| Saturday, February 04, 2006 |
| SEP's Match Me If You Can |
SEP's Match Me If You Can
Eversince I have read the summary and publicity kit of this book last year, I have been dying to read this book. It looks promising and hilarious - a typical SEP book.
AND I WAS RIGHT. I've read it for two days only. It was that engrossing and interesting. It is the story of Heath Champion and Annabelle Granger. The former is a famous sports agent and the latter is a neophyte matchmaker. Their paths crossed, thanks to Molly Sommerville Tucker and that's when their love story begins.
It was great because of the recurring characters from SEPs other Chicago Stars series characters: Dan and Phoebe Calebow, Kevin and Molly Tucker, the kids, and all the others. Plus, I get to meet some new fantastic characters.
The one side that got me bored in the beginning though was the subplot romance of Portia Powers (Annabelle's rival matchmaker) and Bodie Something (Heath's assitant or something). But in the end, it was not that bad.
And as usual, it got lots of hilarious moment that got me laughing out loud: the princess party; Molly and Kevin's little girl Pippi (Victoria Phoebe Tucker) and her obsession about phones; Annabelle's 'crush' on Dean Robillard and a lot more.
Overall, it was one of the greatest read I had lately. I greatly recommend it to those who haven't read it yet. I have read the ebook and will be unaccessible after a week, I think. So I would be looking for it in paperback. |
posted by sharonje927 @ 11:28 AM  |
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| Saturday, January 28, 2006 |
| Romance novels for men...anyone? |
ROMANTIC STATS
- According to research by the bookstore chain Barnes and Noble, romance customers can typically spend up to $100 per month for books and will read as many as 40 books per month.
- More than 90 percent of all mass market book sales are popular fiction.
- Romance accounts for 48.6 percent of the mass market (paperback) book sales in the United States, with sales topping $885 million in 1992.
- Authors rarely get rich writing books -- they receive only a small percentage of the cover price of a book -- usually 4 to 6 percent percent, according to Texas author LaRee Bryant.
- The average romance reader is 39 years old and works outside the home. (Forbes Magazine)
- The average annual household income for a romance reader is $40,000. 45 percent of romance readers are college educated.
- Women who read romance novels make love with their partners 74 percent more often than women who don't. (Psychology Today)
http://www.romancereader.com
Based on the statistics above, it is clear that romance genre dominates the publishing world. The above also shows that women are responsible for this staggering demand for romance novels. Therefore, it is safe to assume that romance novels are for women only. Now the question is: why do women adore them and spend a fortune buying and reading them? What can they get from it?
As a woman and a romance reader myself, I can come up with a lot of reasons why I adore them. 1) It is a great escape from a sometimes depressing world. 2) The heroes, though might not be perfect, are ideal men for all women. 3) The men in the books speak heart-melting dialogues that women seldom hear in real life. 4) The heroes are so very generous - giving lots of jewels and cars. 5) The heroines are so perfect, the women can't help but wish they are like the heroines. 6) The make-believe world painted by the authors are the fairy tale love affair that every woman dream of when they were young. 7) They always make a reader feel good. 8) They bring message of hope and forgiveness. I am sure there are still a thousand reasons more why women love romance novels. Which just proves that romance novels were created to cater to the women. That is why, men cannot fathom or understand romance novels.
I am not and will never be an expert on men but somehow I have this absurd ideas again why men can't stomach reading romance novels.
- I am thinking they think the men in romance novels are sissy. The heroes are so poetic in expressing their love to the ladies.
- They might think it's an insult to them. Women's impossible fantasies (about dashing heroes only and nothing else LOL) are fulfilled in these books they might feel insecure reading them and being compared to the heroes.
- For those men who wanted docile female, they might be turned off by those feisty, strong-headed and very determined heroines in the books.
- They might get bored with all the tiny details described in the book. (see my entry entitled Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Even in writing style???).
- They might be laughing at the heroes in romance novels for being nags. In real life, we heard so much about how men talk in short sentences only. But in the romance novels, men can talk as much as women too.
Which brings to mind these absurd thought. What if someone would create romance novels for men? Of course, in these stories, it is their fantasies that will be fulfilled. Like, having obedient heroines, who wouldn't nag them if they just leave their clothes lying around the house; who wouldn't mind them drinking milk directly from the cartoon; would share their passion watching sports and can quote stats and plays; one who loves throwing out the garbage and don't depend on men to do this; a woman who can spend only ten minutes getting ready for a date; a woman who doesn't sulk; a heroine who says what she means without beating around the bush and a lot more reasons that men want. (Hey, I only concluded these are the things men want from the numerous jokes in the emails, in internet as well as from books, movies and television shows.) Hhhmmmm, I think it would be interesting to see how the plot will unfold. So, anyone up for that task? |
| posted by sharonje927 @ 8:09 AM |
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| Wednesday, November 30, 2005 |
| Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Even in writing style??? |
I just love to read and read and I read all types of books. Therefore I have read books of male and female authors alike.
Some of the male authors I have read are: John Grisham, Sidney Sheldon, Stephen King and the latest one which I like is Stuart Woods.
From among the female authors, my absolute favorite is Judith McNaught.
So, a few months ago, while I was reading a Stuart Woods book, I noticed that there is really a great difference between a male and a female writer.
1.) Details. Female writers tend to be detail-oriented that the males. Example is, when a female writer describes a room her character went into, the readers get to know what was in the room, the color of the walls up to the design of the chairs or tables or furnitures. While male writers just narrate that their characters went into the room and sat in a red colored sofa. But that red sofa might be a maroon, a bright red or blood red.
2) Dialogues. Yup, I noticed that mostly, in a book by a male writer. There are a lot of spaces on the right side because most of the dialogues are one-liners. While female writers have characters who tend to speak longer and more sentences.
3) Sex Scenes. LOL!! I normally skip sex scenes but with a male writer, I don't need to skip because it's either written in only a few sentences or one paragraph. While female writers describe the scene further and how each character felt while doing it.
4)Indiscriminating Heroes. About who he sleep with - that is. Stuart Woods has a series called the 'Stone Barrington' series and that is the name of the main hero. And I have read quite a few and in each book, he slept with a different woman. It just makes me frown because even though he already suspected the woman in one of the book, he still kept on sleeping with her. Stupid man! While in a woman writer - that never happens. Take Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series for example. For several books, she was with Joe Morelli. (I know, I know, she slept with Ranger in one of the books which I haven't read yet, thank you. I knew about that because I read it somewhere. And I think she has broken up with Joe when she did it).
These are the differences I have noticed so far. I will add more later if I can see/notice some more. |
| posted by sharonje927 @ 3:02 AM |
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| Sunday, September 11, 2005 |
| Why I love to read (and maybe why others dont) |
Why I love to read?
I can say that I love reading ever since when I was small. I started with nursery rhymes and fairy tales which our parents bought us. Then towards sixth grade, I started reading Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley then shifted to Sweet Dreams and Mills and Boon until I eventually settled on those long novels because suddenly the Tempatations and Silhoutte books were too short and shallow for me.
I often wonder why some people don’t like to read when I cannot live without it. I read everyday and I read almost everything. I search the internet to read about things that interest me. I am a member of an online book club and I love going to the site everyday because I also get to read the post and some creative writings by some of the members. If I see a magazine lying around, you should not be surprised if I will pick it up and read.
One day, as I was reading a book, a thought just popped into my mind that might explain the reason why I love reading while others don’t.
As avid reader, I do not see each letter and word as I read them. Rather, I see them jump out pages of the book and flash the scenes before me, making me see everything, and bringing me into the world of the persons I am reading, a world created by the author. It enables me to get a glimpse of what each person was thinking and feeling. At the same time, it gives free reign to my imagination and make the experience all the more worthwhile. It makes me feel like I'm in an adventure each time I read a book.
Meanwhile, I have a little and maybe absurd theory of why some people don’t like to read. Maybe it's because the words are just merely words and letters for them. They do not transform into scenes that will keep them occupied and interested. Reading for them then, is uninteresting and unexciting. It might seem like looking at the numbers in numeric forms – which is indeed boring and unexciting.
I then tried reading "word by word" and not get into the story but I often catch up myself swept away by them. Just like when JM has made us search for one error in WML. It took me a long time to find the error because the words just carry me away. |
| posted by sharonje927 @ 5:57 AM |
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| About Me |
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Name: sharonje927
Home: Kuwait, Originally from, Philippines
About Me: *Might be an angel but also turn red and sprout horns and tail when external forces make me reach my boiling point of 110 degrees C.
*Devour books like a person, who haven't eaten for day, devour food.
*Forced to blog/write my thoughts because they overflow out of the container.
*Can’t live a day without MUSIC; Loves to sing in the privacy of my house and torture my friends and family's eardrum with my singing but has no intention to murder the songs
* “I aim to please…but never a pushover”
*Fret when there is discord around me even petty ones, but knows how to get up and wield a weapon and fight for my stance, beliefs, principles and those I love
*Could deafen strangers with my silence for being shy but could shatter my close friends, comfortable company and family’s eardrums with my chatter
*May be liberal in fashion and views, but still traditional in values
*Thrive in situations where creativity is needed and enjoy the challenge of coming up with new ideas.
See my complete profile
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