In 2022–including this one!–AAR has published 52 the ask@AAR columns. Many of these generated lots of comments. Readers had the most to say about their pet peeves in romance, trigger warnings in reviews, the election issues they felt the most passionately about, and romances that most love but that readers emphatically did not. Other topics were clearly not engaging: our posts about the best party every attended, thoughts on Kristan Higgins, Romeo and Juliet retellings, and a discussion of our new Power Search all garnered fewer than ten responses.
It was a good year for commenting kindness towards others. In 2020 and in 2021, there were many times we had to ask people to retract or reframe a comment because it came across as a personal attack. In 2022, that happened only five times. For this, I thank and applaud you all.
The ask@AAR column is one of the most popular features at AAR. In 2022, the most read ask was our post about trigger warnings followed by the one about favorite long series. The average ask post gets around 750 views and has an average of 30+ comments.
Looking forward, I’d like your feedback. What questions would you like to see the column raise in 2023?
Happy New Year to you all!! Here’s to many a great read in 2023!
Impenitent social media enthusiast. Relational trend spotter. Enjoys both carpe diem and the fish of the day.
I have two more ideas:
1) Thoughts on the plot twist that Susan Meachem is actually alive and all the controversy around how she announced such.
2) Impact, if any, ChatGPT will have on romance writing/publishing.
I love keeping lists of books I have read. Anyone else? It started with just tracking how many books I read per year. I’ve gone from lots of very granular categories, to just overview categories.
I’ve been using Goodreads for years. A friend just told me that she is using StoryGraph for 2023. She gave several reasons that were repeated by others online. How true is it that StoryGraph is owned by a black woman? (I’ve gotten skeptical of believing things on the internet – especially when it is the virtually the same talking points repeated over and over).
How does StoryGraph compare to Goodreads? Are there other apps that can be used to track books? Does anyone have favorites?
Thanks for continuing the fascinating discussions! Looking forward to a lively 2023!
I too have been using Goodreads for years. I love being able to go back and see what I thought about a book I read over a decade ago. I haven’t found an easier way to track my books and I have thousands on there so it would be a bitch to switch to another service.
I’ve been on GR since 2001 and even though there were a few years I wasn’t very active, I have several thousand looks there. I understand why people don’t like that Amazon owns it, but I was there (and at Audible) long before Amazon bought it and I have too much time and information invested to switch. And, like you, I’ve yet to find a system that is as flexible and customizable.
I decided to give StoryGraph a try this year and followed the directions to import by book list from Goodreads. So far the book list hasn’t shown up on StoryGraph. I contacted them this morning about it. The site looks interesting. I wouldn’t replace Goodreads, though. I’d do both for a while at least. I have people I follow on GR so I’m not ready to just drop it. When my books show up on SG, I’ll let you know what I think of the layout and tracking.
A discussion of book tracking sites might make an interesting Ask column.
My books finally imported and I’m exploring the site. It might be that I’m just used to GR and the shelving there, but SG seems more opaque. You have to search for things. I like that they offer a sort of template for your reviews if you want. That’s especially nice for books I don’t want to write much of a review for, but want to remember some details. (Character or plot driven, or a mix. Fast, medium, or slow paced. Was it emotional, humorous, lighthearted, etc.) You can tag the books with things like LGBTQ, etc, but not as comprehensively as the GR shelving system, or as easy to search. It also means I’m the one who has to remember to write in the tags for my books with the “shelves” if I want to keep track of them that way.
What they do have is a great breakdown of your yearly/monthly/weekly stats, with line graphs and pie charts. you can also compare moths or years. I learned I read the most books in April and May of 2022 and my reading dropped off this fall, especially in Dec. It shows my genres, and the authors I read most frequently. (N.R. Walker the most, with Agatha Christie in second after my spring binge on the Miss Marple mysteries.)
I’m going to keep going for a while, but if keeping two sites going becomes a trial, I’m pretty sure I’d choose GR, if only because I’m used ot it and I have people/reviewers I follow there.
I’m going to try using both sites this year. But I’m not sure if I want to import my Goodreads books. Basically, I’m not sure how much time I want to invest in SG.
I’m used to Goodreads and how it works. I agree with you about StoryGraph, for some reason, it is just not intuitive.
Most of the good reviews for SG talk about the really good reading statistics. I’m a data nerd, so I can see loving that.
Importing was pretty easy after all, and only a few things needed to be changed (I have a to-read-maybe shelf at GR, and I had to switch those to to-read, for example). So if you’re curious about your statistics from past years, you can get that data generated.
I’m wondering if I can just import my books at the end of each year to look at stats and then at recommendations. I’m already feeling like keeping both going isn’t going to be appealing, even if I can copy/paste reviews. A big issue with me is the lack of already made categories, i.e. the shelves, that I’ve customized. Having to manually put in tags at the end of a review is too much trouble, so I know I won’t be as detailed.
The graph/chart thing sounds interesting, although I already maintain one of those on a spreadsheet I found online a few years back. Like you, I’m used to GR and have people there I interact with regularly and whose opinions on books I trust – I’m not sure I have the time to spend setting up something new – do keep us informed as to how SG goes!
I know my ADHD brain and I’m quickly realizing that trying to use both isn’t going to happen. Too much work for me. GR gives me a better ability to customize (the shelves), and that , with all the history I have there, means that’s where the majority of my efforts will go.
I used GoodReads until Amazon purchased it. My account is still there but not current. I love LibraryThing for tracking what I’ve read. StoryGraph sounds interesting. Will be curious to hear how others like it.
I too am a dedicated Ask follower. I appreciate diverse perspectives and the increased visibility of the issues, concerns and praise provided by other readers. I like to mine the blog posts and the comments for reading recommendations outside my own reading preferences. Discovered many new authors this way. Thanks AAR!
Questions I propose are: 1) to ask about the differences we see between canon historical romance to romances of mid 1990s to “new” historical romance of today. Maybe this could be 2 or 3 posts 2) What aspects should a “trigger warning” include 3) Ideas or suggestions for more tagging of posts or is this exercise necessary or not? (i.e. MM MF MMF and so on)
Just as a part answer – we tag queer books (m/m, f/f etc.) because we categorise them by genre – a contemporary romance is a contemporary romance regardless of the gender or sexuality of the MCs. In most cases we’re expanding our tagging to make it easier for readers to find the books with the tropes, locations and character-types they want to read.
Good to know! Thanks for the follow-up.
I had a few more ideas:
I don’t have answers to all these, but would enjoy reading everyone’s thoughts!
I was thinking of doing Reality TV as one of the settings in a Setting Smackdown, but I couldn’t figure out what juxtaposes well against it. Any ideas?
You could do Reality TV to Reality. For example, a romance about people competing in a baking or fashion design contest, vs people who actually bake for a living or do fashion design for a living. Or reality TV vs. sports. Both feature competition, but why prefer one vs. the other?
In addition to many excellent suggestions below, some of my favorite posts (and resulting conversations) have been about news in the publishing world in general, and romances specifically e.g. BookTok, Amazon, book prices, libraries, etc. I hope those will continue into 2023.
The ask@AAR columns are one of my favorite parts of the site. The columns I have most enjoyed are ones about specific book topics/trends, authors, and issues relating to the romance publishing industry. I am glad to hear that readers are being kinder to each other and absolutely agree that there is space for all of our opinions.
For future columns, I love the ideas already presented! My suggestions are:
Present a long series by a popular author and ask readers which book in the series was their favorite (or both favorite and least favorite) and why
Since romance book readers often enjoy rom-com movies, maybe pick an actress who has done multiple rom-coms and ask if readers enjoy the movies and which they recommend as the best. For example, Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, Drew Barrymore.
What is the most interesting thing you learned about from a romance novel? (I have found romances are often very educational!)
I could definitely do one of those Long Series columns for Sarina Bowen. I binged her SO HARD this year!!
I love Sarina Bowen too! I think her True North or Brooklyn Bruisers series would work for this.
I’ve read some in both of those but not all.
Claire Kingsley might be a good candidate for a deep dive. She has written (or, in at least one case, co-written) several series, each between four and six books long. Although most of her books can be read as stand-alones, she usually threads an overarching mystery throughout each series, so reading all the books in a particular series (and reading the books in order) does have a satisfying payoff.
Agree – love her too!
I like that the Ask questions can’t be answered with a simple Yes or No, but require thought and nuance. I like reading thoughtful replies, even when I don’t always agree with them. And I like the deep dives into not just the What but also the Why behind our choices. As for future posts, how about:
What recent book upended your expectations in a positive way? Perhaps a book you weren’t expecting much from surprised you. Or a trope you usually dislike being presented in a fresh way.
On the opposite side of the coin: What recent book disappointed you? Why?
How about a recurring “Snapshot” feature? Perhaps once a month, ask readers what was the last book they finished reading, the book they are currently reading, and the next book they plan to read? Sort of a thumbnail of everyone’s recent TBR.
I second the Snapshot suggestion! I would enjoy just what book are you reading right now, why did you choose it and what do you like/dislike about it?
I really love hearing about the high kindness quotient on this site— great news!
I like columns like these which give info about the site, and also those which look at broader issues and trends in romance. I also enjoy learning about the publishing industry and romance’s role in it, and how authors are treated by places like Amazon, etc. I may not have a lot to say, but I learn a lot.
One idea I had for a future column is a discussion of writing quality. What is good writing for you? Who are the authors who consistently write well? I find a lot of books are not well-written, and there are many that are solid and competently written. However, it’s rare to find those that are beautifully written, where the characterizations, descriptions, plot, language, etc are all top notch. I started down the romance road with Jane Austen, the Brontes, and Georgette Heyer as my lodestars, and I found Laura Kinsale and Joanna Bourne to be wonderful writers, but I haven’t found many others. I would love to see a conversation around why that is (if it’s true,) and what I’m missing, if it’s not.
Another idea: Who is your favorite protagonist of all time? Why?
Happy New Year!
I enjoy the Ask columns and very often learn something, or get a better understanding of other points of view. For example, on the trigger warning column, the discussion gave me an opportunity to not only refine my own position, but to look at how vocabulary, the words we are using, can be misconstrued. In that thread I realized some people had a slightly different idea of the term “trigger warning” and it was interesting to see some responders step back and clarify (including myself). In the end, although we didn’t completely agree, I felt like many commentors weren’t as far apart on the issue as it appeared at first. Being challenged is the best way to form more nuanced ideas.
Ideas:
-Children in romances, why do you like them or not, and what are the best and worst examples of romance books that include children.
-Pick a trope or two (or ten), why do people like/not like it and give examples.
-books with unusual protagonists, a woman firefighter, MC’s who are neurodivergent, or disabled, plus sized MCs, etc. Bonus points for books that have the unusual characters, but that characteristic isn’t the focus of the story. (A book with a plus sized MC doesn’t have to focus on body-shaming as the conflict.)
The columns that have most interested me are the topics that give me a chance to reflect on or rant about the big and evolving issues in romance (trigger warnings being a great case in point) and the topics that draw forth recommendations for books or authors I may not have known about. I find it really interesting that we romance readers have such different tastes and attitudes. I often find myself at odds with the majority opinion and I don’t know if that’s a cultural thing as a non-American or if I just have different expectations of the genre, but I love analysing romance in a non-fangirly way and I don’t have anyone in real life with whom I can discuss these books. So keep throwing out those challenging questions!
Thank you. It is my goal in life to create spaces where people can disagree AND learn AND still respect one another. It sounds like that’s working for you! <3
This is why I’m an AAR fan as well. And I suspect that even if I DID have people IRL with whom I could talk romances, it is just too large a segment of the book world to keep up with all that is happening.
Kudos to everyone at AAR – contributors, volunteers, commenters, and lurkers (750 views per post???!!!) – for keeping the site and conversations about romances going.
As someone also not in the USA, I too, often consider if cultural differences – even amongst English speakers – have impact on how AAR members judge the books they read. And how they interpret the sometimes highly polarised views expressed here.