Essays & Musings
What We’ve Been Thinking About
Thoughts on books, reading, culture, and the literary life.
the ask@AAR: What’s your idea of a romantic meal?
September 4, 2020Yesterday was my–gasp–32nd anniversary and to celebrate Dr. Feelgood and I ordered takeout pizza from a place that specializes in Roman inspired thin, crunchy crust pizza. I made us each…
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The Wayback on Wednesday: Adele Ashworth on her Virgin Widow
September 2, 2020Adele Ashworth on her Virgin Widow I’ve been reading romance novels for a long time. A long time. Now, it’s true that for the first twenty-five years or so of…
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the ask@AAR is, today, an answer! Here’s what you’ve read and loved in 2020.
August 28, 2020Earlier this week, we asked you what you’d read and loved this year. Over 50 of you filled out our survey–thank you!–and the results were varied. And while it’s a…
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It’s Monday… we have questions.
August 24, 2020We’re, we hate to say it, getting a little bored. We really miss going out and doing stuff. Like you, we keep sane, in part, with reading. And we could…
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the ask@AAR: What’s your favorite audiobook?
August 21, 2020I’ve always been an audiobook listener and, wow, has that market exploded. There are so many great choices now–I find myself overwhelmed when I go to Audible and try and…
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How are you doing? What are you doing?
August 17, 2020How’s it going guys? Youall hanging in there? Anyone got any good news to share? Any fun recs for reading/watching/staying at home and being entertained? My 83 year old mom…
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the ask@AAR: Who is the most loathsome character in romance?
August 14, 2020One of my very favorite romances is Anne Stuart’s Reckless. Not only does it have lovers for the ages–Adrian and Charlotte–AND a stellar secondary romance, it has a truly evil…
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Which generation reads the most… a handy infographic!
August 10, 2020We all know that the 5 generations—Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers and the Silent Generations—have some pretty big differences. Although some of these may be rooted in unfair…
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From Stage to Page: A Guest Post by Alexandra Y. Caluen
August 10, 2020A decade or so ago, my husband and I had the opportunity to perform in the ensemble of an actual stage production in an actual theater in Los Angeles. The…
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the ask@AAR: What should AAR do to survive?
August 7, 2020When I became the publisher at AAR, the site supported itself by the affiliate dollars it made from Amazon. Back then, Amazon gave us 10% of whatever books our readers…
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Tying Up Loose Ends: Concluding a Long-running Series by Nancy Gideon
August 3, 2020Everyone LOVES a good series. Characters you can root for or loathe. Plotlines that twist and turn. Emotions that run the gamut from sizzling to seething. And, best of all,…
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the ask@AAR: Who do you miss the most?
July 31, 2020Wednesday’s column featured a 2009 interview with historical romance author Meredith Duran. Several of you commented how much you miss her work and shared your hopes that she’ll return to…
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