This past week, I finished Katherine Center’s recent novel, Hello, Stranger. It’s a lovely romance involving a female portrait artist who has an accident and winds up with face blindness, a condition in which she cannot see or recognize faces. Her life subsequently falls apart, and it was on a shaky foundation as it was. The main character, Sophie, has to deal with a bunch of setbacks and some challenging family dynamics, but she’s got a witty inner voice, a terrific best friend, a faithful dog, and a budding romance to help her through a really difficult period. And she gets her happily ever after in the end. It’s a funny, satisfying read.
(Really, pick up any book by Katherine Center and you won’t be disappointed. How to Walk Away was one of my favorites.)
I love romance, but I’ve been stuck in romance mode since the beginning of the pandemic. While I used to read intense fantasy tomes and complex character-driven novels and deep non-fiction books on a regular basis – I would venture that the vast majority of my reading hours in the last four years have been binge romance. And my video streaming habits feature rom-com as well, with a little mystery thrown in (solved, of course, by a romantic or soon-to-be-romantic pair). One track mind.
I have been ashamed. With so much gourmet dining on offer, why am I so enamored with fast food? Why couldn’t “good” books hold my attention? I have despaired that I would never get back my reading mojo.
But at the end of Hello, Stranger, Katherine Center included an insightful author’s note that has me completely embracing my guilty pleasure. She explains why romance novels are so addicting…
All stories have an emotional engine that drives them. Mysteries run on curiosity. Thrillers run on heart-thumping adrenaline. Horror stories run on fear.
And the fuel for those emotional engines is anticipation. We piece the clues together and predict what’s going to happen, and we feel emotions – sometimes very strong ones – about what we’re predicting.
Stories use different scenarios in different ways to create that anticipation, but most novels use a fair bit of what’s called negatively valanced anticipation. A sense of worry. A concern that things might get worse. You know: You’re reading along, picking up the breadcrumbs of foreshadowing the writer’s dropped for you, and you’re like, “Oh god. That kid’s going to get arrested.” Or, “Ugh. That man’s going to have a heart attack.” Or “Bet you a thousand dollars he’s cheating on his wife.”
But guess what kind of anticipation romance novels use?
Positively valanced.
Romance novels, rom-coms, nontragic love stories – they all run on a blissful sense that we’re moving toward something better. Percentage-wise, the majority of clues writers drop in romance novels don’t give you things to dread. They give you things to look forward to.
This, right here – more than anything else – is why people love them. The banter, the kissing, the tropes, even the spice… that’s all just extra.
It’s the structure – that “predictable” structure – that does it. Anticipating that you’re heading towards a happy ending lets you relax and look forward to better things ahead. And there’s a name for what you’re feeling when you do that.
Hope.
How’s that for a blinding flash of the obvious?! Romance is full of hope: hope for problems being solved, hope for two people coming together, hope for a promising future. Katherine Center goes on to suggest that romantic fiction thrived during the pandemic because love stories satisfy our need for hope.
That rings true to me. During the pandemic, when I literally went months without touching another human being, the stories I read provided a retreat to a different world, where touch was beautiful, and people were actively engaged with one another.
Even now, that pleasureful, sure anticipation that everything will work out in the end is a boost in world that doesn’t promise that. Our current environment is massively negatively valanced – there is everything to worry about and no easy answers to get us to a future that works for everyone. The happy endings of romances speak to our need to experience connection (romantic and otherwise), success (however you define it), and blessed peace (changing our heavy sighs to deep breaths).
Romance is what I pick up when I need a break. At the end of a long day, or in between intense projects, or when the news gets to me, or when my bucket needs filling, I thoroughly enjoy reading novels spun out with strong characters and interesting storylines (even when they are twists on a trope).
I admit it. I love the cowboys, the pro athletes, the billionaires, the rock stars, the ex-military security experts, the soft-hearted bikers, and the fascinating guys next door. And I love the heroines I wish I could be – witty, smart, accomplished – albeit sometimes in a bit of trouble. I love the plotlines, the banter, and the unusual settings. I love the characters’ flaws and foibles, their romantic gestures, and their sacrifices. I love their deep conversations and intimate moments. I love watching lives be transformed for the better. I love seeing couples bring out the best in one another (eventually). And I do love happily ever after.
Recently, I have been able to get back into reading “good” books again, and I am thoroughly enjoying them. I started a book club with Maryellen and Gerri, where we’re reading literary fiction (so far). And I’ve been able to complete a number of non-fiction books lately that have really inspired my mind. Because I’m interested in writing, sometimes the turns of phrase capture my attention more than the story or the content. It’s amazing how transformative a string of words can be.
Reading is my primary source for entertainment and for learning, and I’m forever grateful that I derive so much joy – of all kinds – from this activity. I think the mojo is back at last. (Whew!)
That said, I’m no longer going to be ashamed of the time I spend inside the pages of romance novels. Hope for a happy ending can be in short supply these days, so it’s lovely to be able to count on satisfying outcomes somewhere.
Discover more from The Stories of My Life
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Hey, this is sooo you! Tells me everything about you that I love. Your such an optomist! Always have been. I just think you delight in looking at the Sunnyside of the street. There are others of us seem to be drawn to the doom and gloom or the perpetual rain. Not Cathy! She may be have to put up with an occasional storm but then she’s right back out there seeking the sun!
As for my own guilty pleasures, there are quite of few. Every morning I play connections, and wordle. Throughout my day I spend an absurd amount of time talking, petting, and playing with dogs. Sorry folks that is just me! I find myself tuning in with mark on Friday nights to watch a show with same plot every time. A murder has been committed and you don’t find out who did it until the end of the show. Always keeps me guessing!
Fyi- love your posts keep em coming!
Oh my gosh! Love you, too – for many of the same reasons. Steady presence, giving nature, grounded integrity. BFF! Thanks so much for reading and commenting. LY
As we’ve talked about before, I’ve always wished I was as strong a reader as you, my daughters, my stepmom, and others in my life, but my reading comprehension isn’t strong and I get distracted, or have to re-read too much. I also believe, having a career in “words” has made words on the page something I don’t migrate to at the end of the day.
That said, I love to listen to books, and I’m finding as I emerge from empty-nest syndrome and pandemic (whatever we want to call it), I’m listening more and more. I love parking further and further away from my office to have a good 10-minute listen from and back to my car, and I’m enjoying turning off the boob tube earlier and earlier in the evening to put the old earbuds in for the next chapter of this or that.
My likes and dislikes are all over the place, so I tend to just borrow an audio file from my library that someone has recommended. Of late, I’ve been listening to books by authors who teach in our MFA in Writing program — https://www.bennington.edu/academics/faculty/aos?aos=96 — a great way to queue up many a book to my wishlist, but a great way to get to know them all a bit better.
Presently, I’m finally listening to THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt, a Bennington alum — one might say, “about time girl, as you’ve known about this book since 2001!”
And with that, I press “play”. XO
Listening to books is totally legit! For me, it’s too slow – I’m always bumping up the replay speed. But these days I also find it’s a great alternative to listening to the news podcasts that I have enjoyed in the past. I’d much rather romance than agita! I’ve got no commute, but I do take my time in my morning/evening routine and my chores. Plenty of time for a chapter (or a great music playlist depending on my mood). Thanks for commenting – and reading! LY