Now that I'm an aspiring romance author, I feel like it behooves me to know more about the genre in general, and not just my little ghetto of favored historical and Regency authors. In particular, with the exception of a few Kathleen Eagle books, I've never read contemporary romances, at all. They just don't appeal to me for a variety of reasons, ranging from my overall preference for fiction set somewhere or somewhen other than my everyday world, to a preponderance of plot devices that annoy (secret babies*, big city girl finds REAL happiness by going back to hometown and marrying h.s. sweetheart who's now the sheriff, etc.), to heroes that just don't appeal--what's with all these cops and cowboys and Navy SEALs?

So, I'm asking for a reading list. Give me a highlights of contemporary romance, ideally ones that won't feel too much like homework. Help me be able to nod sagely when my fellow romance writers talk about the appeal of various authors.

*OK, so my work-in-progress kinda sorta has a secret baby plot device. Only it's set in 1811-12, and the heroine has legitimate reasons to believe she'll never see the father again. And when he reappears in her life, within 24 hours she tells him he has a son.

Bloomsday

I've never read Ulysses. It's one of those things, like eggplant, that people say you're supposed to appreciate, but which I've never been tempted to try.

I've got pretty much nothing myself, but I know melymbrosia reviews romance sometimes--there's a set of them in her memories here.

I've never read Ulysses. It's one of those things, like eggplant, that people say you're supposed to appreciate, but which I've never been tempted to try.

Same here.

I've never read Ulysses. It's one of those things, like eggplant, that people say you're supposed to appreciate, but which I've never been tempted to try.

Connie is me. I was feeling guilty just this morning hearing the NPR hoo-hah.

Susan, I asked for romance recs here: Jesse "We're Literary 2: To Read Makes Our Speaking English Good" May 27, 2004 9:52:17 am PDT

Some Bloomsday humor.

Well, here you go. All y'all non-Ulysses readers can do so, a page at a time, over the next year.

Thanks, Katie and Jesse. (Though, glancing at melymbrosia's list, she's almost as historical-exclusive as I am.)

Some Bloomsday humor.

I love this part:

that virus - called Bloomsday - appears to have been developed by an international group specialising in creating literary viruses that try to "show illiterate technophiles the power of the written word."