Romance fiction rules the bookshelves, expert explains reasons
Love is in the air on Valentine’s Day and so is romantic reading. The popular romance genre typically sees a significant sales bump around Feb. 14, but in general it is experiencing a renewed surge, says Netta Baker, an English instructor and expert on popular romance and romantasy.
Reading platforms, such as Kindle Unlimited, have made the genre more affordable and available. Also, social media trends, such as BookTok and Bookstagram, give readers a sense of permission to openly discuss romantic reads without judgment.
“Even just a few years ago, reading a romance in public, admitting you read the genre, or even just purchasing one tended to be something readers found potentially embarrassing,” Baker said. “It was most readers’ secret ‘vice’ rather than something they proudly proclaimed to millions online.”
Plus, Baker believes that popular romance has all of the elements of great literature. It gets a bad reputation for not having substance, but Baker argues that popular romance reads feature strong character development and comprise many subgenres, such as urban fantasy, thrillers, science fiction, and dark romance.
“Readers of great romance novels experience the extremely human ups and downs of characters attempting to navigate their differences and flaws and overcome social or personal barriers to build a lasting relationship,” she said.
“The genre's focus on romantic relationships is what makes it so very realistic at its core. All humans want to be loved, to be accepted, and to find someone they can trust implicitly.”
About Baker
Netta Baker is an advanced instructor of English at Virginia Tech. Her research passions include political and religious rhetoric, and popular romance. She has worked as both an LSAT writing tutor and an erotic romance ghostwriter. She teaches courses in first-year writing and rhetoric as well as popular romance with a focus on “romantasy” and the BookTok/Bookstagram phenomenon. Read more about her here.
Schedule an interview
To schedule an interview with Baker, contact Mike Allen in the media relations office at mike.allen@vt.edu or 540-400-1700.
