I was the one who had to put books up for a vote for March, so I went with a theme. Trash with a Capital T. I wanted books that the people I went to college with would look down on. Nora Roberts won out this time, and let me tell you, she is someone who got a good deal of hate back when I was studying Fiction Writing back in the early 2000's.
Now that I have read several books from her both as Nora Roberts and as J.D. Robb, I don't fully understand the hate. I actually don't get it at all. Is she the most amazing word smith to ever grace the printed page? No. Are her books entertaining and engrossing? Yes. In the grand scheme of things I would rather read a book that engages me than something that is intentionally impenetrable because... smart? I don't mean this to sound anti-intellectual. I have read many books that people would consider serious literature and loved them. I also found them engaging and thought-provoking. Beloved by Toni Morrison is a stunningly beautiful, painful book to read. Death Be Not Proud is heartbreaking and raw. Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates was arresting, disturbing and disgusting. Those books, and others like them, left me emotionally drained and mentally beaten.
Here is the thing. I don't always have the emotional or mental capacity to go through the trauma of what those books bring to the table. Sometimes I want to read a book that will not destroy my psyche and leave me a husk of a human being for a week. Sometimes I just want to be entertained. Guess what, it turns out when I got off my literary high horse that Nora Roberts is really fucking entertaining.
Yes, classic literature and thoughtful explorations of the human experience are import, but damn it, after a hard day of dealing with a not great job I would rather dive head first into a Jackie Collins bonkbuster and let me brain just play. I also realized that people looked at my writing the same way. I love horror and smut and camp. I love things that would hide behind a pulpy cover and a lurid pen name. I didn't want to write about how daddy was sick, and who would harvest the corn this year? If you want to write a daring new literary take on Little House on the Prairie go to town. Me? I want to write something where a scarecrow disembowels a horny teenager.
I also love a good romantic thriller. Nora Roberts is very good at writing romantic thrillers, and Birthright sounds pretty dang fun. So far we have a kidnapping, an ancient burial site, legal drama... a little sexual tension. I am there for it. She is an author that loves to play with genre, too. She has done more serious stuff, like one of my personal favorites Shelter in Place, has tipped her toe into horror with the shockingly dark and violent Divine Evil, and has even tried her hand at a few fantasy epics. So, I will gladly admit that I enjoy myself some Nora Roberts, and I am more than happy to share that enjoyment with my fellow book club members this month.
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