My sister, a novelist, told me that romance novels make up over 50% of the total books sold in the US.

So, please tell us why you like to read romance over other fiction? 

I wouldn't necessarily say romance is my choice OVER other fiction but I like romances because I like the story lines... my love life always sucks so it's sometimes nice to read a book about someone with a better love life than myself, LOL.  Seriously, that's probably sad but it's true.

Well, I don't just read romance, I read everything, but  I was talking to my husband about this just this morning.  You couldn't pay him $1000 to read a romance novel, and I'm sure it's the same with most men.  It is very telling, men and women will never be the same!   There is a such a fundamental pleasure and sense of completion for me to read a simple and-they-lived-happily-ever-after novel.    I honestly don't know why a good romance novel is so satisfying and don't know what activity a man does to get that feeling.

A man usually cuts the grass? I get a nice feeling of completion after I cut the grass and sweep up the blades from the driveway and walkway.

They are easy to read and have a simple, happy-ending storyline. I like to read to relax, and I do not like deep thinking, hard to follow books when I just read to loose myself. And many are good stories! Such, the series paperbacks are much more stereotypical and predictable, but many others have actual storylines and characters that just pull you in.

I've given this a lot of thought because my husband asked me this recently, lol.

1) Emotional pay off. To see a couple fall in love, the uncertainty, the flirting, and then the culmination when they're completely happy and in love provides an enormous emotional pay off for me. Probably the same reason that when I do read nonfiction, I read intense political nonfiction - about emotional topics like the Rwandan genocide, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Western colonialism in Africa. I like feeling emotionally involved.

2) You get to live vicariously through people who often have better clothes, better jewelry, frequently servants, and sometimes exotic accents. So that makes it fun.

3) Practicality. I like other genres but since I had my daughter the majority of my reading has been romance novels because you can finish one in an hour. Most other kinds of books that I read (for me, I don't read churned out mysteries or horror the way some other people do so romance novels are my only "quick lit" type books) require a greater level of thought, attention, and consideration. I can read a romance novel while keeping an eye on a toddler. I cannot read Playing House by Wagman or Butterfly's Burden by Darwish while doing the same. Simply not doable for me.

I also enjoy other genres - but sometimes when I want to escape my sometimes stress laden reality it's nice to crawl into a nice "fluffy" romance novel and enjoy the happy ending that you know is coming.  I even enjoy one after I mow the yard!

Why are fairy tales so loved?

Same reason we love romance novels!

I don't watch sitcoms, reality shows or sports on TV so romance books are my form of escapism. I prefer historical romances because they are even further removed from my real world. Also, many romances are extremely well written. My other daily reading typically consists of articles about politics, world events, etc. but that's not the type of thing you want to relax with at the end of a long day. 

Excellent point, KG! I do still read fairy tales sometimes and I never thought to put the appeal together.

Robin McKinley's main audience is adults as well which is pretty telling.

My mom LOVES romance books, especially historical romance.  She gets so into a book she's reading that you could call her name over and over, louder and louder and she wouldn't hear you!  lol!!   But me--I can't stand them.   I like books with some suspense to them, something that will make me jump or be scared.  I also like books about other people's odd and sometimes funny lives, like Augustene Burroughs. 

A man usually cuts the grass? I get a nice feeling of completion after I cut the grass and sweep up the blades from the driveway and walkway.

lol lol

I don't read "Romance", but I don't mind a romantic sub-plot every once in awhile.

-RD

Oh, and why is this posted in the BB?

You should ask this ? in the Love & Romance forum .

My favorite book of all time is Lonesome Dove.

It's a wonderful soap opera of the old west. (and I don't really like soap operas as a rule)

Rob, what is the BB? 

Oh, I see!! Doh!  My bad.

greg

The same reason I read any book.  To escape into a world I'll never live in.  To experience the romance that is unlike the ones in my life!  It is not the genre I read the most, but I do enjoy it now and then.