You read...what?

Inevitability, it happened again. Someone asked what I was reading...so I told them. I'm not ashamed to read romance-- although I find it ironic that no one ever seems to ask what I'm reading when it's not a romance.
And, inevitably, when they turn their nose up and respond with a snooty "oh" I can't stop myself from asking what they are currently reading. Nine times out of ten they say they aren't much of a reader.

So, my follow up question is always, then why do you scorn this genre that I'm reading?  The most recent answer was, "Those books bring no literary value to the table." Do you really only enjoy books that are literary heavy hitters? I don't. Most of the time I have to slog my way through them and trudge my way to every turn of the page. I'll keep my non-literary valued book, thankyouverymuch.

But, here's the thing. I don't care what you read. If you want to read engine manuals, more power to you. Do you get a kick out of historical biographies? Great. True crime? Give me a recommendation. Really, anything and everything in between is up for grab. If it gets to you, lets you forget about your troubles for a few minutes and brings a smile to your face, then by all that's holy, read whatever you want.

There are no rules saying what you have to enjoy. There are no rules saying someone else can't enjoy something completely different. Romance, as a whole, is a very misunderstood genre. And whether it's because it's primarily written by women for women, or if it's just that same trope we use to beat each other up in the mommy wars, very few people seem to really try to understand why millions of women (and men) read it. And enjoy it. And some of them, *gasp* aren't ashamed of it.

I primarily enjoy reading romance. It's my thing. I'm not ashamed. But, again, I don't care what you read. Reading, any type of reading, is sexy. Embrace it.