It's been a long time since I've had a snow day. As I wrote this, it was still snowing pretty hard, though New York City never really stops for the snow.
In New York City, everyone goes out anyway, and they are often dressed inappropriately. On my way to work today, I saw a women wearing nothing but a short jacket--no hat, no gloves, no scarf. She did have boots--high heeled boots. (I have also seen flip-flops in February, but that is another post...)
The snow made me think of some of my favorite comfort reads. Now, I have plenty of English Major Classics I could go on about (JANE EYRE, LOVE IN A COLD CLIMATE, and the politically incorrect GONE WITH THE WIND), but these are "true" romance novels that I simply adore. In the spirit of disclosure these are not Avon books, but here are three that helped lead me to where I am today.
1) THE DUCHESS by Jude Deveraux. I have always loved this book--it's my favorite by this author. Sadly, it has a pretty unattractive cover (I think). But what a hero and what a story! Of course, it helps that she clearly based her hero on Sir Richard Francis Burton (the explorer--not the actor!).
2) FREDERICA by Georgette Heyer. I don't know why this is my favorite Heyer novel, but it just is. Maybe it's just that any book that has a character named Aunt Scrabster is all right with me.
3) MISTRESS OF MELLYN by Victoria Holt. It took me a while to figure out that "blond haired man=bad; dark haired man=good", and, until I did, I adored Victoria Holt, and this is one of her earliest and best.
As a teenager, I also loved a lot of writers who no one ever thinks of any longer (Jane Aiken Hodge anybody?). What are the stories that drew you to the genre? I always like to hear about how people started reading romance.
In New York City, everyone goes out anyway, and they are often dressed inappropriately. On my way to work today, I saw a women wearing nothing but a short jacket--no hat, no gloves, no scarf. She did have boots--high heeled boots. (I have also seen flip-flops in February, but that is another post...)
The snow made me think of some of my favorite comfort reads. Now, I have plenty of English Major Classics I could go on about (JANE EYRE, LOVE IN A COLD CLIMATE, and the politically incorrect GONE WITH THE WIND), but these are "true" romance novels that I simply adore. In the spirit of disclosure these are not Avon books, but here are three that helped lead me to where I am today.
1) THE DUCHESS by Jude Deveraux. I have always loved this book--it's my favorite by this author. Sadly, it has a pretty unattractive cover (I think). But what a hero and what a story! Of course, it helps that she clearly based her hero on Sir Richard Francis Burton (the explorer--not the actor!).
2) FREDERICA by Georgette Heyer. I don't know why this is my favorite Heyer novel, but it just is. Maybe it's just that any book that has a character named Aunt Scrabster is all right with me.
3) MISTRESS OF MELLYN by Victoria Holt. It took me a while to figure out that "blond haired man=bad; dark haired man=good", and, until I did, I adored Victoria Holt, and this is one of her earliest and best.
As a teenager, I also loved a lot of writers who no one ever thinks of any longer (Jane Aiken Hodge anybody?). What are the stories that drew you to the genre? I always like to hear about how people started reading romance.
3 Comments:
i haven;t seen snowfall in last 10 years...u r lucky..
4:37 PM
It's been a long time since I've had a snow day. As I wrote this, it was still snowing pretty hard, though New York City never really stops for the snow.
Yes, we had one junior guy email us that "he wanted to stay in from the weather, and would work from home." I told him that was ok, as long as he understood that I would mock his girlish sensibilities. My boss made him come in.
Why?
Because we had a *ton* of work...but really? Because the guy lives on 9th street. And our offices are on 19th street.
Tsk, tsk.
Is Georgette Heyer the Regency one with the parade of sisters? I remember one author with a series of books, each named for the different sisters' names. I LOVED that series!
10:12 PM
Linda Howard's books brought me in to the romance fold. Can't remember which one, but I love them all. I was new to Texas as an undergrad freshman, homesick, and a girl from my home state gave me her copy to read. We're best friends now.
5:54 PM
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