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Stigma and Reading Genre | Discussion

Jun 27, 2020

There has always been a stigma regarding reading and writing certain genres. It’s something that I noticed even before I started blogging over eight years ago now. But as the years have gone on and I have started to read more widely, it’s something that I have noticed even more.

Two of the main genre/readerships that have a lot of stigma around them is romance and young adult. I do want to make a quick note and say that young adult literature is not a genre, it’s a readership. But in the sense of this discussion, I’m grouping romance and YA together. With that out of the way. Romance and YA are two of the most popular but also the most stigmatised genre and readership that I know. And it just so happens that they are my two most favourite reading chooses.

I started reading YA when I was 12 years old and at 23 it’s still one of my most read readerships. While it took me a while to start reading adult romances, most of the YA I read included a romance. I’ve been reading romance for nearly five years now. And over the last two maybe three years it’s become mainly what I read. And I don’t think it’s something that will ever change. I think I will be reading YA and romance for a very long time.

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Stigma and Young Adult Lit

While at high school I didn’t notice the stigma in regards to young adult novels. But as the years went on and I got older and continued to read and write YA, I noticed it more. And then I went to university – and that is when it hit me.

If you don’t know I did a writing and editing degree straight out of high school. And let me tell you I loved it. I recommend my degree to anyone that I can because it was brilliant. However, it was through this degree that I was able to witness the stigma about YA first hand. I can’t tell you how many times I said I read YA/Write YA and class members would look down on me. At first, it was dishearting. It was all I had read up till that point. It’s what I lived and breathed. I read it, I wrote it and I blogged about it. And to have someone look at you like they are better than you was hard. But as the course went on and I got to talk about young adult more and what it is, things became a lot better.

I don’t understand where the stigma comes from reading YA. But as I write this post I keep on thinking about it. I think it stems from the notion that teens ‘don’t know anything’ or that they only care about ‘being popular’ and the internet. But I find that I learn and understand things so much more when I read YA novels over adult books. They aren’t just these happy go lucky books that make the world seem like it’s dandy. But they are so much more than that.

Young Adult novels are educational, political, inspirational while also teaching readers about human life and being fun and adventurous. They can take the reader on a journey that I don’t think you can get from anything else. Some of the books that have hit me the most have been young adult, and they are the ones that I always recommend to others.

I’m also a bookseller and I cannot even begin to tell you the looks I get and the things that I hear in regards to reading YA. It has such a bad connotation that even people that don’t regularly read believe that it’s a waste of time and not for them. I sometimes even have parents come in looking for something for their child. And then I recommend them YA – and they ask for something ‘good.’ It feels like a neverending cycle sometimes.

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Stigma and Romance Novels

Even before I started reading romance novels, I knew the stigma that came along with it. That it was all about sex. That there is no substance. And for some time I believed them until I started to read romance. As I said I’ve been reading romance for the past five years or so and I have learnt a lot of things.

There are so many sub genre’s in regards to romance and I think the general public and people that I call ‘gatekeepers’ of reading, only focus on certain ones. This comes down to certain novels and series becoming popular and mainstream. And those are the books that people focus on and attribute to all of the romance.

I don’t think I need to talk about this much, but 50 Shades of Grey has to be one of the most popular and mainstream romances in regards to the general population. It’s what people associate with romance and where their minds immediately go with you say you read romance. But that is only one part of romance. It’s one sub-genre and that is all. Don’t get me wrong there are sexy times in most romances, but they are not all like 50 Shades.

Another thing that has come to up over the past few weeks is the negative connotations in the way that relationships are presented. 365 Days has pushed this. I’ve been seeing a lot on social media about how the relationships were presented – and while it might be bad in the book and show it’s not how all the relationships are in romance.

Something else that I’ve seen highlighted over the last couple of weeks is the stigma in relation to MC and Mafia romances. Again I think this because of media and hype around movies like 365 Days. I’ve been reading a lot of MC romances over the last couple of months, and just because I enjoyed reading does not mean I like and support the things that happen in the novels in real life. It’s this barrier of reality and fiction.

But romance is so much more than the stigmas that surround it. Like I said there are so many sub-genres of romance and that means there are so many ways that romance can go. I mostly read historical romance along with MC, College and Miltary romances. I do dapple a little in other genre’s, but that is what I mostly stick to. And it’s so much more than sex. They can explore things that are hard to read. From family and death to mental health and disability. They also just happen to have a romance at the centre of it all.

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Overcoming these stigmas

I think one of the most important things we as readers need to do in regards to stigmas and genre is to squash them. Readers are one of the main driving points of stigmas and mostly it’s from people that don’t read the genre or readership. You can not like a genre, you can not read. But please don’t hate on it or keep these stigmas going. It only flues the fire and creates more of a distance.

We need to be able to move away from these stigmas because they are not only wrong, they stop a lot of people from reading the genre and readership. There could be many reasons why people don’t pick up certain genres or readership, please don’t give them another reason.

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What do you think of stigmas and genres? How do you think we can knock down the wall and have people reading whatever they want? Do you have any stigmas about certain genre’s? Let’s Chat!

Should I Read This Book?

May 31, 2020

You know those books that you want to read, but you aren’t really sure about. Those books that have mixed reviews that don’t really help with your decision. I have a lot of them. A lot that I own and a lot that I want to get. But I’m still not sure. So today I thought I should get some help. Some help from my lovely readers.

Today I’m sharing books that I can’t decide if I should read them. There are many reasons that this happens. Some of the books I own, some I haven’t bought yet. But I want to see what you all think of them before I do either. So I would love to hear your thoughts on the books in this post. Did you like it or not? What were your thoughts – anything really. Help me decided if I should read it or not. Like always these are no order.

Spark (Spark #1) by Rachael Craw: This has been on my TBR for some time now. I do own the first book and its one that I always just nearly pick up. But I never do. Some people love this series and some people don’t. It’s a mixed bag that I see. Plus it’s a little older now and I really don’t know. It sounds like something I would enjoy.

Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer: I don’t know why I haven’t read this one yet. I really don’t know. I love Brigid Kemmerer’s work. A lot! I’ve read nearly everything that she has written now. But not this one. Which sounds stupid because I love romance. What did you guys think of this one?

The Way to Game the Walk of Shame by Jenn P. Nguyen: This book has been on my TBR a long time. From 2016 to be precise. But I’ve never bought it. Again it’s got a lot of mixed reviews, yet it seems like something that I would enjoy. Should I pick it up? What did you think of this one?

Ninth House (Alex Stern #1) by Leigh Bardugo: I’ve been very hesitant about picking this one up. Adult fantasy isn’t really my thing. I’ve tried a couple here and there and liked them enough, but haven’t loved them. The reasons why this is still on my tbr is because it’s by Leigh Bardugo. I love what Leigh has written before.

Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom: This has been on my tbr since I read A Tragic Kind of Wonderful and really enjoyed it. I always want to read books that represent disability, but I’m also always so nervous about the representation. Again I’ve heard a lot of mix reviews about this one.

The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient #1) by Helen Hoang: I’ve always hesitant about reading romance books that get a lot of traction from people that don’t read romance normally. I don’t know why, but it happens. Hence why this one has been on my tbr list for a while. I’m still not sure though. Help me out here.

Red Rising (Red Rising Saga #1) by Pierce Brown: This is a strange one for me. I started reading this a couple of years ago but put it down for some reasons. And I’ve yet to pick it up again. I remember enjoying what I did read. But science fiction isn’t really my jam and I get confused a lot. And I think that’s why I haven’t picked it up again.

From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata: This is another one that has been on my TBR for a couple of years now. In the last couple of months, I’ve read a few Mariana Zapata books, so I think I’m going to pick this one up soon. Have you read this one? What did you think?

Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon: This one caught my eye as soon as I read the synopsis. It sounds like something that I would love, but something is holding me back. People I know have loved it. So convince me.

And that is it for this post! What books should I read? What should I give up on? Are there books that you can’t decide if you should read? Let’s Chat!

Discussion: Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey with Ely

May 28, 2020

Today I have Ely from Of Wonderland on the blog. Last year we did a discussion post on Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. And we thought it was high time to do another one. This time it’s Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey. I mean what is better than talking about books with your best friend. So here we go.

Fix Her Up (Hot & Hammered #1) by Tessa Bailey

Pages: 400
Publish date: June 11th 2019
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 9780062872838
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

After an injury ends Travis Ford’s major league baseball career, he returns home to start over. He just wants to hammer out his frustrations at his new construction gig and forget all about his glory days. But he can’t even walk through town without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his… bat. And then there’s Georgie, his buddy’s little sister, who is definitely not a kid anymore.

Georgette Castle has crushed on her older brother’s best friend for years. The grumpy, bear of a man working for her family’s house flipping business is a far cry from the charming sports star she used to know. But a moody scowl doesn’t scare her and Georgie’s determined to show Travis he’s more than a pretty face and a batting average, even if it means putting her feelings aside to be “just friends.”

Travis wants to brood in peace. But the girl he used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman who makes him feel whole again. And he wants her. So damn bad. Except Georgie’s off-limits and he knows he can’t give her what she deserves. But she’s becoming the air he breathes and Travis can’t stay away, no matter how hard he tries…

Fix Her Up:

Angel: General contemporary romance isn’t something that I normally read a lot of. That sounds strange I know. However, I normally read subgenre’s of romance like historical romance, military romance and sports romance and this is what I would consider a general romance. I was a little hesitant going into this one, but it received a lot of hype from romance bloggers and booktubers so I was game to give it a go. And Ely is always my partner in crime so I dragged her along for the ride.

Ely: I think I probably read maybe two or three contemporary romances a year, so this is not my normal cup of tea. But like Angel said, we’re partners in crime so I had to give this a go too. And oh boy. This was a ride…

A: We haven’t really talked to each other about our thoughts yet, but I have a feeling that our thoughts are along the same lines? I was disappointed. It’s not a bad book by any means, but it’s not good either. I think I just had quite a few issues with it.

E: Honestly the most enjoyable thing about this book was reading particular scenes and just knowing deep in my soul that you would have disliked it as much as me. Look, it’s going to be the right book for someone out there, but those someones weren’t us. I feel like we should mention some positives here? What did you like?

A: I agree with everything you just said. I was reading it first and I knew, I just knew. But of course, there were positives. Overall, I did enjoy the romance. It uses one of my favourite tropes of all-time best friends siblings. And the angst and romance between Georgette and Travis were really sweet. How did you find the romance as a whole?

E: I also really like Georgie and Travis for the most part. They are sweet together, and honestly, I can’t resist a hot athlete romance. I thought they had some great banter, and the way that Travis really respects and supports her was nice. But I know we had problems with at least one of the same aspects…the sex scenes.

A: Oh gosh they were horrible. Like cringe-worthy, I want to skip, kind of scenes. After finishing the book I went and read some reviews of Fix Her Up and a couple of her other books. And a lot of people had the same response. They were just really bad. They are poorly written and sounded so out of character. The first time it happens I had to stop and re-read because it felt so different from everything else that was written. It really did take me aback.

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E: I definitely agree. They just made me feel so uncomfortable. I think I said to you after I read the first one that I would’ve just left if I’d been Georgie. Like just the things Travis said to her made me want to put my head through a wall. It was just kind of strange, and as you said seemed so out of character.

A: While I didn’t like the sex scenes. I really did enjoy both Georgie and Travis. I think they were both pretty fleshed-out characters. They both had pretty good character arcs and I enjoyed seeing the journey that they both went on. I think I did like Georgie more, she was just easier to connect with and understand. What about you?

E: I think that’s what made me so sad about those scenes—I loved Georgie and Travis so much that it kind of unfair that the sex scenes weren’t more in character for them. I do agree with what you’ve said, but I also felt a little disappointed in part of the story. Maybe the later books will go more into it, but I would have liked to have seen more change in Georgie’s life. I feel like there was a big focus on Travis’ career and less so on Georgie’s. Am I the only one?

A: Oh no I totally agree with you. There is such a big deal made throughout the novel about Georgie’s career, but then I felt that it fell flat and we really didn’t see much from it. I did enjoy seeing Travis overcome everything that did happen regarding his career. But it would have been nice to see Georgie get that satisfaction too. Talking about Georgie’s career. While I really loved seeing such a unique career aspect in a romance novel, I felt that at times it was being made fun of? Or was that just me?

E: Oh it was definitely been made fun of. Like sure, I get it—birthday clowns = funny. Plus, definitely not your typical romance heroine kind of job. But there was something about the way it was dealt with that just got on my nerves. I don’t even know how to put it into words, but there was just something. I did understand why her family treated her like they did, but there was something about that dynamic too that felt flat to me. What did you think about the club Georgie was in with the other two women?

A: I absolutely agree. It was just strangely presented in the book, and the reader is able to tell that Georgie does love her job. But I didn’t feel that the author represented it right. I did enjoy Georgie’s girl group, but again I felt that it fell flat. It was getting some great traction and then bam – nothing. I always love some good women bonding in novels over men and their lives, yet I didn’t feel that it had enough attention. Maybe that was the problem, there were just too many things happening in the novel that there wasn’t enough time to focus on everything. What did you think?

E: I’m glad you said that because I feel the same. Maybe we’re kind of spoilt because we just have each other and so we’ve got to be each other’s number one supporters? But I just felt like they didn’t really care about each other that much. Like just thinking about the girls in the Wallflowers series by Lisa Kleypas, which we both obviously love, those girls are willing to do anything for each other? While these one’s kind of felt like they had this group and they were helping each other, but only to a point. I just feel like there’s so much more they could’ve done. Again, maybe I’m just thinking that way because God knows you’ve gone much further to help me with things than they seem to?

A: YES! I felt that the only relationship through the book that had any connection was Georgie and Travis. Otherwise, everything else felt forced. Talking about relationships, Georgie. Was it only me, but did you hate them? Even after Travis stands up for her, they don’t really change. They still act the same towards Georgie and nothing else is said. I love family dynamics in books and I felt there was nothing in this one. Reality is I didn’t really care for many of the other characters.

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E: Oh her family is the absolute worst. I hated every single one of them. Her sister treats her terribly, even after they make this girl group thing. Her sister-in-law is just plain awful. And her mother is weird? Like weirdly distant but also a little too involved. And her brother? Ugh. Nope. There was definitely something weird in his relationship with his wife. Like rocking up to everywhere she was and dragging her home? So weird! If I was Georgie I would’ve either left or killed them by that point.

A: I’m glad that I’m not alone. I’ve read a fair few awful families in books but this just felt so strange. I felt that they had no respect for her or even themselves really. Her parents were MIA, did we only meet then once? I can’t even remember. But it was such a strange relationship. And her siblings, argg. You could see that Georgie wanted more from them, but they gave her nothing.

E: I think we met her mum twice? For someone who showed up in her daughter’s life so little, she really overreacted to things. Like when the whole relationship with Travis made the news or whatever, and the sister said she was mad that she didn’t know about it. Like I don’t know, maybe if you actually spoke to your daughter? I know that it’s part of the story and all but you get me. It’s just aggravating. What about the stuff with Travis’ parents, how did you feel about that?

A: I totally get you. It was like why do you care? I didn’t really care much for Travis’ parents either. But I do think it gave backstory to Travis and the way that he interacts with people and the thoughts he has on relationships. It gave the reader reasoning for Travis having this wall. And it was great being able to see Georgie break down that wall, slowly.

E: I agree. It kind of annoyed me at the time that there’s this whole mystery around it. I found it really hard to follow what had happened, and then when we were told I was like ‘oh, that’s really simple’. I don’t know, the build-up made me feel like it was going to be this huge thing. Now I guess it’s time for the big question…would you recommend this to other readers, romance or not?

A: For sure. It was like okay, it was a messy divorce. There are a lot of those. And yes it does mess with a child. But the whole town knew everything about it, why was the reader hidden from it? Ahh, the big question. And I will be honest, I had to say no. There are so many more amazing romance novels out there. Especially contemporary one that does so much more, that are so much more. Honestly, I’m just really disappointed. What about you?

E: Exactly, like divorce is pretty common these days, unfortunately. Doesn’t make it any less sad, but just the way it was hidden made it seem like something really, really bad had happened. I’m going to have to agree with you there. While I don’t think this is the worst contemporary romance out there, it’s definitely not up there on the list either. I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely not continuing the series. I cared even less about Rosie and Dominic’s story.

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A: No I agree it’s not the worst one out there, but it’s not something that I would recommend to customers or other readers. I’m also with you on the series. I will not be continuing it for sure. This really was the only one that caught my eye, and I didn’t enjoy it. I’ve heard some not great things about the other books as well, so I think this might be the end of the series for me. I might be willing to give Tessa Bailey another go in the future, but not for a while.

E: Yeah maybe if she puts out something that really grabs my attention, but I doubt that’ll be any books in this series. I swear, one day we won’t get sucked into romance books because of their pretty covers. But I guess that’s worked out fine for us until now, right?

A: It has worked up until now. We have had pretty good luck when we buddy read a book. I guess our luck had to run out sometime. Hopefully next time we can read something that we both love.

E: Yes, next time we get to do a discussion like this let’s hope it’s less of a rant and more of ‘omg this book’ like most of our regular conversations are.

A: Sounds perfect. Are there any books that you would like Ely and I to buddy read and have a discussion like this? Let us know!

E: Well thanks so much for doing this with me again. We always have way too much fun doing these. But hey, we’d be doing this without our blogs too.

Have you guys read Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey? What did you think of it? Are your thoughts similar to mine and Ely’s? Let’s Chat!