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Original poster

To think most women don’t just read Mills & Boon?

60 replies

Electrascoffee · 22/07/2018 17:04

A guy said to me most women read mainly Mills & Boon books.

I thought he was an idiot...

OP posts:
P00ka · 22/07/2018 17:49

What an eejit.
I remember reading contemporary fiction on the train once and a male neighbour said ''what's that, chick lit?'' - Angry

P00ka · 22/07/2018 17:50

Not that contemporary fiction is any kind of challenge but fgs, woman reading, must be ''chick lit''.

Some men are really dragging their knuckles along the ground as they go about their day.

BearsDontDigOnDancing · 22/07/2018 17:52

I have read Mills and Boon, years ago mind you. The library used to have a HUGE Mills and Boon collection when I was a teen.

However I do read 99% romance, be that contemporary, suspense, historical etc.

I do think there is a "stigma" still with saying you read romance.

Chick lit and romance are seen as trashy and not as worthy as other genres.

But I read what I enjoy. I rarely however admit in real life what genre I read, or I will with a self deprecating "oh I read romance".

Even though I am a member of many romance focused groups on goodreads and even have a book review blog.

Still it is like a dirty little secret!

Mrstwiddle · 22/07/2018 17:57

A librarian once told me that mills & boon (and its like) were among the most popular checked out books, so surprisingly, there is definitely an audience out there.

Stephisaur · 22/07/2018 17:58

Tried to read one as a teenager and thought it was a load of drivel. Thought the same about 50 shades when that came out!

I love forensic thrillers and am a big fan of Stephen King too. I like the odd soppy book, but mainly I like something that challenges my mind in some way :)

eddiemairswife · 22/07/2018 18:06

I don't mind what other people read, and I don't judge people by their literary choices.

blueshoes · 22/07/2018 18:11

I am mystified who is borrowing all these M&B books from the library?

HollyGibney · 22/07/2018 18:11

I've never read one in my life. Big fan of Sweet Valley High as a teen though Grin

Applepudding2018 · 22/07/2018 18:15

I recall reading as a teenager and even then I was horrified at the fact that the woman was always young and innocent and that the hero was older, more worldly and he often seemed to kiss her against her will (but she then discovered her delight......)

People will probably tell me I'm wrong here but my understanding of the 'plot' behind 50 shades of grey reminded me of mills and boon with S&M and that was why I just couldn't read it.

thedevilinablackdress · 22/07/2018 18:24

Another one who thinks he's never met an actual woman before.

They are massively popular books though.

Acrasia · 22/07/2018 18:49

I am currently speculating what will be included on this year’s Man Booker longlist, which will be announced on Tuesday. It has been a stellar year for literary fiction.

However, I have been known to read the odd Mills & Boon on occasion. They are a lot more modern than they used to be, with independent women who can look after themselves and men who understand consent. Yes, they could be more diverse, but give it time I am sure they will be.

I don’t really understand why people judge what other people read, but then I am an eclectic reader. A woman I know looks down on thrillers and crime fiction, but will happily watch and enjoy them when they are adapted into films/TV series. I find it really odd.

So he is being unreasonable for think all women read only Mills & Boon. But you are also being unreasonable to think that it is unforgivable for anyone over the age of 14 to read them. People read for escape and sometimes with that escape you want to be guaranteed a happy ending.

TaliZorahVasNormandy · 22/07/2018 18:50

I tried to read one once, it was shit.

ALongHardWinter · 22/07/2018 18:54

I'm a voracious reader,but I have never in all my 54 years read a Mills and Boon novel. Nor do I ever intend to.

GeorgeIII · 22/07/2018 18:54

I wouldn't rise to the bait. Many men that I know don't read books, they only flick through magazines about their hobby. But it doesn't worry me that they're missing out, their choice.

fieryginger · 22/07/2018 18:56

Are they still going? I thought they were a product of the 70's.

GetToFuck · 22/07/2018 18:56

I haven't read one since I was 13 either.

Does he really think ALL OTHER BOOKS are read by men?!

vampirethriller · 22/07/2018 19:06

Never read one.

Original poster
Electrascoffee · 22/07/2018 19:15

Romance is just so boring.

OP posts:
bridgetreilly · 22/07/2018 19:21

The books aren't even written by one author at a time!

I'm not sure what you mean by that but I can absolutely assure you that all Mills and Boon books are written by individual authors. I know quite a lot of them.

Of course women read other books, and lots of women don't read M&B or romance and that is perfectly fine. I would like to point that quite a lot of women, however, do read M&B and we are here too and don't need other people looking down at us sniffily for our reading choices.

BearsDontDigOnDancing · 22/07/2018 19:25

You cannot write off a whole entire genre as boring.

I have read some awful books in my time, and I have read some brilliant books. Same as with any genre I suppose. There is good and bad.

bridgetreilly · 22/07/2018 19:26

Romance is just so boring.
Whereas I tend to think that romance is like other books with all the boring bits taken out. Romance is about people and relationships, and I find that endlessly fascinating.

Are they still going? I thought they were a product of the 70's.
Yes, going strong. Recently celebrated their 110th anniversary in publishing. They are now owned by Harlequin, a Canadian publishing company, and their books are sold worldwide, translated into many languages, and hugely successful.

For everyone apparently mystified by this, I should point out that romance (not just category romance like M&B, but including it) counts for approximately half the publishing industry turnover. So you may not read them and that is fine, but I bet you know someone who does.

Original poster
Electrascoffee · 22/07/2018 19:27

I'm not looking down at anyone - if you like romance that's fine I just find it boring. But maybe I have read the wrong books.

OP posts:
LavendarGreen · 22/07/2018 19:43

Daft remark. No-one I know reads them anymore.

LavendarGreen · 22/07/2018 19:44

He is just a sexist dinosaur.

hattiebugatti · 22/07/2018 19:44

Like the OP, I don't look down on anyone who reads m & b, but I have to say I don't know anyone who has read a mills & boon novel since 1980, and even then the women who read them were at least 60. (Not being ageist, honestly, I am just saying that it was always 60+ people who read them.)

I don't like m & b, or romance novels at all in general, and prefer a good horror, a psychological thriller, or a crime novel. I do also like some young adult fiction (like The 100, and Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and even Twilight.) Also, I occasionally like to read a children's book I enjoyed in childhood...

I don't like chick-lit, but do like chick flicks weirdly... (in addition to horrors, thrillers, comedies, sci-fi, crime drama, and action films.)

Others things I love are planes, trains, and cars, and books on history, from as recent as the last decade, way back to prehistoric times. I also have a big fascination with science, and physics, and nature.

Bet the guy the OP was on about would not be able to conduct a conversation with me. I would be too much for him. Far too well-read, and intelligent.. Grin (Like the vast majority of the women on here.)