Pride & Predjudice in Romancelandia

Jessica over at Racy Romance Reviews has kicked off the new year with some fascinating questions and statistics. So do our Bookish colored glasses and community distort our perceptions of the reality of publishing aspects/book sales and typical reading habits? I’m dying to hear your thoughts on the matter after the jump, here’s mine. I'm blessed in the fact that 9/10 of my close friends read constantly, but, we're all so genre specific that its hard to have a meeting of the minds. I ended up slumming on the net looking for anyone who would discuss Anita Blake's downward slide into slut with me that I didn't have to kidnap and subdue. The angels sang when I stumbled upon B&N book club forums. It was a whole new world just, like Aladdin promised, it blew my mind, there was no way life could get any better. Then I started blogging, discovered you fine folks in the blog community, and it did. = ) I think it's human nature driving us to choose select niches and commit. In fact I think the higher your read count the more genre conditions/quirks you'll develop. If only from a higher exposure to good and bad stimulus, resulting brutally clear compartmentalizing of our likes and dislikes. Attempting to choose enjoyable books, I have ended up with a downright anal method of choosing books to purchase. The distinctions our lil' club uses to classify contemporary is caused by the natural reality of book buying. People and books are rarely snowflakes. Especially when it comes to romance they’re just slightly altered retellings of the same old story. We like what we like and we buy what we buy, the easier the publisher makes it for use to find our tome of choice the better ( also the more likely we are to blindly buy an unknown author based on section placement). IMO the publishers classification is too broad, but it can’t be helped since that their understanding of the market and methods are rather out dated ( like Jane’s discussing over @DA). Maybe I’m just jaded but I’ve been reading for so long that Sue Everyday trying to make her way in the world and chances upon some decent man flesh is rarely enough to hold my interest anymore. Without the genre touches/ tweaks of suspense, para, or mystery chick lit; my eyes tend to glaze over & I start skimming to hasten my freedom. On appealing to the 1-5 books a year reader, I don’t have the foggiest clue on how to snare them. My lil' piece of the web is way too snarky and playfully off-kilter for the faint of heart. Personally I’m too far gone to take off my bling’d out blinkers anytime soon. I do think they count as readers and their voice is valid. But something magical happens to those who consume novels with abandon, it surpasses hobby and becomes a vital part of who we are, what we talk about, the lingo we use/create, and a sort of book-centric humor that develops. When after intense exposure we start to play with the concepts/landscape found in the books we’re reading, become more proactive in our enjoyment and end up with a changed perception. It strengthens our force as consumers more than it hinders our comprehension, me thinks.