Guest Reader Blogger, Katrina Crew & Giveaway ($$ Value!)
by sue on Apr.13, 2010, under Book Chat
What have romance novels taught you?
I transferred to UCLA to study English lit when I was 21. I’d transferred from a tiny school, and I was totally intimidated by all the smart people around me. In my very first class—English lit from the Anglo-Saxons to Chaucer— I slumped down in my chair at the back of the room with one leg crossed over the other. My professor started the semester with a question: “What happened in 1066?”
Everyone in the class was silent. The professor stalked the room, staring at students who refused to meet his eyes. “Hmm, people? What happened in 1066?”
He passed in front of me, and I whispered, “Norman invasion.”
“Yes!” He was so surprised, he kicked my dangling foot so hard my uppermost leg slipped off the other one and my foot hit the floor, forcing me to sit up. “Yes! The Norman invasion happened, and it changed the English language forever.”
I was half terrified, and half hopeful he’d ask me how I knew the date. I would’ve relished seeing his face as I said that one of my favorite books was Julie Garwood’s, The Prize, a love story been a Saxon woman and a Norman knight.
Romance readers often defend the genre by talking about all the ephemeral lessons we learn: how to love others; what it means to sacrifice for someone else; what challenges and obstacles we’re willing to overcome for love.
But what about the more concrete lessons we learn? The small details about life in other ages. The potentially life-saving information that’s packaged in fun ways.
In September, my husband and I went to India. Just before we went, I read two books which I didn’t realize would make such a difference to my trip. The first, Meredith Duran’s, Duke of Shadows, was set in the same area we traveled in. I enjoyed it so much, I researched what was true and what was invented for the novel. When I was in India at exhibitions about the battles of the nineteenth century, I had a vivid picture in my mind of what types of weapons would’ve been used and what atrocities would’ve been committed.
The other book I read was Julia Quinn’s, When He Was Wicked. The hero, Michael, suffers from a particular type of malaria. When I’d been in India for four days, I got really ill. Thanks to Quinn’s book, I was familiar with malarial symptoms and checked myself for mosquito bites. I had two. I was able to keep an eye on my symptoms over a few days until I was sure it was just a stomach bug and not malaria. It’s the type of information that wouldn’t have stuck with me just from reading guidebooks.
What have you learned from romance novels? All my examples come from historical novels; do you think we can learn more from them? Or have you learned interesting facts from contemporaries, too?
Katrina blogs at Reader, I Created Him.
GIVEAWAY - 3 randomly chosen commenters - GOOD LUCK!:
Winning ticket is good for ONE ($125) Reader Registration to RomCon 2010 - July 9-11, 2010 in Denver, CO. Winners must be US residents. The base ticket grants admission to all RomCon 2010 award ceremonies and core reader events, but does not include meals, travel, or hotel accommodations. Meals are available for purchase when the attendee registers. There is a $25 fee to transfer the winning ticket to a different reader attendee. The ticket has no monetary value and cannot be redeemed for cash. Unclaimed tickets expire June 15, 2010.
Related posts:
- Reader Blogger, Ryann & Giveaway ($$ value!) Hello, fellow romance readers – I have a confession to make. Well, two confessions. Ok, maybe three. Or, four. Well, let’s just see how it goes. First, I am in the midst of a reading slump. Does that ever happen to you? I have this urge to read a really...
- Gr8t recipes from Virginia our reader blogger . . .ROMCON Giveaway! Let me just start by saying, we all read a whole bunch, & we know that because we’re always here chatting & MUCH thanks for that! But what else do you enjoy doing, what are some of your favorite hobbies? Note below & enjoy some of Virginia’s awesome recipes! Easy...
- Guest Reader Blogger, Danielle Yockman Reader, Danielle Yockman: With the holidays just past I still have boxes on the brain. So much effort goes into figuring out how to fit all the gifts into the available boxes. And heaven help you if you have a really odd shaped gift! All that focus on boxes got...
- Reader Blogger, Kristi! My first adult romance was a Danielle Steel. In 6th grade. My teacher was flabbergasted. My friends were confused. I was happily in love. The odd thing here is that everyone reading this right now is thinking of their first book that they started at a similar age. I’m not...
- Guest Reader, Kelly + ROMCON Giveaway! Hi, everyone! Everyone knows what draws them to romance. For some, it’s a quirky and fun storyline; for others, having a heroine as a main character, rather than a hero. While I dabble in all kinds of romance, mostly I’m drawn by intensity. I love the dark, brooding heroes with...
41 Comments for this entry
3 Trackbacks / Pingbacks for this entry
-
best coffee grinder
May 8th, 2010 on 3:32 ambest coffee grinder…
I prefer blends of coffee because they include both dark and light roasted beans. Try to ask for shade grown coffee. I don’ t know if they have any, but they should. Shade grown coffee does not contribute toward deforestation because the coffee trees…
-
This weeks winners . . . Congrats! | trueromance
April 18th, 2010 on 6:25 pm[...] - Michelle S; Ellen H; Donna [...]
-
I’m at Borders True Romance « Reader, I created him
April 13th, 2010 on 3:44 am[...] Filed under: Uncategorized — Katrina @ 8:44 am Come drop by to say hi, and let me know what you’ve learned from reading romance novels! Leave a [...]
Leave a Reply
About Sue & Borders True Romance Blog
Sue G - Borders True Romance Host - Borders Romance Buyer, reads romance. For her JOB. No, really. You can email Sue at sgrimshaw at bordersgroupinc dot com.
Borders True Romance Blog is a community, developed for you, the romance reader, to find out more about the books you love; the authors who write them & where to buy them :) Borders.com
Shape-shifter Dev Peltier thought he knew it all. But one night when a Dark-Hunter, who is also an official member of the Dogs of War, sashays into his bar, he realizes he might have met his match. But as old enemies and new move into New Orleans, Samia realizes that Dev just might be the only hope she and mankind have to save the world.
Friend Feed
June 25th, 2010 on 5:14 pm
This is going to be my favourite
April 17th, 2010 on 11:03 pm
I can honestly say I’ve never read a historical romance, but from reading contemporary and paranormal romances, I’ve learned about the craft of writing, mainly setting, characterization, and dialogue. But what stands out most is what how the couples will stop at nothing to be together (most of the time). I love that about them.
April 16th, 2010 on 3:41 pm
I shocked my college professors by being able to match a romance with every book in the canon we covered! I even got one professor to read Julie Garwood’s The Bride after a debate in class! My freshman year we were required to write an essay about which historical event we would like to “see” and I put in the Norman invasion because of a Johanna Lindsey time travel! I got an A and was the only person in the class that picked something other than the Kennedy Assassination.
April 15th, 2010 on 12:06 am
I’ve really learned a lot of different vocabulary and writing style from reading so many different books.
April 14th, 2010 on 7:24 pm
I have vastly improved my vocabulary. Also, I know random names of items found in the past. The different carriages used in historic romances are interesting. Also, I know a bit about the royalty before Victoria. The Great Expedition has shown up a time or two in historical romance novels. I’ve picked up a bit of information here and there, and sometimes don’t remember if I got it from a history book (my major) or a romance novel.
Lovely post, btw.
April 14th, 2010 on 5:21 pm
I used to read Barbara Cartland books like there was no tomorrow. Her heroines always went to Mr. Worths to get their trousseaux. Years later, while reading a history book for school, Mr. Worth actually existed!
April 14th, 2010 on 3:32 am
I tend to avoid historicals unless they involve time travel. I have learned a lot of little facts over the years from all the books I’ve read from facts about animal behaviors to medical facts to herbal remedies to obscure scientific theories. I read contemporary, paranormal and futuristic and if the author has done their research and written the book right you can absorb a lot of info that you don’t realize until you actually need that info for some reason.
April 13th, 2010 on 9:44 pm
Wow - I have I learned a lot about Navy SEALS (Suzanne Brockmann), business of running a football team (Susan Elizabeth Phillips), Hockey (Deirdre Martin), PR Firms (Carly Phillips), knitting (Heidi Betts and others), and, of course, how NOT to be a bounty hunter by Janet Evanovich. I do love learning more about different occupations through books…which I never realized until now!
I always learn something from a book set in a different time or place. Mostly, I learn that I am glad not to be a pioneer!
April 13th, 2010 on 9:08 pm
Good point. I haven’t really ever thought about what factual type info I’ve learned from my leisure reading, but I can actually offer up a bit of trivia I had no idea about before from the fab mystery I just finished - Book 1 of Sebastian St. Cyr series by C.S.Harris, ‘What Angels Fear’ (the romantic subplot is EXCELLENT) and that is Bilthil syndrome - a genetic predisposition to incredibly acute hearing and eyesight, including night vision. Really useful attributes for a romance hero and/or sleuth!
April 13th, 2010 on 2:48 pm
I enjoyed the research that Veronica Wolff did for each of her novels. What historical romances did for me was to continue my interest in swords and sword making techniques throughout world history.
April 13th, 2010 on 3:22 pm
That’s great! I took a fencing class in college because romance novels made it sound so cool. Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone had ever properly described how it makes your thighs burn.
April 13th, 2010 on 11:05 pm
Really? I took fencing in high school and my thighs were okay, but I was taking horseback riding at the same time so perhaps my thighs were used to the abuse.
Now, if only I had enough upper body strength to upgrade from foil to saber or epee… watch out, world!
April 13th, 2010 on 2:03 pm
One thing that reading has always taught me is vocabulary. I was a voracious reader from a very young age, as most romance readers and writers are, I believe. I was already familiar with most of the words that came up as new vocabulary in English class.
I still learn a lot from reading both historicals and contemporaries. Romance readers are smart!
April 13th, 2010 on 3:19 pm
I agree, Susan. Reading’s a great way to learn new ways of expressing yourself!
April 13th, 2010 on 1:34 pm
I visited Bath in 2005 and all I kept picturing were the dances held in the Assembly Room and all the pretty dressed ladies that must have strolled along those cobble-stoned paths.
April 13th, 2010 on 3:17 pm
One of my favorite things about living in Britain is how well preserved buildings are, so I can really relate. A few months ago I read By Design (Madeline Hunter), and it takes place in the part of London I walk through to get to work. I found myself seeing my daily commute in a totally different light.
April 13th, 2010 on 1:28 pm
When I went to Ireland last year, I felt like I knew the city of Dublin’s layout from Karen Moning’s Fever Series.
April 13th, 2010 on 3:15 pm
Isn’t it strange when you almost have a sense of deja vu visiting a city you’ve never been to before, all because it’s been so vividly described in a book?
April 13th, 2010 on 1:11 pm
I havent really read many historical novels but I think its great that authors are willing to put in the time to research their time periods and locations. If they include actual history than its a awesome way to pick up some facts while enjoying fictional stories. I do think you can get info like this from contemporary novels as well. While not always direct history but a sense of the city you havent visited or the history of the city as it relates to the story taking place there now. I know I have read stories based on cities I have been to and I can picture it sometimes a bit better because I know the areas they are talking about.
April 13th, 2010 on 3:13 pm
I totally know what you mean. Rachel Gibson’s books make me want to visit Idaho. I’d never had the urge before I started reading her books. She could even tempt me into going to a hockey game. Maybe.
April 13th, 2010 on 12:06 pm
Great post! Love the cover! Without naming any certain book or author, I have learn about King Rhames and Egypt, The Knights and the Round Table, Russia, differences in Scottish and Irish events, kilts and warriors. Jane Austen is an author who taught me about English standards, bloodrights and love. Historical romances are full of wisdom and loaded with love.
April 13th, 2010 on 3:11 pm
Isn’t romance brilliant, Lisa? I especially love picking up books set in different time periods or countries so I can find out more about history. So much more fun than the textbooks I had to read in high school!
April 13th, 2010 on 11:53 am
While I cannot name a particular historical, I do remember watching a PBS show on Vikings and saying “I already knew that” throughout the entire show. And I only knew that because of reading historical romance novels. So I wasn’t surprised when the show debunked horned helmets and only raiding and pillaging and talked about Vikings as settlers and farmers in faraway lands. And that’s just one example that comes to mind.
Please don’t enter me in the giveaway because while I would LOVE to attend the conference, I cannot afford the meal, travel, and hotel costs.
April 13th, 2010 on 3:09 pm
That’s pretty good, since there don’t seem to be that many Viking romance novels around. I only remember one by Catherine Coulter that I read when I was a teenager, and I’m not sure how realistic it was meant to be. Whoever you read must’ve done lots of research for their novels.
April 13th, 2010 on 11:22 am
For me it was a Barbra Cartland, can’t remember the name. I learned that there was a temple dedicated to the sacred Bulls of Appix in Egyps, which were used as oracles and which were interred in a fancy tomb. The look of surprise, many years later, on a guide’s face when I visited Egypt and actually knew what he was talking about.
April 13th, 2010 on 3:07 pm
That’s great! Hope your fellow travellers were also suitably impressed.
April 13th, 2010 on 11:15 am
I love the story about how you knew the answer! When we went to Scotland a few years back, I reread Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. It really gave me a deeper perspective when we went to historical sites, especially the battlefield of Culloden.
April 13th, 2010 on 3:06 pm
Isn’t Scotland amazing? I can totally imagine all those Highland warriors fighting when I go there.
April 13th, 2010 on 6:54 pm
I’ve also heard friends mentioning how much they learned about medicine from that series, too!
April 13th, 2010 on 10:24 am
1066 has come up for me, too, and Scottish historicals have helped me in trivia games/quizzes–no one else knew what a claymore (or a caber) was. The word porticullis has also come up
April 13th, 2010 on 3:01 pm
Ooh, new words for me, Helen! Thanks!
April 13th, 2010 on 3:03 pm
Sorry, Ellen. Either my fat fingers aren’t typing right for me, or my brain isn’t working properly. Sorry for sticking the H at the front of your name!
April 13th, 2010 on 10:22 am
I can’t think of one book that I haven’t learned one thing from. It’s amazing what things stick with you. Usually when reading I’ll find something fascinating and then I’m on google trying to get more info. For me, I’ve increased my volcabulary, I love it when I find a word and authors will have a favorite word they use frequently and then I use it in my own writing or my daily life.
April 13th, 2010 on 3:00 pm
I love vocab, too, especially new words for common things. When I read Laura Kinsale’s Lessons in French, there’s a scene where the heroine grinds coffee berries. That sounds so much prettier than coffee beans.
April 13th, 2010 on 10:07 am
Historicals helped me study for the GRE!
April 13th, 2010 on 2:53 pm
That’s brilliant! Hope you passed!
April 13th, 2010 on 8:54 am
Great post! Great question! I learned tips on how to train a balky horse from (if I remember correctly) Laura Kinsale’s THE PRINCE OF MIDNIGHT. I’ve even put some of what she wrote in practice and it works.
April 13th, 2010 on 2:56 pm
Wow. You are one brave woman. Imagine if she’d just made it all up?
I speak as someone who prefers animals to be smaller than me. Preferably below knee level. But higher than my ankles. And definitely with legs.
April 13th, 2010 on 4:05 am
i love the cover of that new meredith duran book–can’t wait to pick it up!
ummm… nothing is coming to mind right now (maybe because it’s late in the night) but i know i learned a lot of historical facts from the many historicals i’ve read over the years. also, i just recently read a contemporary and the heroine is an assistant US attorney so i learned about their job description.
April 13th, 2010 on 2:58 pm
Hi Michelle. I also like finding out about other jobs. As long as they’re not boring ones. I just finished Pamela Clare’s Naked Truth and loved reading about the heroine’s work as an investigative journalist.
April 13th, 2010 on 2:59 pm
Whoop, I meant Naked Edge. Sheesh, the book’s even sitting right next to me on the couch.