I’ve always disagreed with romance readers that their genre gets the least respect of any, because look at the way horror readers and writers get treated. There’s this perception that horror writers must be terrible people to come up with the kinds of stories they do (so many are surprised to find how kind and generous many are, and also how many are teachers), and that the readers are mostly loser teenage boys. Women and girls who like horror get incredulous looks, like, why would they read stuff in a violent genre that frequently portrays them as victims? If you live entirely inside the horror fan community maybe you don’t get these baffled looks and prejudiced opinions about your reading and writing, but maybe, like me, you have to interact with people who don’t get why you would read or write or review this stuff.
I am not solely a horror reader, though. I read a lot of different types of books. I could give you a list of all the genres and topics and styles that I read in but it would be really distracting and isn’t really my point. There is no shame in reading what I want to read. And so when I come across a group of readers and writers in a genre I read mocking another genre (like romance) I’m pretty done with it. I have been reading romance since I was a teenager, long before I was a mother, and I object to having it described as “mommy porn”. Nor am I a fan of the extremely outdated perception of romance being read only by clueless housewives. The horror fiction genre should be so lucky as to get the number of authors published and create the kind of money and level of fandom that romance fiction does.
One reason for the existence of this website was that my husband, Dylan, saw a gap in what libraries offered to readers, and in what librarians knew about horror fiction, and he knew that horror could attract kids and teens to reading who had never shown any interest in picking up a book. Horror can kickstart reluctant readers, and librarians and libraries needed to know that (they still do). Romance can also kickstart readers, though, and just like a love of horror can create a bridge between generations (something you can see in my son even though Dylan is now dead) discovering romance can, too. It’s been a year and a half since my daughter would sit down with me to read aloud, but every night since I introduced her to Marion Chesney, she has begged for me to read “just one more chapter”. Luckily, Chesney wrote around 40 books before switching to writing mysteries as M.C. Beaton.
I’m not defending romance because it doesn’t need defending. The evidence of its success is right out there for the world to see. I don’t defend my choice to read horror because it doesn’t need defending. I can read what I want and it doesn’t matter to me what you think about me reading it. But maybe think about why readers of a genre might think their genre needs defending. It’s because somebody, or a lot of somebodies, tried to shame them or tell them their choices weren’t good enough, or were evidence of a personality flaw, as if what they’re reading makes it okay to mock them. It doesn’t.
You have the right to read the genre book of your choice. And, whether that genre book is horror, mystery, thriller, romance, historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy, dystopian, non-fiction, poetry, or something else, everyone else has the right to read the genre book of their choice as well.
And so as a reminder, I’m sharing again The Genre Reader’s Bill of Rights, which can also be found elsewhere on this site.
The Genre Readers Bill of Rights
- You have the right never to apologize for your reading tastes.
- You have the right to read anything you want.
- You have the right to read anywhere you want… in the bathtub, in the car, in the grocery store, under the porch, or while walking the dog.
- You have the right to read in bed. Under the covers. With a flashlight.
- You have the right to carry books in your baggage at all times.
- You have the right to read in exotic settings.
- You have the right to move your lips when you read.
- You have the right to read the good parts out loud to your nearest and dearest.
- You have the right to refuse to read the good parts out loud to your nearest and dearest.
- You have the right to read and eat at the same time. (This right, however, does not include the right to use food as a bookmark when you are reading library books. Even if it’s the very best potato salad.)
- You have the right to read and make love at the same time. (But– depending on local ordinances and regulations– you may or may not have the right to ask your librarian for suggested books.)
- You have the right to read as many books as you want at the same time.
- You have the right to throw any book on the floor and jump up and down on it (provided that you paid for it first).
- You have the right to ignore the critics at the New York Review of Books.
- More importantly, you have the right to ignore the critics in your immediate family.
- You have the right to stop reading a book whenever you decide it’s not worth the effort, or that you simply don’t like it.
- You have the right to refuse to read any book anyone else picks out for you. Even if it’s a birthday present. (This is associated with your right to refuse to wear any necktie or perfume you receive as a gift.)
- You have the right to skip all the boring parts.
- You have the right to read the last chapter first.
- You have the right to read the last chapter first and then put the book back on the shelf.
- You have the right to refuse to read any book where you don’t like the picture of the author. FINALLY, the Genre Reader’s Miranda Right:
- If you do not have a genre book of your own, a genre book will be provided for you by your public library.
(–The Genre Reader’s Bill of Rights first came to my attention in library school, on the library listserv LM_NET. I printed it, cut it out, and posted it on my dorm room wall. I do not have the name or names of the person who shared it then. While I was not aware of it at the time, after we started the site, it came to my attention that it shares some elements with Daniel Pennac’s Reader’s Bill of Rights.)
LW: Why did you choose to frame Archival Quality as a ghost story? What drew (ha) you to the horror genre? Are you a horror fan? Why or why not? Do you have recommendations for similar material? 
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