Every Friday, we ask you what YOU think about an issue in romance. The questions are good (we think)–the comments much better! So join us, every Friday at the ask@AAR!
the ask@AAR: What are some of your favorite romances featuring artists?
It feels to me as though I've read many a romance where the lead or leads are writers or musicians but nowhere nearly as many featuring heroes and heroines who are visual artists. Off the [...]
the ask@AAR: What are your stories about the kindness of others?
When I think of Tennessee Williams, I think of A Streetcar Named Desire (the movie) and, in my head, I hear Vivian Leigh saying, "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." In the [...]
the ask@AAR: Is social media dead?
I've never been a fan of Twitter but, for years, it was a place I'd go to for news about romance and politics. No more. The new design is chaotic, I see nothing that I [...]
the ask@AAR: What’s your favorite country to visit?
To celebrate retirement--Dr. Feelgood's--the two of us are on a three week trip through Europe. We are currently in Italy exploring, for two days, Lake Como. After this, we'll travel to Switzerland, take a boat [...]
the ask@AAR: What era had the best clothes?
Dr. Feelgood and I are watching Daisy Jones and the Six. The fashion is on point--Riley Keough (Elvis' granddaughter!) can rock macramé like a goddess. Unsurprisingly, the show has inspired 70s fashion renaissance--in my town, [...]
the ask@AAR: Are 50 Shades of Grey or Twilight dangerous?
A friend of mine recently sent me an article entitled Why Bestselling Romance Author Colleen Hoover Is Receiving Backlash. In it, the author writes: I know what some people might be thinking: It’s fiction, it’s not [...]
the ask@AAR: Are there traits you hate?
In a recent discussion about Barbara Cartland, several readers bemoaned her incessantly giving her heroines heart shaped faces and small hands. The latter feature is, I've since noticed, quite common in older historical romances--how many [...]
the ask@AAR: What is your favorite trope?
A trope, according to Merriam-Webster, is a common or overused theme or device : CLICHÉ. I'm going to ignore the overused part of this today and focus on common themes in, of course, romance. Masterclass, in its [...]
the ask@AAR: why do you read?
I've had a rather heated set of exchanges with my best friend Ann recently about our differing perspectives on why we read. She reads primarily to learn; I, to be entertained. She tells me "Oh, [...]
the ask@AAR: Which romances do body positivity well? Which don’t?
Today's ask is a suggestion from BeckyK. She suggested we ask about body positivity— Do you enjoy books with plus size heroes/heroines? Which books/authors get it right? Which don’t? (This is a topic that elicits [...]
the ask@AAR: What’s your favorite love story on film?
The Academy Awards--yawn--are this Sunday. I have seen just one of the films nominated for Best Picture and hardly any of the other films whose sets, actors, songs, and special effects have led to their [...]
the ask@AAR: Should older romances (and books in general) be redone?
I have followed with fascination the uproar around the revised versions of Roald Dahl's books. NPR has a great summary of what has happened. They write: New editions of legendary works by British author Roald [...]
This is good. Now all the arguments are in a single place.
Ha ha ha!