Is women’s lit a sub-genre of romance? That’s this week’s question.
Someone asked me a while back if my book, Burning Bridges, was romance or women’s lit? She said the description sounded like women’s lit, and she doesn’t review that genre. Gosh, this was something I hadn’t considered before. I thought of my book as romance. I think of women’s lit as centered around a woman and how she solves her life problems, but with elements of romance. In fact, so many books I read as “women’s lit” were actually (in my mind) romances. The woman’s problem was so often being alone (after a long-term breakup or a failed marriage) and finding a new partner while solving her problems. I fail to see how that is different from most romances.
So maybe if the book is about a woman (or women) and
there is very little romance or bonding with someone else? Is that women’s lit? Goodreads lists The Joy Luck Club, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones’ Diary and others as women’s lit books. So, okay, I see the difference. These are not considered romances (although maybe Bridget Jones disagrees?), and they are by and about women. But they follow a romance arc and many of these books do end with a love bond that provides a HEA, so… I’m still kind of confused. I will take a firm stand however, and say that true women’s fiction is not a sub-genre to romance but that some books cross over into both genre. There. That should settle the question.
What do you think?
Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.
Burning Bridges by Anne Krist (that’s maybe women’s lit)
One Woman Only
Only a Good Man Will Do
Naval Maneuvers
Over the years of reading, I’ve fallen in love with angsty characters (ooo-la-la, Mr. Darcy!), sweet characters (Donald in Finding Camlann), quirky characters (Don in The Rosie Project), and any number of alpha males (any of the SEALS in Suzanne Brockmann’s books). But the character that will steal my heart for real, is the one who shows humor. That goes for male or female. If a character makes me laugh, that’s most often a 5-star read for me.
spark of electricity, if they also share a great back and forth in their dialogue, I consider that a winner. Sarah Ney has written a series called How to Date a Douchebag, and all of them contain great banter, Her books make me laugh—and a few have made me tear up. Spectacular interaction. In fact, while writing this post I started reading one of the books in the series again. So, if you’ll excuse me, I plan to add a little humor to my afternoon.
Excerpt
I have a confession to make. I am old enough to remember when most people received news through…what were those things? Oh yeah, Newspapers. Most also watched the evening news on television at six o’clock, but newspapers delivered national and local news in one place and in more depth. My parents used to read every page of the daily papers. I was more receptive to television. One thing is certain, where people get their news has changed dramatically over the years.
her iPhone and I thought she was crazy. Who could enjoy reading anything in depth on that little screen? Well, I’ve found out. I was one of those people who said I’d never use a smart phone for anything. Now I pick it up all the time for one thing or another—including keeping up with news practically as it happens!
ecause of our nomadic lifestyle, hubby and I have had the luxury and privilege of living in both cities and the country. We spent 4 years in Richmond, Virginia—not huge, but still a decent sized city—and 12 years in a neighboring county with 13,000 people in the county. We lived just outside New York City and then moved to live in Appleton, Wisconsin, where 10 minutes would get you to the airport and about ten steps separated you from the baggage claim, loading gate, and car rental desk. We moved to the heart of San Francisco, across from City Hall and the ballet, and then moved to Greenwood, SC, where ten cars constituted a traffic jam. Our last move was from the urban Tidewater area (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Hampton and Newport News) to a tiny town in Idaho. I can honestly say I enjoyed each and every place we lived.
visited the Wharf weekly. The restaurants are deservedly legendary. In Richmond, too, we had season tickets to the theater. New York offered Radio City Music Hall and a city throbbing with energy, and Tidewater, where I’d lived for nine years growing up, was home in a way. None of those things were true in the small towns/country where we lived. In our Virginia county, we were 35 miles from the nearest city, and 50 miles into Richmond, so shopping had to be planned. As I said, the airport in Appleton was close but everything else was pretty limited. Still, the people were amazingly friendly, and the town was fun to explore. I loved living in rural South Carolina! Anytime was a good time for a ride in the country and all kinds of interesting things presented themselves for exploration.
Are you the sort of person who plans every detail of a trip? Or one who takes off with only vague ideas of where you want to stay each night on the way to your destination? Do you even have a destination? Of course, traveling for fun and traveling for business are two different things. I want to talk here about vacationing.
were living in Virginia but of course had trucked extensively in the western states she wanted to see. She pulled out a map and started at the Grand Canyon, then worked her way up through Utah, Colorado, and into the Dakotas. We worked at a school and had the summer off, so I said, “That will be a great month-long trip, You’ll have fun!” “A month?” she said. “We’re doing this in two weeks. I have every minute planned.” Wow! They came back exhausted but I guess had spent at least ten minutes at each attraction, lol. They had fun, and that’s all that really counted. But that’s not the way Jack and I roll. As they say, different strokes for different folks!
Excerpt:
I suppose if you knew that I’d been a long-distance trucker it wouldn’t surprise you to know that I’d rather drive then fly whenever I can. Flying used to be fun—back when there were fewer travelers, when I was in college and could still dash from one gate to another, and when a size 10 still fit the seats. Need I say that none of those things work for me anymore?
to be relaxed in the west of the U.S. than in the crowded east, but even there I just like having some control over my life with my hands on the wheel. I try not to let people push me. I find a comfortable speed and hang in there. If someone wants to go faster, there’s usually a way to pass. Mores the pity, though, because I’m watching the signs, wondering where the people in all the cars are going, and who lives in that pretty blue house on the right side of the road. Life is good. Oh yeah, and I might spend a passing moment following the contrails of a jet overhead.