Reading Like Water

When I first started this blog, I really thought there would be times where I talked about novels. Mainly because they take up such a HUGE part of my life. I became an English major as an undergrad for no other reason than to continue reading profusely and freely. It is not even something I do, it is just a part of who I am. I am a reader. Period. Point blank. End of story. That being said, there are generally only two broad genres of novels I read: Classics, especially 19th & 20th century, and Contemporary Romances. When classics get too heavy, I read romances, when romances become unsatisfactorily superficial, I read classics. It is a pretty solid balance, I feel. That being so, last month I read Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Braddon and this month I moved into the territory of J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood Series. This is why I am here.

Over the past year I have decided that I am very much into paranormal romances as a genre. It started as a seasonal thing. I liked to read paranormal romances around Halloween, Christmas themed romances during the holiday season and so on and so forth. Then I discovered Kresley Cole and became a die hard fan. I really think that woman is the Ace of Spades because she writes well as an author, not just as a romance author. Her stories come full bodied as opposed to being just about sex or just about paranormal activity. Her characters are an excellent balance of strong. yet willing to need others. There is always a story line and she intermixes her story-lines between novels LIKE A CHAMP! I just adore her as an author. And since I am personally SO into Kresley Cole, I figured it was about time to check out the hype about J.R. Ward.

Now, anyone who is ANYone in the romance fiction realm knows about J.R. Ward. She is, essentially, the O.G. paranormal romance writer. Even if you're not into paranormal romances, you have heard of J.R. Ward. She's big. So I started reading her Black Dagger Brotherhood series last week and I was...unimpressed. I find her writing to be a bit cliche and simplistic. Though, much to my amusement, she does through in a word each novel that is more challenging than the average. Yet, somehow, I am still inclined to read the whole series. On the one hand, I really want to see if her writing develops and evolves over the course of the series. On the other hand, I want need to know what happens to each member of the Brotherhood. I don't do well with non-resolutions. (Which makes me question why I insist on watching Independent films.)

The comical aspect is that I have been going through these novels like they are water and I am DEHYDRATED. It's crazy. I pick one up and that is the ONLY thing I want to do until I am finished with it. I don't want to fill out grad school apps, I don't want to text my friends, I don't even want to watch my favorite TV shows. All I want to do is read, change position, read, change room, read. Clearly I needed this kind of lighter reading in my life. I can't remember flying through a book like this since I was reading the Sweet Valley Senior Year series in high school. It is quite strange being well aware that you do not find a novel to be of satisfactory make-up and yet are still possessed with the need devotedly read them all.

Salud!