Smart Bitches Trashy Books | All of the romance, none of the bullshit.

My last rumination regarding whether you read one book at a time, or sample multiple novels at once has produced a great discussion, and I’m amazed at those who can read more than one at a time. I’m in the middle of two concurrently and it’s making me batty. Watch - my reviews of Uncommon Vows and The Pirate Price will jump back and forth as I get confused - suddenly, the medieval knight is a pirate! An Italian pirate! Named Shropshire!

And is it me or does the word “shrop” make you think of puffy shorts? (“Stuffed for an authentic look”? What, with a tube sock and a banana?)

So the commentating going on in that previous entry leads me to my next question: When you have a book on your keeper shelf, how often do you go back and revisit the characters, or reread the whole thing? Do you wait until you forget salient plot points, or do you go visit every now and again because it was so good you get that “good book buzz” every time you pick it up?

And, what are your “good book buzz” books?

We have some lovely referral records today.

bitches fucking.
horny bitches.
naked bitches.

So sorry you’ve landed on our erudite page devoted to romantic fiction! We have smart bitches, naked dukes, and horny heroes, but not in the combinations you seek. My apologies. I am sure there is another page or two on the internet that might be of interest to you. Continue your quest, noble knight of the MSN search! 

We Smart Bitches bid you adieu as you embark on your quest. 

Huh huh. I said “rule.”

Anyway, last night I wasn’t in the mood for the angst of “Uncommon Vows” right before bed, though I was about 3/4 into the book. I wasn’t on the home stretch and was far too tired to think of finishing it, so I did The Unthinkable.

I started another book.

Does anyone else have a rule that they only read one thing at a time? Candy, I know, reads quantum physics (I’m not even kidding) and romance at the SAME TIME, which bends my mind more than a little. But I usually read one thing at a time, because otherwise I will always like one better than the other, and the one I like less? I never get back to it. Also, I have a poor memory and I’ll start mixing the plotlines up, which can be a challenge if I try to read a contemporary and a medieval at the same time. Someone is showering a lot, some one is not. Which one?!! I can’t even watch two tv shows at the same time, while Hubby, when he is master of the clicker, can watch, like, twelve. Simultaneously. And keep track of what’s going on.

So of course, I am seriously loving the roller-coaster ride of “The Pirate Prince,” by Gaelen Foley. Woo damn is that thing purple-ish and non-freaking-stop. It reminds me of Pirates of the Caribbean - once it started, WHOOSH.

I do have to finish Uncommon Vows, especially after so many people recommended it. And dang the hero is hot. But I have to be honest, the “Oh, I’m hot hot hot for you!” “No, I hate hate hate you!” hot/cold heroine is in desperate need for a smackdown. Don’t treat that fine, educated, man like that! He should come over here to Candy & me. We’ll take care of him. Wink wink, nudge nudge.

So - do you read one at a time, or muliple books at once?

I just checked the stat counter, and we have crossed the big 10k - anyone got me a screenshot of 10,000? Bring it on!

I can’t believe I forgot to mention this when Candy and I were writing about it earlier, but I have a definite theory about why paranormals are so very hot and the market is almost oversaturated, as white raven said, especially in the vampire romance department.

I think this stems from the hyper awareness we carry now of terrorism, and how, unlike in prior wars where we knew who the enemy was (Germans! Russians! Japanese! Canadians! No, wait, not Canada - sorry), we don’t know who the enemy is, and we can’t place them in one convenient location. Terrorists don’t walk up to you and say, ‘Hi! I’m a terrorist and I hate your capitalist agenda. Pull this string on my jacket, would you?” Terrorists are among us and we have no idea who or where they are, and it’s really freaking scary.

Now I could be feeling this more acutely because I live near and work in Manhattan, and it’s generally something I’m aware of, but I think it’s somewhat a national trend- and the reason paranormals are popular right now, along with monster stories and creepy crawly mysteries in general, is that it’s comforting to visit a world where the enemy is very, very easy to spot, and at the end of the story, the obvious evil is vanquished or neutralized. I think paranormals and monsters specifically are attractive as fantasy-relief for readers because supernatural evil is a sort of uber-evil - about the only thing MORE scary than wondering if any of the people on the train with you today are terrorists, and dude, it’s 70 degrees, what’s up with the heavy down jacket? Seeing fangs or claws or watching them molt into a hairy thing at the full moon is a big clue: yo. Dude is baaad news.

Being able to identify and vanquish an evil that is so powerful it’s not even human, or, better yet, to tame and accept that supremely powerful and scary creature with the Healing Power of Luuuuv (tm) is enticing, and helps assuage the fears that a good number of people might carry around. Psychologically, we know we can’t return to a time where terrorism was something that happened somewhere else, but if we look at alternate universes, somehow the uber-scary isn’t so scary anymore when compared with present day life.