Bodice Rippers, Trashy Novels, Smut Books- All in the Name of Romance

I Just finished reading Kiss of the Wolf by Morgan Hawke. She is apparently writing for the Aphrodisia line at Brava Publishing...or Kensington Publishing I suppose, depending on who you talk to. I originally read a short story of hers in the anthology Hard Candy which I had originally bought because of Angela Knight's Hero Sandwich story, but ended up liking Hawke's story the best. Since then I have been actively seeking her books out, finding them here and there...but she does seem to be finally getting into mainstream publishing. I did read her Interstellar Service & Discipline:Victorious Star but while the story line was good, the S/M was just way too out there for me. Reminded me a little of Jayne Anne Krentz. Her heroines take crap and somehow turn it around in their head that this just means the guy really cares for her. And I love Jayne Anne Krentz, but I do read her knowing I am going to slightly dislike both the heroine AND the hero. But Morgan's was more Kushiel's Dart than anything else I have read. I still grimace thinking about those scenes. No, I am not judging, just saying that's not the scene for me.

But the point I was trying to make before I digressed (so easy to do when writing about books) is that my manager said as he handed it to me "Oh, a bodice ripper." Frankly the people on the cover were totally without clothes, so there was no bodice to rip, but I got his point. Reading romance is shameful. I hold up as evidence, the euphemisms in the title. Those names are not something you brag about. I read someone else blog recently where she named all the books she had read throughout the year...around 41 "worth noting" but left out the "trashy romance books". And why are fantastical books so shameful? I also put into that category Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Comics or Manga because other people put them all in the same category when talking about them. People look down on you if you read these books or such is the impression I get. And I ask why, why, why? Unless its labeled straight Fiction or Non-Fiction you are reading trash. People view it as useless.

But, how can it be useless, when I essentially nailed a job interview because I read? Yep, I was asked what was my favorite book during the interview and rather than answer a particular book (honestly I would have named Romance, but I skirted the question) I answered "What Genre?"and then answered based on the genre. Apparently all the other candidates had not read a book in as long as they could remember. Well, if people weren't so judgy about what books are okay to read, maybe there would be more choices and more people reading. Okay, that's coming across as a rant, but I am so bewildered that something that is so pleasurable as reading can also bring so much shame. Elitism should have no place in the book world. If someone should pick up a book to read especially in a world of TV, movies, and gaming, no matter what the book, all of us should rejoice, especially those of us that work around books.