Reading in Reykjavík

I first read Bet Me in 2005, and it has been on my list of regular rereads ever since. As I have been moving towards multitasking while I "read", I decided to get the audio version, and I have no regrets. This is actually my second listen - I also listened to it back in 2018 when I first got it. This is just to add some notes on the narration, as I have already reviewed this novel. Read my original review to see what I thought of the book. The narrator, Deanna Hurst, does a good job of the reading, and one never confuses the characters, as she gives them different enough voices that once you get used to them, you never have any problems telling them apart, but she also doesn't exaggerate them, which is good, because while this book has some funny moments, it isn't a comedy in itself and I have occasionally listened to audiobooks where the narrator exaggerated thins so much that it sounded like slapstick. Her voice is well-fitted to the often rapid-fire dialogu...

I embarked on a reread of Nora Roberts' In the Garden trilogy and Bride Quartet in March and have been reading them at the kitchen table while I eat my breakfast and dinner, and over lunch as well on the weekends. I find some of Robert's books to be good comfort reads, and who doesn't need a good comfort read during times like these? While I usually go to for Roberts' standalone romantic thrillers (e.g. Northern Lights ) or the Cheapeake Bay trilogy (minus book 4, which don't much care for), the In the Garden trilogy has moved into my top 5 favorite Noras (counting series as one book). It is one of the better of her paranormal romances (called paraNoras by some of her fans), with solid characters and interesting romances with an intriguing, if paper-thin, ghost story to pepper things up. I especially like that the romances are generational, with couples in their 20s, 30s and 40s - hot heroes and heroines I can identify with - finding each other as they try to d...

Happily, the body of the article isn't so prejudicial, but still: WTF was the headline writer thinking? I can just see the smirk on their face when they wrote this. (Judging from the tenor of the article, I'd say the journalist isn't the one to blame, but an editor/headline writer).

I came across this stack of old M&B romance novels in a second-hand shop recently, and was thrilled to discover that once upon a time they were actually available as hardcover books. If you view the photo full size, you can read the titles. I am considering going back and buying a few of them for my cover art collection. Click to enlarge

I have occasionally mentioned that I hate literary snobbery, especially the kind that makes people declare that a whole genre of literature (be it fantasy, science fiction, thrillers, romance or whatever) is no good without having read any of it, or at the most merely sampled it a bit. Romance has especially been reviled as stereotyped and inane, called the female equivalent of porn and its readers dismissed as being entirely female, with little education, a small income, who read it to escape their daily drudgery and dream of marrying a [insert Mediterranean ethnicity of your choice] billionaire prince. I may be exaggerating somewhat, but you get the picture. But, I really do have to ask myself: Is it any wonder people think this way when they see the titles of many of the romances available? I am referring to the type of book known as a category romance. These are short romances written to specific standards and formulas that pertain to sub-genre, setting, time and certain other guid...

I came across a wonderfully sardonic description of some of the many formulas used in modern literary fiction, written by a fan of another genre that has been much abused for being formulaic, namely romance. If you didn’t think there were any formulas behind literary fiction, think again. Here is the full article: Guidelines for Writing Literary Fiction . I especially like the last bit: "On completing the book, the reader should have a satisfied feeling of accomplishment. There are a number of reasons for this, not the least of which is value. He or she will be able to say he enjoyed the book, but will probably not be able to explain why without reading a review. He or she can feel fully satisfied in recommending it to a book club." I, of course, explore my feelings about books, and not just literary fiction, by writing reviews. So, have you read a piece of modern literary fiction that didn’t follow any of those formulas? I know there must be some, but most of what I have re...