# data[].attributes.body
Miss Blabbaholic personally believes that romance has changed greatly over recent years. She believes that in the past romance was fully about the male hero saving the female damsel in distress just in time. She then ends up being eternally grateful and they fall in love and live happily ever after. In current romance there is more feminism. The protagonist now lives a more independent life and their love interest simply adds to their happiness, but isn't the whole cause of it, like it was in the past.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a collaboration of opinions of romance novels and how it has impacted society. It also details how romance novels have affected all types of people throughout history and around the world. It is for all readers and lovers of romance. the purpose of this collage is to highlight the importance of romance in literature throughout history as well as raise up new voices. This is a place to share stories, opinions, and a love for romance novels.

# data[].attributes.headline
What Romance Novels Tell Us about Society and the Changing Role of Women

# data[].attributes.subject
What Romance Novels Tell Us about Society and the Changing Role of Women

# data[].attributes.body
Alison Flood an overview of how the younger generation is getting involved in romance reading and reading in general. This article addresses the new, fun reading community of booktok and how it is a new form of advertising for publishers.

# data[].attributes.body
Use this hashtag on instagram or TikTok to connect with other romance novel readers. Include your favorite book!

# data[].attributes.body
Pagan details the history of romance novels and their past. She starts by highlighting how the genre only had a white female heterosexual protagonist in the past but is different now. She goes through the main books of each era of past romance literature. She mentions Gone With The Wind, The Flame And The Flower, Prisoner of Desire, and Night Song. Each book represents a different time period of literature, starting in the 1920s and going all the way up to the 2000s.

# data[].attributes.body
In this article Stephen Calrick gives a history of the queer community in romance. This gives context to the discrimination that the LGBT community has faced in the past and why their voices should be at the forefront of romance novels now. It also provides information on the influence that the community has had in the romance genre of literature. Carlick describes how history surrounding the queer community is often covered up. He believes that we need queer romance novels to puch the LGBT movement.

# data[].attributes.body
I started reading at a young age when my mom would read me books every night before bed. It started out as books that were just normal and simple books. I loved hearing my mother tell the stories to me over and over even though I knew how they all would end. As I grew up my mom stopped reading to me before bed and that basically stopped my reading at all. Of course, I would read in school when they forced me to but that was basically it. I did not enjoy reading so I never did. I continued to think I hated reading until my friends started to tell me about some of the books they were reading, romance books. This was around the same time that COVID was starting and so was the rise of a new social media trend called booktok. Being home all day and on social media seeing these books interested me, especially one author named Colleen Hoover. The first romance book I read was It Ends With Us. It was a really great book, but not one that really kept my attention constantly. It wasn’t until I read a book called The Soulmate Equation, that I really started to love reading. I had never related to someone when they said that a book was so good that they finished it in one sitting, until I read The Soulmate Equation. I then went on to read other books by Christina Lauren, like The Unhoneymooners, and I continued to love them and read them so quickly.

My mother always loved reading and constantly tried to put her love onto me. I never picked it up until COVID but I think that was because I did not like the books that she was trying to get me to read. She is a big fan of murder mysteries and other mystery genres that I just never had a liking to. I never actually tried to read a murder mystery but I always figured that because I hated horror movies so much that they would have the same effect on me. Since romance isn't really a genre that you read in school I never even thought about it until it was all over social media. AfterI found my specific genre that I loved, reading became something that I actually enjoyed.

Reading has become like a vacation for my mind. I think of it as a way to escape from my current reality and be part of whatever story I am reading. Immersing myself into the lives of the characters has allowed me to relax in situations that I was really stressed about. Reading is like an outlet that will always allow me to think about one simple thing for a while. Once I open the books it is like all my problems start to fade away and I just think about the little problems that the characters have, things like what to wear and what to eat for dinner. Thinking about reading in this way makes it so that I will always view it as an outlet to be stress free and relaxed.

# data[].attributes.body
If I am being honest, reading romance novels was not something I specifically advertised about myself. It has never been a defining trait of my identity. I started reading during the pandemic as a sort of escape from the real world after I ran out of tv shows to watch. My mom and sister are huge readers and for years they had tried to get me to read more. Reading has always been something I've wanted to do but when it came down to actually sitting and reading I just wasn’t interested. I have sort of been a reluctant reader my whole life. I remember specifically in 3rd grade my teacher made us do reading logs and she didn’t think I was reading as much as I should have been. So, she had me take books home from our classroom and bring them back when I was done, sort of like my own personal library. That was honestly a defining moment in my reading journey. For a while after that I loved reading, it just didn’t last. I have gone through many phases in my life when I have read a ton, or have wanted to start reading again but the pandemic is really what set my consistent love for reading into motion.

When we started going back into school during the pandemic, I still was reading a ton. I had the kindle app on my phone and my mom has kindle unlimited so I would literally read before class, during class on my computer, and on my way to the next class. I can’t even explain it, the cheesy happily ever afters that came from these just brought me so much joy. Although I was reading a ton the only person I would really talk about books with is my sister. My romance reading community was small; just me, my sister, and the recommendations I got for books to read from random strangers on youtube and tiktok. It honestly took till senior year to find out that my best friend likes reading romance books as well. I was actually in shock but I’m not sure for what reason since I didn’t tell her I like to read either. Anyways, after I found she likes reading I started lending her my books and we would share our thoughts on the same books. It was so fun! That just showed me how powerful and fun it can be to share a common interest like that and now I’m trying to expand my romance reading community; I am trying to get all my friends to start reading more. Almost all of the books my friends want to read either my sister or I have a physical copy of, we are the library of my friends. More than anything I love book shopping. There is just something about reading the books and not knowing what the pages entail, it is my favorite kind of shopping. Although not the most financially great decision, I like to own copies of the books I read to just be able to look back and reflect on my reading journey. I hope somebody has a house with a library in it and I can look at the shelves and every book can take me back to a different point in my life. As I’ve shared above, books tell stories but they also create amazing memories with friends, family, and just personal growth as well. My reading journey thus far shows a different side of me people don’t often see, a side I want to showcase more moving forward.

# data[].attributes.body
Sara Butera is a student athlete at Suffolk University, playing softball and studying psychology. Her home is in Allentown, New Jersey where her two parents, older brother, and dog live. Her love of novels started around age 15 and hasn't waivered since.

# data[].attributes.body
Julia Mills is a first year student studying Law at Suffolk University from Westborough, Massachusetts. She is a student athlete and plays on the softball team at Suffolk as well. Her home in Westborough is where her mom, dad, and younger sister reside. Her love for reading started at a young age, as her mom was always an avid reader.

# data[].attributes.body
1. Click the plus button in the bottom right corner

2. Type your story

3. Add pictures, videos or links to enhance your story

4. Hit publish at the top right corner of the box

5. Drag your story around the padlet to where ever you see fit

# data[].attributes.body
Helen Hoang is an American Romance novelist. Who has been known for one of her most famous romance novels the Kiss of quotient. In this romance novels she try to include a a widen amount of culture. As a romance novelist helmet tries her best to include multi-culture romance and not just one specific. As we progress in society the way romance is seen has changed. Helen says “Publishers aren’t putting out books by many people of color and they’re giving us limited space at the table,”. As she tries to write Romance novels she try to include diversity and inclusion to everyone and every religion. She doesn't just covet herself for just the steer-typical boy meets girl romance. She include the LGTBQ+ community, she includes different people with different religion and people from all over the world.

# data[].attributes.body
As a kid growing up, I wouldn’t be the most active reader.  I was always interested in getting into it more, but I just never got around it. It until almost two years ago that I got into romance novels has made me connect more to who I am as a person. When I first picked up reading romance novels, I read it with the intentions of a fun literature more a pleasurable reading. But as I have gotten into reading it more it has made me connect with myself more, hence it has taught me a lot. In the sense that romance novels have taught me to how to better connect with my emotions.  For example, the way I see romance novels is to get away from real life. As a way that you put yourself into the character you care about reading about and see their resolution and their struggles and conflicts and how they ever come to it. This sometimes enhances who we are because it might inspire us and motivate us to be better. I like how characters also show the difficulty as to what can present in a relationship and the struggles you go through with yourself with all the emotions you feel. While reading romance novels you get intertwined with a variety of emotions of sadness, happiness, excitement, distraught. But it’s good to feel these emotions because you learn about yourself, and you might feel something that you haven’t felt before, or you didn't think you can feel. Which to the emotional aspect is good because you can later take these emotions and self-reflect with them if you feel them again in a real-life scenario.

Romance novels has also taught me how to better show my emotions and affection towards others around me. For inference it has made me more self-aware on how I act and how I view certain situations, which has lead me to communicate with the people around me better . For example, how to say certain things or explain certain things to certain people. Overall, though romance novels has how to value more my friendship and appreciate the relationships I build with others. It has shown me that in life you can put in any scenario as ironic and non-serious as those sounds. But when you are placed in a scenario you have to have a grasp of your emotions and have control over them so you can have a better understanding of a situation . Having reading romance novels has also connected me with people here from Suffolk . I have met three wonderful females. Who I have over time created a bond with over romance novels and have shared common interests.

# data[].attributes.body
Felianny Deoleo Pichardo is a Suffolk university undergrad student who is majoring in law and minoring in psychology.She comes from Springfield Massachusetts , where parents and her brother lives as well as her cat named Chanel . Her love for reading has started to thrive since two years ago and has impacted her life in an inspiring way .

# data[].attributes.body
Rose Spils is a first year student studying English literature at Suffolk University. Her hometown is Bainbridge Island, Washington where she lives with her mom, dad, and older brother. In her free time she enjoys reading, going to the gym, and hanging out with her dog, Mickey.

# data[].attributes.body
Every night when I was younger my mom would read the Lord of the Rings series to my brother and I. When she couldn’t read the books to us, our dad would tell us stories from his own imagination. The characters in these stories were always the same two kids, a brother and a sister with suspiciously similar names to my brother and I. We begged for these every night because it was exciting, the stories strecthed our imagination. If we were lucky, we got to stay up past our bedtime and read more chapters. When I got older, and had to read my own books, I read Lord of the Rings because it was familiar. When I read it, I remembered my brother's old bunk bed where I slept on the bottom bunk every night because I didn’t like sleeping alone. I remembered my moms voice and how we always begged for her to keep reading or the times when we’d hear stories instead. Reading these books again brought me back to a familiar time in my life that I missed.

With each change in my life, I find myself going back to books from before. In high school, with college coming up sooner than I wanted, I re-read the Harry Potter series. This brought me back to the winter when I spent most of the days inside by the fire, reading. It gave my High School self time to get college out of my mind and instead be next to my fire while it was snowing again.

At whatever time I’m reading a book, the writing intertwines with my own life and imagination at that time. When I re-read books years later, they are different, because I am different, but they still hold the feelings that I attached to them the first time I read them. Since moving to Boston for school, there are times when I want to feel like I’m at home again. I started to re-read books. One book I’ve read since being here is Call me by Your Name by André Aciman. I had read this book a few years ago but found myself coming back to it as a form of comfort. I wanted to return to something familiar and from a time when I was back home. When I read this book in the cold weather and busy city of Boston, I felt like I was at home in the grassy spot by the dock. It was my reading spot for one summer and now those memories are connected to Call me by Your Name.

Re-reading books has helped with the transition to college life, just like it helped at so many other times before. I’m also reading new books here. Milk Fed by Melissa Broder is connected to the comfortable days I spend at my childhood friend's house where we drink London fogs with oat milk and honey and read side-by-side in her bed. When I re-read this book in the future, wherever I am, I will remember Boston, London fogs, and her grandma's house on Waltham street.

# data[].attributes.body
Like the article about book tok by Allison Flood, I discovered booktok during the pandemic and book influencers started to become my favorite people to get recommendations from. The books that were trending on booktok became must reads for me because of the short videos that gave a quick synopsis or aesthetic of the book. My favorite part of booktok is how your for you page really starts to learn what type of books you like. So, if I read one book and liked so many videos about it, I would then see tiktok that said if you like this book then read these. So booktok is really just like a never ending amount of good quality book recommendations. One of my favorite book influencers that I still follow to this day is Steph Bohrer. I first discovered her on tiktok and then proceeded to follow her on youtube and instagram. I really relate to her because we enjoy a lot of the same tropes in books so I always really enjoy her recommendations. Her brand has now transformed into a lifestyle channel with a heavy emphasis on books and I really enjoy that too. Her life is very similar to mine in the type of movies, and music that we like as well as books, which I think is super cool. Although this is just one example of a book influencer, there are so many others that I follow as well. It is just such a fun side of social media that I never discovered until the pandemic happened but I am just so glad I discovered it.

I know for a lot of people in my life, booktok is what got them into reading again. When you see aesthetic videos about a book it is almost like a movie trailer, it draws you right in. This kind of advertising for books is so much more enticing than a simple paragraph on the back of a paragraph. Booktok also doesn’t go making people look for books to read. When you see a video about a book and you end up watching it at the end it's a realization like wow I should read this book. Whereas, if you are finding books by reading the synopsis you need to go looking for a book to read, you need to already have that desire to start reading a book. Overall, booktok has transformed the reading community for everyone. It is the first time I have ever experienced when you can just talk about a book you love and people will want to relate and give recommendations and just talk about reading. It is a welcoming place that doesn't require one to physically have friends that like to read. You are able to make connections with people through tiktok and create new friends that way. It is an easy way to find people with similar interests because what I have learned is a lot of people that like the same books like the same movies, music, etc. Booktok is changing the reading community for the better.

# data[].attributes.body
I think how Helen Hoang is writing her romance novels is a good way to challenge society. Since the way she describes her romance literature she is trying to break the normal adaptation society has for romance novels. Romance novels  have evolved over time for a variety of reasons. When romance novels first came out around the 1800s it was seen as a secretive thing that women  were discouraged from reading . They had to  keep to themselves and not talk about because it was views as an improper perspective for a women . But as society has progressed the development of Romance novels has brought a society together. It made a society from where women had to pass secret notes to talk about a book. To a society where now its feminist movement and it includes all people now . Romance novels just don’t include the traditional dominance  of a male figure but rather now it’s a reflection of love interests that society has progressed into .Referencing how people will think romance novels is only for females and to taking into consideration how romance novels impact different cultures different ways. Helen Hoang  has engaged in her books ,different people such as different religions and different cultures and ethnicity as well as different genders as well. Which is often a hard thing to do because it can be controversial. But I like how inclusive she is because in reality we all experience   love regardless of your gender, your ethnicity or your religion somehow we all still manage to fall in love at one point in our life time. It doesn’t matter where you come from who you are love is love regardless. Everyone is included whether it means your romantically involved with someone else or just yourself. Helen Hoang overall as a author I feel like displays a good way to think about romance . She includes the LGTB community , which is something fairly new in society as romance novels have been developed . She goes about her writing to make sure that everyone is touched and everyone can relate to her writing , regardless of who you are . This approach is good because countries that are still developing and shifting to a more modern or rather a more open approach to romance has .It lets those people who have had the need to feel hidden to feel free and be themselves . It lets people express their love to the people who they are romantically  involved . But it also brings a society together to where regardless of who you are you can relate all back to one thing which is love .

# data[].attributes.body
In this article, Mcgrath talks about how women, the main audience of romance novels, have been portrayed in romance literature throughout history. She explains that how the characters in romance literature used to be a dominant male saviours and submissive women waiting for a husband. She describes how this narrative is changing as our society changes. In the 19th century, women were dissuaded from reading romance because of the fear of women owning their sexuality.

# data[].attributes.body
The first friends I met at Suffolk don't think that reading is cool. I’ll tell them I went to the common or to a nearby cafe to read and they give me a strange look. A look that says I’m wasting my time on something boring and inconsequential. A friend from home visited and to take advantage of the nice weather, we went out to read. When we relayed our day spent reading together to some new friends, they thought we were lying. Like it was a lame cover-up for some grand heist we had just pulled. I get it, too, there were points in my life when I thought reading was overhyped, and definitely not cool. Why would I want to sit still and stare at words when I could be out with friends? Especially in college when there is so much happening, it was easy to stop doing the things that used to be part of my everyday routine.

When I first got to Boston it felt like someone had completely tipped my balance. I stopped doing yoga because I didn’t want to freak my roommate out, I stopped reading everyday, and I stopped going to the gym regularly because it started to feel like a chore. All of these things were a part of my everyday life at home. The transition from home to college brought a lot of changes, and although some of them are good—I’m getting used to using public transportation and I appreciate having a kitchen a lot more—I’ve stopped a lot of hobbies that I used to do.

I thought about why I had stopped so many hobbies that I had been doing for so long and realized that here, one thing was missing. I hadn’t found a close community of people who shared the same interests. I don’t mean a whole group of people viciously dedicated to reading or yoga, but one or two close friends to do these activities with. At home, I was always going to the gym with someone, practicing yoga with friends, or reading the same book as someone so we could discuss it. I knew that I had to work to find those communities here too.

It really wasn’t hard to find people with common interests. I just started asking people what they did (duh!) and was able to find my communities. I have a group of people who I can go to the gym with so now I go more often because we motivate each other. I also found a community of readers. Some of the girls in my suite are also avid readers and we were able to bond over that, as well as encourage each other to read. If I went into the common area and saw one of them reading, instead of turning a show on, I would grab my book and read as well. We recommend books to each other or talk about what’s going on in the books we're reading.

Finding these communities at Suffolk has been vital to my well being. When I’m doing something with the support of others, it is inspiring and pushes me to keep doing it. The friends that think reading is weird, are the people who love going out and exploring boston. We are able to bond over this instead. As I go forward, I now have new skills that I didn't know I needed before leaving home. I now know the importance of community.

# data[].attributes.body
I agree with Miss Blabbaholic when she says that literature has greatly changed recently. I think that the days of romance similar to Romeo and Juliet are over and newer more realistic stories are going to take over. Stories where the women are damsels in distress and need the help of a big strong man are no longer as popular. There are now stories about gay couples and couples with an age gap. These are things that were unheard of in the old romance genre but now it is very likely to see this in a book. I believe that the transformation of romance literature is for the better and makes readers feel more included. If an author was to publish a book similar to Romeo and Juliet it would not sell as well as it did years ago. Romeo and Juliet was an amazing play for its time but now the times have changed and it would not be as widely prominent if published today.

One of the most significant shifts in the romance genre has been the increasing emphasis on diversity and representation. Authors are now exploring a broader spectrum of relationships, featuring characters from various ethnicities, sexual orientations, and cultural backgrounds. This departure from the traditional heterosexual narrative has allowed for more authentic and relatable stories, resonating with a wider audience. Readers are no longer confined to a narrow scope of romantic experiences, but instead, they can immerse themselves in narratives that reflect more realistic relationships.

Personally, I like the recent change in romance literature. I have read books like Romeo and Juliet and while older romance books are still good, they do not make me want to continue to read similar types of novels. Modern romance novels are more descriptive and complex than novels that were written years ago. The varying plotlines of modern novels also create a book that caters to more readers than just the middle aged female. Older books had a very standard plotline that most books followed, a woman needs help, the man saves her, and they lived happily ever after. Something like that is just not realistic and readers don’t see that standard in books anymore. There are more plot twists and other aspects that contribute to the relationship in the story. Overall, I believe that the inclusivity that recent romance has been an improvement and the continued growth will be a good thing. Having different types of plot lines be included into modern romance and included at a big scale is beneficial for most readers. Most readers like to relate to characters and with the diverse plotlines the readers are able to do that more easily.

In conclusion, the recent changes in the romance genre of literature reflect a broader societal shift towards inclusivity, authenticity, and a willingness to explore the complexities of relationships. As the genre continues to evolve, readers will likely see more diverse characters, thought-provoking themes, and innovative storytelling that pushes the boundaries of traditional romance conventions.

# data[].attributes.headline
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

# data[].attributes.subject
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

# data[].attributes.body
Add your story here and use the #readingiscool

# data[].attributes.body
Reply to people's stories by adding a connecting arrow

Directions:

1. Publish your response

2. Click on the three dots in the right corner of the published section, this will pull up a menu

3. Select "connect to a post"

4. Click on the post you are replying to.

5. All done!

# data[].attributes.body
1. Click the plus button in the bottom right corner

2. Type your story

3. Add pictures, videos or links to enhance your story

4. Hit publish at the top right corner of the box

5. Drag your story around the padlet to where ever you see fit