15 Comments
Feb 15, 2023Liked by Mari, the Happy Wanderer

I am a big fan of Quin Ivins! I loved "The Love Factor." You don't have to be a lesbian (or a woman, or a man, or a whoever) to enjoy every genre. If the writing is good, it's good!

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Feb 16, 2023Liked by Mari, the Happy Wanderer

Thank you so much Mari ❤️

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Mar 4, 2023Liked by Mari, the Happy Wanderer

The romance novel has a lo-o-ong history and may even be the first form of fiction (some of the oldest scrolls ever found were romance novels!). And did you know one of the biggest audiences for Romance is gay men (boy, those dukes can really rock the outfits!)? I myself have been reading them since I was 11 -- as that is what was about the house. (Mom was a great fan of Dame Heyer, whom I found a bit too tame--but will definitely look into The Masqueraders!) It was great escapism, a whisper of British history (not counting the wild inflation in numbers of titled hot gentleman), innocent indulgence of one's sexual fantasies--all perfectly good reasons to read romance! My appetite for something a bit more, ahem, explicit grew along with the genre. Thank goodness there are more adult themes for those of us who aren't into vampires and shape-shifting badgers (they all have their places and audiences). Now that I am 60-something, I am enjoying authors who take it all with a large dose of smelling salts and have fun with the genre (like Caroline Lee). Also happy to see more well-rounded characters (female and male intelligence and agency are sexy!).

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“The day after Valentine’s Day is an excellent time to celebrate romance without all the stressful expectations and consumerist hoopla.”

Not to mention 50% off candy!

Wish I had known you back then and been to that party -- it sounds amazing!

Not a fan of romance but... not even sure why?

My guilty pleasure is true crime. I have this unrealistic feeling that if I watch enough Paula Zahn episodes, I’ll be able to avoid tragedy in my own life. And I follow things like the Idaho college student murders for the same reasons. If I learn enough about it, I can avoid it. Weird!

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Feb 15, 2023Liked by Mari, the Happy Wanderer

My guilty pleasures run toward spy novels and I've been plowing through the Slough House series by Mick Herron. I learned about the books from watching the fantastic Apple TV series that's based on them. John Le Carré has died, alas, so we will not get any new novels from him. Herron's books are funny and as one of the reviews said, as if Le Carré were filtered through CATCH 22. I am loving them. In the TV show, Gary Oldman as burned out spymaster Jackson Lamb is pitch-perfect and hilarious.

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Feb 15, 2023Liked by Mari, the Happy Wanderer

I LOVE those P&P valentines! 😂 We just finished watching the 1995 miniseries (it was my first time!) and it was wonderful. I want to check out those Regency romances you recommended.

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Feb 15, 2023Liked by Mari, the Happy Wanderer

I thought you used ChatGP or AI Art or something to create that Honey Badger book. Wow... It's real!

I don't think it's considered a guilty pleasure, especially in recent years with The Walking Dead and now The Last of Us dominating TV, but I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic fiction, doesn't even need zombies!

Top three:

1) Earth Abides by George R Stewart. No zombies. My favorite novel of all time, it's the father of the genre, having directly influenced Stephen King's "The Stand" and Justin Cronin's "The Passage", it's unique to the genre in that it explores in depth the ecological and social impact of a world where 99% of the humans are gone.

2) The Girl with all the Gifts by M R Carey. If you haven't read this, go in blind. Don't even read the back. The audio book is fantastic too, if you have an audible account you won't be disappointed by Finty Williams sublime narration.

3) The Passage by Justin Cronin (love the whole trilogy). Looking forward to his new book coming out in May.

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