Fiction_L Archives Programs on Romances Dates: 1/7/02,12:32 PM  through  1/7/02,6:11 PM  (9 postings) Search for: Select one or more indexes to search: 2011-current     2009-2010     2004-2008    1995-2003    (Matches from each index will be displayed separately in the results page.) Return to January 2002 thread menu   |   Fiction_L Archives Menu

FROM: Linda Davis <[removed]@Connect.bedlib.org>
REC'D: 1/7/02, 12:32 PM

My boss has asked me to "do a series of programs on Romances". I'm not
a big reader of Romances and feel completely at a loss as to where to
start. Rather than focus on a particular book at these programs, I
suppose I'll be trying to generate discussion about various aspects of
the Romance novel in general. Or will I? I hope someone can lead me in
the right direction--or at this point, ANY direction.. Thanks.

FROM: "Deborah T. Walsh" <[removed]@geneva.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 1/7/02, 1:57 PM

What a neat opportunity, Linda -

One way to tackle this might be to acknowledge that there are lots of
different kinds of romance novels - subgenres such as historical,
contemporary, paranormal, time travel, and in some cases, even subsets of
the subgenres such as historical Regencies. Maybe you could look for ways
to discuss and explore the differences between these, as well as the things
they all have in common.

Another "consciousness raising" exercise is to challenge people to define
"romance"

Often our patrons think of Danielle Steel, for example, as a romance writer
(I just saw a reference to Jan Karon being one this morning in an article on
women and reading) Neither would be considered a romance writer by anyone
who reads romance novels.

Author visits are great - my experience with romance authors is that they
are people who value libraries, and they are often willing to come to the
library to help with a program - a disproportionately high number of them
ARE or WERE librarians themselves!! A local RWA chapter could help you out
with local author information.

Hope this helps a little - you're bound to get more information from other
list members - there are a lot of romance readers on this maillist.

Debbie

Deborah T. Walsh
Geneva Public Library District
Geneva, IL
[removed]@geneva.lib.il.us

FROM: Carol M <[removed]@whitbylibrary.on.ca>
REC'D: 1/7/02, 3:22 PM

I suggest going to the All About Romance web site. www.likesbooks.com.
There are lots of lists there, by author and by type of romance. They also
have reviews, grading books from A to F, with many titles getting Ds and
Fs. It's one of the few romance sites that looks seriously at romance
fiction. Their message boards also have interesting discussions about the
romance genre.

Carol Misiewicz
[removed]@whitbylibrary.on.ca

Linda Davis wrote:

> My boss has asked me to "do a series of programs on Romances". I'm not
> a big reader of Romances and feel completely at a loss as to where to
> start. Rather than focus on a particular book at these programs, I
> suppose I'll be trying to generate discussion about various aspects of
> the Romance novel in general. Or will I? I hope someone can lead me in
> the right direction--or at this point, ANY direction.. Thanks.
>
> ......................................................................
> Need to subscribe, unsubscribe, search the archives?
> Everything Fiction_L: http://www.webrary.org/rs/flmenu.html

FROM: "Roberts, Julie" <[removed]@rolling-meadows.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 1/7/02, 3:33 PM

Linda, Have you read any Romantic Times magazines? There would be a good
place to start. Also, check out their website at www.romantictimes.com.
Where are you located? Check out some of your local independent
bookstores. They will know of local authors, who may even be able to visit
your Library to speak on being a Romance writer. Good luck! Julie A.
Roberts [removed]@rolling-meadows.lib.il.us

-----Original Message-----
From: Linda Davis [[removed]@Connect.bedlib.org]
Sent: Monday, January 07, 2002 2:46 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Programs on Romances

My boss has asked me to "do a series of programs on Romances". I'm not
a big reader of Romances and feel completely at a loss as to where to
start. Rather than focus on a particular book at these programs, I
suppose I'll be trying to generate discussion about various aspects of
the Romance novel in general. Or will I? I hope someone can lead me in
the right direction--or at this point, ANY direction.. Thanks.

FROM: "gegner, jeffrey" <[removed]@hclib.org>
REC'D: 1/7/02, 3:44 PM

As a first step in preparing for programs, I encourage you to visit the
Romance Writers of America (RWA) website. They have several pages targeting
the interests of librarians including basic background information on the
genre and statistics concerning the romance industry and readers.
http://www.rwanational.org/

You also might want to get your hands on a copy of Ann Bouricius' "The
romance readers' advisory: the librarian's guide to love in the stacks"
published by ALA in 2000. It's an excellent introduction to the field. Ann
is a romance writer and a librarian.

The RWA can steer you to your local chapter where you can find information
and also some possible speakers for your programs. Various libraries in
Hennepin County Library have had programs where authors have spoken on the
genre and their experiences in the field.

Jeffrey Gegner
Senior Librarian - Popular Materials Specialist
Collection Management Services
Hennepin County Library
12601 Ridgedale Drive
Minnetonka, MN 55305

FROM: "Renee Zurn" <[removed]@duluth.lib.mn.us>
REC'D: 1/7/02, 3:55 PM

I would suggest reading about romances in "Genreflecting" by Herald. It gives a very good break-down on the types of romance novels (they are not all the same!!) along with lists of suggested titles.

As a romance reader, I have suggested this book to people who do not read romances and what to understand the genre.

Renee Zurn
Duluth Public Library
520 W. Superior St.
Duluth MN 55802

>>> [removed]@Connect.bedlib.org 01/07/02 12:25PM >>>
My boss has asked me to "do a series of programs on Romances". I'm not
a big reader of Romances and feel completely at a loss as to where to
start. Rather than focus on a particular book at these programs, I
suppose I'll be trying to generate discussion about various aspects of
the Romance novel in general. Or will I? I hope someone can lead me in
the right direction--or at this point, ANY direction.. Thanks.

FROM: Kim Rutter <[removed]@lvdl.org>
REC'D: 1/7/02, 3:55 PM

Linda: Also you should look at the web site: theromancereader.com. It
gives great reviews, author interviews, and contests for romance savvy. It
would be a great resource to recommend to whoever buys romances for your
library, too, as a selection tool. I also bet that readers who attend your
romance programs would love to be tipped off to all of these romance
websites--so there's a handout, almost completed for you!--Have a good time!

Kim Uden Rutter
Head, Technical Services
Lake Villa District Library
Lake Villa, IL

"If I went west, I think I would go to Kansas."--Abraham Lincoln

-----Original Message-----
From: Linda Davis [[removed]@Connect.bedlib.org]
Sent: Monday, January 07, 2002 2:46 PM
To: Fiction_L
Subject: Programs on Romances

My boss has asked me to "do a series of programs on Romances". I'm not
a big reader of Romances and feel completely at a loss as to where to
start. Rather than focus on a particular book at these programs, I
suppose I'll be trying to generate discussion about various aspects of
the Romance novel in general. Or will I? I hope someone can lead me in
the right direction--or at this point, ANY direction.. Thanks.

FROM: "Carolyn O'Donnell" <[removed]@ahml.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 1/7/02, 5:39 PM

Hi - Several years ago we hosted a "Romance Genre Weekend" at our library that we called "A Little Winter's Romance". In addition to a panel discussion featuring several romance writers in our area, we also had a program by a man who had written some books on "how to be romantic" (this was NOT an "x-rated" program!!!). We booked a local male model who had recently won a romance readers contest for "hot new cover subjects" and we hired a photographer to take pictures of interested readers with him against a "romantic background" that our staff artists prepared. We had a "high tea" with lots of chocolate. The authors sold books and signed them. Everyone who attended said they had a wonderful time. Good luck with your program.

Carolyn O'Donnell
Advisory Services Department
Arlington Heights Memorial Library
500 N. Dunton
Arlington Heights, IL 60004
847.870.4117

FROM: Melissa Norton <[removed]@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 1/7/02, 6:11 PM

Here are a couple more suggestions -- I heartily
second all ideas that have come before on this thread.

Talk to circ staff and find out what subgenres or
authors are popular in your library, and use Romantic
Times or the web to find out more.

Local bookstore staff can also make recommendations,
or maybe they have a romance expert on staff who would
be willing to talk to a group.

Look at the romance columns in LJ, or the occasional
features in Publishers Weekly -- PW did a lengthy and
interesting article recently on historicals.

Have people bring a favorite book with them to start
discussion.

Good luck, and have fun!
Melissa

=====
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melissa Norton [removed]@bridgton.lib.me.us
Asst. Librarian & Webmaster
Bridgton Public Library http://www.bridgton.lib.me.us
65 Main St.
Bridgton, ME 04009
207-647-2472

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