At the risk of sounding like a “sweet summer child”, I just want to say that both Starbucks closing it’s doors on Tuesday for racial bias training, and ABC deciding to cancel Rosanne, has actually given me a little bit of hope for the future.

By no means do these moves solve the much, MUCH bigger problem that is racism in this country, but the fact that two powerful corporations chose “human decency” over “money, money, money”, at least for a little bit, is huge!

Starbucks closing 8,000 of it’s stores (even if just for a few hours) experienced big profit losses.  ABC canceling what could easily be argued as their most popular network show will have major repercussions, both in terms of finances as well as with overall network viewership.  A year ago, if not a few months ago, the idea of doing either of those things was unheard of!  Closing a vast majority of your chain for “racial bias training”? Canceling a supposed “beloved sitcom” after the person in question has put up an apology?  Seriously, not very long ago, these choices would never have been seen as “options” because the risk of financial loss. And in a country where Capitalism rules with an iron fist, it’s even more absurd to believe it happening.

But…it did.

Starbucks didn’t just close that one Philadelphia store and bring its employees in for training–they realized it was something that needed to happen with ALL of their stores.  ABC didn’t just accept Rosanne’s apology as the band-aid needed to fix a much bigger wound so they could continue to make money off a popular sitcom–they pulled the plug because…we’ve had far too many people say horrendous things about other human beings and face little to no consequences at all.

Now it’s easy to be cynical about all of this and say both companies were doing this for themselves, recognizing they could lose more money in the long run due to law suits, etc., and…you’re not wrong. By no means do I think they’re “perfect”. And of course, sadly, there will be backlash…there always is.

But…for a moment at the very least, the “almighty dollar” took a backseat. For a moment, two companies chose to “do the right thing” at the cost of losing money. And again, as I said before, in a Capitalistic society like ours, that. is. HUGE.

So, at least for a moment, I feel hope for the future. I feel hope that human decency can overrule company greed, and that we are taking another small step toward extinguishing “tolerance” towards racial intolerance

[Season 2]
Branson: *putting up “have you seen Sybil” posters around Downton*
Someone: Oh no! Is Lady Sybil missing?
Branson, wiping away a single tear: No, I just think everyone should see her because she’s gorgeous.

“The Great American Read”

So on Tuesday evening (May 22), PBS is premiering a program called “The Great American Read” where they compiled a list of 100 novels (all works of fiction) and will more or less do a count down to #1, voted by the viewers.

According to PBS, the list was created based on a national survey. You can see the entire list here, and…I’m curious to hear what you think.

First of all, reading, like all forms of art, is conjecture; what one person claims as “the greatest book ever!” another person will claim “this is the worst book” they ever read. So I do tend to take such lists with a grain of salt.  Also, I tend to find books on these lists that typically make such lists as these, not because I think a majority of people love said book, but because people (in my opinion) “feel” said book is *supposed* to be on this list. I’m sure we can all think of at least one book we had to read in high school English that a majority of us couldn’t stand, maybe even the teacher didn’t like it, but it HAD to be in the curriculum because it’s THAT kind of book *cough*CatcherintheRye*cough* so some titles in this list cause me to roll my eyes a little, thinking “of course this was listed”…

However, there are a few other titles where I find myself scratching my head and thinking “wait, really?”

PBS claims these were chosen based on a national survey, but part of me wonders if a book was chosen based on sales figures, because…I’m sorry, but I have a hard time believe a few titles in this list are *that* beloved that they beat out a few others within its genre.

And it should be clear that yes, there is a representation from most genres in popular fiction, it’s not all “mainline literature”, there are some mysteries, some science fiction, some fantasy, some horror, and yes, even some romance.

Although I must be honest and say I’m not pleased with the selection that was made for romance…some books, while romantic, would fall under “classic literature”, two books that are often categorized as “romance” both authors repeatedly claim “are not part of the romance genre”…and one of whom the romance genre wants nothing to do with…and the ONLY book in the list that I would say is an “out and out romance” i.e. you will find this book in the romance section of any bookstore…ugh, really?  THAT one??? (you’ll see what I mean when you look at the list).  The same can also be said for the YA choices.

The only part of this list that I am pleased with are the selections for Children’s Literature.  Although now that I think about it, if PBS were smart, they SHOULD make an entire series where they do a countdown for each GENRE of literature. 100 mysteries, 100 sci-fi, 100 fantasy, 100 horror, 100 YA, 100 children’s lit (you could do multi children’s lit lists, one for chapter and one for picture books) and 100 romance because quite frankly, this genre deserves to be represented by something other than…well, that.

Anyway, curious to hear what others think of the list!

romancingthebookworm:

avonromance:

What are your thoughts? With the demographics of Romance readers expanding past the previous norm/stereotypes left over from the 60′s… what would you like to see more of, what would you like non-romance readers to understand about the genre, or what other obstacles do you think we face as a community?

Thoughts, my romance darlings? 

We all know that the romance still has so far to go in terms of diversity and representation, despite the progress made in recent years. But romance readers are a clever bunch, we can tackle more than one project at a time! What else would you like to see? 

I want to see more fluidity between subgenres (historical fantasy romances, mystery sci-fi romances, paranormal historical romances ), we’ve had some, but I always want more – give me those delicious mixed and mingled plots!

And I want non-romance readers to stop with the HEA-shaming, and understand that there IS no shame in optimism and hope.  

I want to see more romances featuring heroines over the age 30 (*gasp* over the age of 40 too!)–and I would LOVE to read a historical romance where the 30+ heroine isn’t a widow, but an actual 30 or 40+ heroine who has NEVER MARRIED not because she couldn’t but because she chose not to settle for anything less than what she believed was worthy of her (and don’t tell me that’s historically inaccurate)

I would also love to see some historical romances where the the couple *aren’t* aristocrats, but middle/working class and find happiness together, even if it means *gasp* having to WORK on a daily basis

More historical romances set outside of America/UK; we really need to explore historical Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, even Eastern Europe (and no, I don’t mean from a colonial perspective; again, don’t tell me this is “historically inaccurate”)

But the biggest thing I want to see in Romance is for MORE RECOGNITION given to non-white authors when awards season comes around. I feel that we’re getting to the point where the readers (by no means perfect, but I like to think we’re a little more aware than we used to be a few years ago) are much further ahead than the overall organization of RWA.  With so many outstanding WOC authors, it’s a crime that more of them aren’t acknowledged, let alone nominated when these awards are handed out. That needs to change, and the only way for that to happen is for readers to demand it

romancingthebookworm:

thirstaidkitpodcast:

Look, we don’t make the rules. 

But this is a romantic comedy starring Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves, and they’re both grumpy and hot, and not as young as they used to be (THIS IS A GOOD THING), and it’s called Destination Wedding (✈️💐🥂), and so we’re just going to have to be at the cinema on opening night, drool cups within easy reach, and VERY ready to thirst/swoon.

This has been a PSA.

I’m so freaking excited for this movie!

I just want to add to the chorus how excited I am for a romantic comedy in which the heroine isn’t light years younger than the hero as is often the case with Hollywood; and it’s so easy with someone like Keanu Reeves who, let’s be honest, doesn’t look like a man in his mid-50′s, who could easily pass (in my opinion) for someone 10 years younger than he really is, therefore the excuse could be made, if the producers had wanted to, of putting a much younger actress in the role opposite of him). But YES!  More roles for 40+ actresses!  More romcoms featuring 40+ actresses as the romantic lead!  Someone in Hollywood is listening, and we need to make this more of a rule than an exception.  So yes, you better believe come opening weekend, I will be in the theater, fangirling as I munch on my popcorn

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)