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Romance Novels Are Good For You
Are you ready to fall in love?
It is time to wrap yourself in a cozy blanket, relax next to a crackling fire (or portable heater), and get lost in a romance novel. Not only is it a great way to escape the increasingly stressful news cycle, but overall, your mental health can benefit from the emotional uplift and sense of connection romance reading provides.
Just Like the Kardashians
Despite the proud and intellectualized denials I hear at writers' groups and book club meetings, somebody has to be reading romance. This genre generated over $1.44 billion in revenue in 2023, making it the highest-earning genre of fiction; yet, just like with watching the Kardashians, not many publicly admit to consuming the material.
That being said, I enjoy my love stories wrapped in dystopian tales of AI uprisings and escaped lab experiments gone rogue. But it’s disheartening to see romance lovers on social media sites like Reddit defend their love of romance centered novels, as if they should be ashamed.
Let’s normalize bragging about The Notebook as much as we brag about devouring Crime and Punishment.
