Over the years since I discovered romance novels, I would lose myself in the fantasy. Granted I was extremely young. I think I was 12 when I started, I definitely would not recommend someone that young reading them. I realized I would use romance books to escape. The formulaic story, exotic places, and the tension of a man and woman falling in love were stimulating, yet comforting. I ended up taking a break from reading romance books for about 20 years. Probably realizing, to a certain extent that I needed more life experience, being young and impressionable and having only romance to be my only framework for romance was not good. However I don’t feel that I was addicted.
I began to wonder if other people who read them were. In my search I stumbled across a link to an article with this heading:
Romance novels can be as addictive as pornography
The article was written by Kimberly Sayer-Giles, founder and president of LDS Life Coaching, the article cautions, “This seemingly harmless pastime is not as harmless as it seems. She says that she is seeing more and more women who are clinically addicted to romantic books.”
According to the article, the quick fix to this pervasive problem is offered under the heading “Break the Addiction.”
- Commit to stop reading romance books
- Commit to working on your relationship, if you’re in one
- Find a different hobby, or find a new genre of books to enjoy
- Invest in your real life, not fictional characters
So do you agree with this article? What’s been your experience with reading romance books? Are you addicted, or not? Comment and enter to win The Duchess Diaries by Julian Hunter and Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
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I’m so addicted to my romance novels, but at the same time I love to read. I mainly love romance novels for the happy ending. However, I love a good story line.
I don’t agree with the article. With this logic, we should stop all children from reading fairy tales, since it gives them a skewed vision of reality.
Reading is wonderful. It is educational, enlightening, and entertaining, all while being a comparatively inexpensive hobby.
The connotation of “addiction” frequently is negative–a physiological weakness to a particular substance. It seems that’s the focus of the Sayer-Giles article. I agree that almost any positive, taken to extremes, can become a negative.
But also I believe that many folks who refer negatively to reading romance (or mysteries, or fantasy, or general fiction, or any other mainstream genre) are missing the point of the many benefits of reading.
I am completely addicted to romance books. I think if you just find the perfect balance of real life and book life, being addicted to romance books is ok. My husband is a firefighter. So when he goes on calls or is at his fire house, i will be reading.
I just think you need the perfect balance and your addiction is not truly an addiction.
I love to read all types of books. I do not agree with the article.
I do not agree with this article. I believe people just love to get lost in a story over and over again. I am addicted to reading but I also know when I have to put it down. I have found a perfect balance and I believe that is all people have to do.
I don’t think I am addicted. I love to read romance but it doesn’t take over other areas of my life. It is what I do to relax.
I cannot imagine a life without reading. While I have stayed up all night at times to finish a book, I’ve never let reading stop me from doing what needs to be done.
I rarely watch TV these days. In the last few years, I have become obsessed with reading romance books. I don’t leave home without my Kindle or a paperback.
I can be slightly obsessive about any interest I have. Romance books are a slightly new obsession, about 3 years. Before that, it was fantasy YA. I also have other hobbies that I spend a lot of time on. I also make sure that my family and I have plenty of quality time and there is plenty investment there. But I am also very invested in those fictional characters. They are almost a part of me. I won’t give up reading romance books because it would genuinely hurt me. I love my books and I appreciate the authors that have such amazing stories to tell. So I could very well be addicted (I read everyday for at least a few hours) but I am a mulitasker. I need to.
I personally do not agree with this article…there are some valid points but only to a degree…I think sometimes we do compare real life with book life and imagine that the one special person in our life to be like the character but then we know that it is just make believe so we go about with real life…I love the romance novels but I also like other types of books…I think someone is just trying to create a problem where none exsists
I love to read, but I have to say that I love to read romance books. I’ve been called a hopeless romantic since I was in my teens. I do try to read a couple books a week, but not much more than that because I would never get anything accomplished! 🙂
I love to read and I think it’s much healthier for me than many other forms of entertainment, particularly TV. The key is moderation!
I don’t agree with the article. I have been reading romance books for 0ver 50 years—–and I read other genres also.
Hello, My name is Rhiannon and I am a Romance addict! LOL I really am, I cannot go to any store without going down the book aisle and seeing what they’ve got and usually making a purchase or two or more. Its okay though, at least its not hurting me or anyone else. 😉
I don’t think I am addicted, I use it more of an escape from my crazy life, when I need a break from reality. I don’t put the books before my kids or husband, I just use them to relax. I don’t just read romance novels, I read anything that is interesting.
I am “addicted”, proud of it, and almost only read HEA books. If it makes you happy, who cares? 🙂
I’m not sure about this article. I don’t think I’m addictive to romance novels. I love reading romance novels and I love reading other genres too, but romance novels just spike my interests more. I don’t think it’s such a bad thing to stick with only one genre and I don’t think that it would count as being addictive if you choose to read only one type of genre over others.
I love reading, I am a huge fan of histroical romance. I am definately addicted to reading.
I love reading, I’m a reading addict, I basically read different genres BUT when it comes to historical romances the level of addiction reaches its limit but only when with certain writers…..
I am so addicted to romance novels…especially historical romance. I seriously need an intervention 🙂
I get so tired of people trying to come up with things that are wrong with reading romance books. People who read romance novels read them 1st because they love to read and 2nd because they love romance books. So is my husband a detective novel addict? That’s all he reads and he reads every day. It is really all about loving to read and picking what you enjoy most as your type of books to read. If anything I would say I am a reading addict. lol If I am eating a bowl of cereal I read the box as I am eating. If I am sitting at a long red light I am reading the signs all around. I read everything. I also read other kinds of books besides romance. I think it’s great when someone reads, what ever they are reading doesn’t matter.
Oh please. What ever. I think that life coach needs a life and maybe a good romance book to read. I love to read and I love romance books and all of its sub genres. I think of books as a movie in my head. If I have to put it down I simply pause and then resume when I pick it back up. I would say I’m addicted to reading and that I enjoy romance books mostly.
lorimeehan1@aol.com
It’s better than bath salts! I read other genres as well, I wonder if that’s worse…
No, don’t agree and comparing romance reading to pornography – no way. I think romance stories look for the good qualities in men whereas pornography is degrading. Addicted means you cannot stop and that it’s something you should not be doing. I read romance because I enjoy it and it’s not hurting anyone. I also read other kinds of genres so maybe I will admit to being addicted to reading – but then again, that is a good thing. Besides being enjoyable, you learn things. The author of this article sounds like those that put romance reading down because they have a problem!!!
I don’t agree with this. I am addicted to romance and it is my hobby, nothing wrong with that.
oh, I think I very well may be addicted but I’m okay with that, I certainly wouldn’t want to break it, why that would be blasphamy 😉
Interesting article. I don’t think I’m addicted.
I read a similar article in a Christian women’s magazine, and disagree that romance novels are comparable to pornography. I am addicted to romance, as I am to all books (including YA and historical fiction) because I’m addicted to reading. I don’t think my DH should behave like a romance novel hero. I know the difference between reality and fiction.
i am addicted to romance novels but not tht much. It depends on many things. nice covers for both books. Would love to win those.
I also disagree with the article. I am addicted to romance in the fact that romance is about all I ever read. However, I realize it’s not real life, and it’s just a hobby to me. I can read and read, and then not read for months if I want or need to.
I don’t agree! Reading is fun, educational, it gives you a little escape from real life. I’m sure there are some who might think that is how real life is, but for those of us who have read hundreds, and continue to read them knowing our real lives are great, come on! I love romance novels, especially Historical Fiction. I’ve been reading them since I was 15. I’ve read at least 1000, if not more. I know they are not real, but to loose yourself in a fantasy for just a while…sigh! It’s something I will never give up. I LOVE to read!
I agree with the point made above, any positive thing taken to the extreme can be negative. Everyone needs balance. But I am guessing that this article was comparing the average number of books a romance reader reads compared to a reader of another genre. A staggering difference. I am addicted to reading, almost all genres. But I always come back to romance, love the HEA and all the fun it takes to get there.
I love reading romance novels. They are wonderful!
I am addicted. I love listening to audio books when doing household mindless chores. And I just can’t get to sleep without reading a romance!
I am relatively new to romance books, but have been reading for as long as I can remember. I don’t consider myself addicted to one genre over another, but just to reading in general. That being said I am in my Regency Romance phase (prior to this was my Michael Crichton phase. I’m a sucker for a good story!). I read them every free moment I get and have occasionally pulled an all nighter to find out the ending to a story, but they don’t run my life.
As a public service employee who deals with the “real world” everyday, its nice to escape into a fiction book. Ever since I discovered Regency Romance, that has been my focus. But reading, like everything else, needs to be in moderation. If reading is taking you away from your day to day activities and relationships, then you need to cut back. Doesn’t matter if it’s romance or thrillers or graphic novels.
I don’t agree with the article at all. There I nothing wrong with getting emotionally involved in the lives of the characters. The way I see it, if an author can get you to feel so much for the characters they have created in approximately 300 pages, then BRAVO!! That is what they are supposed to do, make them care. I consider it a true success when an author can reduce me to tears. Trust me, after dealing with the general populace on a daily basis and listening to their problems, for me to care so much about a fictional character that I tear up or cry is truly an amazing feat.
Better addiction than most out there. I rather be addicted to books than the pollutants out there for the body. Such articles are always filled with bs. I read romance and I read fantasy. Now and then I will read a horror. But I stick with romance and fantasy.
Reading for me is an escape. When I feel down and depressed I always pick up an author gargaunteed to make me laugh and smile. Sometimes it is better for me to read. Too much idle time on my hands makes me think too much. Keeps stress level down.
I don’t agree with the ideas presented. While my spouse and many others watch TV with its attendant noise and commercials, I feel I’m in a much better place reading mostly romance novels in our library. 🙂
I wouldn’t describe reading romance books as an addiction, but I do love to read and have been reading since I learned how. I consider it a positive, since it has increased my vocabulary, I’ve learned things about the world, history and people that I might not otherwise know, and it has kept me entertained through the good times and the bad.
I enjoy romance novels but I’ve never been “addicted” to them to that extent. I don’t anyone who is. I just know people who love them and enjoy reading them.
Interesting blog post by the way!
I think that woman is simply trying to get some free publicity since anyone with an internet connection can see the sales figures for romances indicates that it is a large number of people reading them. The internet has created a way for anyone to get overnight name recognition so she latched on to something that she thought would do this and it seems to have worked. The fact that it is completely ridiculous since anyone who can’t distinguish fiction from reality needs much more help than what she is advising seems irrelevant.
I’m absolutely addicted to Romance novels because I choose to be. I also read all other genres except horror. But I’m certainly old enough to know fiction from reality. HEA’s could never be harmful to anyone. It’s all about entertainment in a way. I agree with Kim who said we may as well stop kids from reading Fairytales. I totally disagree with the topic.
Carol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com
I am addicted to romance novels and there is nothing wrong with that. I do read all genres, too. I know what’s real and what’s fantasy, which is exactly what romance novel are. They are an escape from real life and believe me, we all need that every once in a while.
While I do read mostly romance, I am not addicted. I do read others types of books occasionally (Bloom by Kelle Hampton – v.g.) and to be addicted means it consumes your life and it does not. LOL.
I read many genres, but romance novels are special. Enjoy reading the hero/heroines journey to happily ever after.
Speaking as someone in a 12 step program, I know I am prone to addictive behaviors around books and reading — compulsive shopping & hoarding, for examples — but I don’t believe that reading romance interferes with my life or impacts me in a negative way. All the time I spend online is far more of a problem!
Interesting deduction on her part. I guess you could consider reading many romance books an addiction, but only if it is preventing you from functioning and facing the realities of life. Who wouldn’t like stories with happy endings? Is someone who reads horror or true crime books going to go out and become a mass murderer? Probably not. Anything to excess is not good for a person in one way or another. In many cases it is a way for them to avoid dealing with the real issues in their lives.
I think for the most part, those who read romance books do it for enjoyment and escape, neither of which is harmful. If they fail to deal with their lives and reality, they have more of a problem than just reading romance.
I’ve been reading romance and general fiction novels since my late teen’s and finally zeroing in on historical romances, to the exclusion of nearly every other genre, in the early 70’s. I will occasionally through in a mystery/suspense/thriller contemporary, but since I’ve discovered there are some historical mystery/suspense books set in the 19th century, I haven’t picked up a contemp.
I don’t think romance novels are harmful, so I don’t know why it would matter if someone were addicted. If reading romance novels prevents someone from eating, drinking, working, or otherwise functioning, I suppose they should seek help. I could quit at any time, but why would I want to?
Historical romance is all that I read, so maybe I am addicted! But I’ve always read a lot. When I was in middle school, the library was just a short walk away from my home. I went there every week and came home with an armful of books. The librarian knew me and would suggest books I might like, or tell me when a new book came in in a series. Back then I read Nancy Drew, the Little House books, mysteries, funny books, classics! Now I read historical romance! It’s a way to relax, and immerse myself in another world without the harsh realities of modern life. I read a book a week. I still go to work every day, keep my house clean and my family fed, pay the bills, do the laundry, and everything else that needs to be done. But at the end of a long day, I can’t wait to read for an hour before bed!