(no subject)

[the_rck]

I'm working on link finding for metanews right now, and I just followed a link to something that is meta but that I disagree with on a number of points. Basically, it's someone going on at great length about how terrible romance novels are and stating as fact things that actually haven't been true in my experience of romance novels published in the last decade or so. Admittedly, I don't read a lot of romance novels, but I do read some, and I read reviews of a lot more.

I know that linking the article doesn't mean I'm endorsing it, but right now, I'm wishing there was a tag I could put on it to indicate that I think it's, um, out of date at best.

For the curious, the article is here.

Comments

[escritoireazul]

Hmm. I know there's been a change in the past decade, but I think there's still a lot of the old stuff being published, too. I don't read any romance that hasn't been vetted by Sister K, but she is an avid romance reader, and I know she's had similar complaints on books she's read recently.

[the_rck]

I think I'd feel better about it if the author of the article was citing specific examples that she'd actually read instead of making sweeping generalizations. I'm simply not convinced of her expertise.

[transposable_element]

Note that she has no specific examples of the tropes she's discussing. A sure sign of someone who doesn't actually know the subject she's trying to write about.

[the_rck]

Yeah, that's one of the reasons I'm dubious. I mean, some of these things are cliches that were very frequently true at one point and that still turn up sometimes. It's just clear to me from reading reviews that, when they do turn up, they're not necessarily greeted with enthusiasm.

Some things, like the characters often having tortured pasts, are just things that turn up in many different kinds of fiction.

Other things are tropes that people seem to love but that nobody I've ever talked to thinks are particularly realistic-- healing vag/healing cock, for example, or the idea that sex with one's True Love is automatically (and immediately!) better than any other sex.

[ramenkuri.livejournal.com]

Because life is short, I would personally filter that one out, since I'm not good at being impartial.

[the_rck]

I have consulted the other two link finders. I don't expect they'll get back to me in time for me to make a decision about it for this week, but it can go in next week if they're of the opinion that we should link it.

I briefly thought that another post on the same site was a rebuttal of this one, but the second post wasn't meta-- It just listed books the author recommended that supported the things she likes about current romance novels. I'd have been happy to link two articles that disagreed with each other.