I don't think I could take it if I was judged. I wanted to proclaim loudly that I just read those books when my brain wants a break, or when I want to read something I know won't disappoint in its mediocrity. Who wants to admit they read something for the s3x? Not that I am saying I do. I like my happy endings and predictability. I am not my Aunt who reads romances by the bucketful to avoid her own marriage that seems completely devoid of any of its own romance (dirty family secrets alert). So what excuse can I use that doesn't sound like I am covering? I feel as if I need to supply one. One of my other aunts actually was trying to tell me and my sisters (Nora Roberts fans themselves) that the romance in the books they/we read is a fantasy (this aunt being married multiple times herself... I would tend to believe her advice if I didn't already know the truth of it). To have people question your grip on reality, to have people comment that romances are nothing but s3x in fancy wrapping (which I agree with a bit) can be tiring.
Will there be a time when I can read romances in public, if I want (which I probably won't), and not be embarrassed? I doubt it. Everyone seems to have an opinion too. And if someone actually is a big romance fan they aren't going to readily admit it. I had a class last week where the professor asked us (the students) what authors/books we read. They were silent. And the books mentioned were by well-known authors or foreign ones. Maybe kids nowadays don't read as much, and maybe they don't actually have a favorite author and haven't read anything beyond what they have been assigned to read (and even then you know they probably don't read it... I have that habit too). Perhaps they just can't talk about what doesn't exist. Or they just don't want to spill about books others consider publicly as "trash" and secretly gush over in the privacy of their own home. All this reasoning has lead me to think that romance books should not leave the safety of my bedroom. Not that that conclusion is the most satisfying. But in my case in might be for the best.