22 times at AAR. She’s received eight DIK grades, twelve B grades, and two C+s. Her last seven books have been women’s fiction rather than straight…
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I F**king Hate Cliffhangers. Do you?
August 3, 2022Whether it’s on TV–I am currently exceedingly annoyed at Virgin River, Tokyo Vice, and Stranger Things–or in books, I don’t like cliffhanger endings. Nope. Give me a story where–like the…
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What are you reading?
August 1, 2022It’s the first of August–where did this year go?!?! Goodreads tells me I’ve read 54 books this year–I don’t count re-reads which comprise about a third of my reading. I…
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