Kerry Allen's Blog

Dec 20 2007

Cleaning house

Tag: Don't be hatin' — Kerry Allen @ 5:28 am

Yes, Virginia, I have been removing sites from the blogroll again.

I have had enough of the hostility toward books, toward authors, toward publishers, and most especially toward other readers who don’t share one’s tastes or aesthetic sensibilities or, god forbid, buy their books at an unacceptable location (WTF?!).

It’s been deteriorating for a while, and it’s no longer fun or interesting or informative. It’s just a place to gather and bitch like a bunch of high school girls.

I didn’t like those girls 20 years ago, and my tolerance has since decreased. The difference is, now I’m not required by law to stay in the same room.

4 Responses to “Cleaning house”

  1. Trish is SO pretty.
    December 20th, 2007 at 1:23 pm

    Who set you off this time? :shock:

  2. Kerry Allen is SO pretty.
    December 20th, 2007 at 1:46 pm

    It’s not one thing. It’s a pervasive tone at certain sites that has been turning me off for months, both in the posts and in the comments. It’s the same content as the “romance is stupid / oppressive / anti-feminist / silly / degrading / embarrassing / useless” detractors, just prefaced with “I love romance but.”

    Do you really? What do you love about it, exactly, because going back months into the archives, I can’t find a whole lot of positive commentary. Do you always express your love with constant derision?

    I’m not suggesting the dreaded “play nice” to the exclusion of honest criticism, but on a romance-themed site, I would expect the bias to slant at least slightly toward a favorable portrayal of the genre. Any potential new-to-romance reader who stumbles across it would think, “Damn, even the devotees think it sucks. No reason to give it a try now.” Given the overpowering concern some people express about receiving validation for their choice in reading material, it seems counterproductive to broadcast only that which they deem negative and degrading and embarrassing. It’s obviously much easier to agree with the snide, superior set than it is to counter their scorn with a defense of the good points of the genre.

  3. Trish is SO pretty.
    December 20th, 2007 at 2:19 pm

    But sweetie, most people aren’t like you. When their BOSS says, “WHAT are you reading?”, they can’t say, “It’s called a book. It contains words printed on paper, and those words tell a made up story for the purpose of entertaining one who reads them. I’m surprised you haven’t seen one before.”

  4. Kerry Allen is SO pretty.
    December 20th, 2007 at 2:41 pm

    Well, why the hell not?

    Seriously. You know I’m the biggest wimp in the universe. If I can say, “I am an intelligent, independent, reliable, productive, worthwhile human being, and yes, I am reading a romance novel. Doesn’t the half-naked man on the cover of this one have spectacular muscle definition?”, why can’t anyone else, particularly the self-professed feminists? Take on Congress for the betterment of women’s rights, but puss out when it comes to owning your choice in reading material? What the hell is wrong with this picture?

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