An alien abduction romance with a delightfully unexpected exploration of sexual pleasure. Morgan and Isabeau from Whoa!mance join me to discuss how Strange Love by Ann Aguirre unpacks cultural scripts and encourages generous curiosity. Also: the origin story of the Whoa!mance intro sigh.Show Notes:Shelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.com15 Romance Novel Audiobooks that Combine Swoony Words with Great PerformancesCheck out Shelf Love’s updated website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsGuests: Whoa!mance (Morgan and Isabeau)Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Website | Listen on any podcast app!Book DiscussedStrange Love by Ann AguirreMisc: I mentioned the episode about My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas with Dr. Jayashree KambleTop Whoa!mance episode recommendations for Shelf Love listenersEpisode 92: Discreet Bylines — Behind These Doors by Jude LucensEpisode 91: Summa Cum Laude — Office Hours by Katrina JacksonEpisode 89: Spring Fling with Scarlett Peckham — Part One & Part 2Episode 70: Triage à Trois — Hummingbird by LaVyrle SpencerEpisode 6: Shanna by Kathleen E. WoodiwissEpisode 50: Author Interview — Melonie JohnsonEpisode 48: For the Troops — A Mermaid’s Kiss by Joey W. Hill

Shelf Love: A Romance Novel Book Club

076. Generous Curiosity - Strange Love by Ann Aguirre with Whoa!mance

Jennifer Crusie drops in to talk about Dove Bars, dogs, normative ideals of white middle class baby boomer womanhood, divorce, unconditional love, RWA, and all the good times ahead we've been wondering about.Show Notes:Shelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.com15 Romance Novel Audiobooks that Combine Swoony Words with Great PerformancesCheck out Shelf Love’s updated website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsGuest: Jennifer CrusieArgh Ink Blog | WebsiteShelf Love Episodes mentioned:Episode 002: the episode about Crusie's Oeuvre that started it allEpisode 068: Happily Ever Existential Dread: how the desire for HEA is all about a future we don't have to imagineEpisode 047: Shelf Lovely Jess drops in to talk about how I used Crusie to lure her into my new podcast and she never left (also we talk about Rose Lerner's books and Sunfire romance)Crusie Recommends:Sarina Bowen - The Year We Fell DownRed, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuistonThe Murderbot Diaries - Martha WellsContemporary romance by Mhairi McFarlaneRivers of London Series by Ben AaronovitchErich Fromm - The Art of Loving

075. Jennifer Crusie: Nothing But Good Times Ahead

Dr. Angela Toscano returns to continue our discussion of The Secular Scripture by Northrop Frye and how it's an urtext for understanding the romance genre. You'll definitely want to go listen to part 1, which is episode 73, before listening to this oneIn part 2, we'll be discussing how identity must evolve in romance, the possibility inherent to the romance, and how we can have more critical conversations about problematic things in romance without demanding its eradication - because let's be honest, everything is problematic.Show Notes:Listen to part 1: 073. Structuring Romance: The Secular Scripture pt 1 with Dr. Angela ToscanoShelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.com15 Romance Novel Audiobooks that Combine Swoony Words with Great PerformancesCheck out Shelf Love’s updated website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsRomancelandia Holiday Fairies Gift Drive (2020)Guest: Dr. Angela ToscanoTwitter | Website | JPRS Notes & Queries | Patreon - Romance Lessons from Dr. ToscanoBooks Discussed:The Secular Scripture by Northrop FryeWhat to read next if you like Frye:On Fairy Stories by JRR TolkeinA Natural History of the Romance by Pamela RegisAnatomy of Criticism by Northrop FryeMeditations on Don Quixote by Ortega y GassetTrue Story of the Novel by Margaret DoodyPoetic Diction by Owen BarfieldThe diagram I drew when reading about identity in The Secular ScriptureRomancelandia Holiday Fairies Gift Drive (2020)

074. Ma'am, this is Problematic: The Secular Scripture pt 2 with Dr. Angela Toscano

Dr. Angela Toscano, a romance scholar, writer, and researcher joins Shelf Love to discuss literary critic Northrop Frye's 1976 book The Secular Scripture: A study of the structure of romance. Although it's 54 years old and isn't only about romance novels, it has a lot to say that's relevant to the popular romance genre in the year 2020 - and Angela and I call on many examples from more recent books you may be familiar with as well as other examples from pop culture.For example, how is the structure of romance fundamentally different from that of literary, epic works? Why is "mere entertainment" so derided by the academy and what's wrong with the phony infinite? What's the difference between a maze with no plan and a maze, not without a plan? How does romance focus on the polarity between the idyllic world we want and the subterranean world we don't want, but not the life we have? And how does the dog always know?This is part 1 of our conversation. Part 2: out 12/26/20.-Show Notes:Shelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.com15 Romance Novel Audiobooks that Combine Swoony Words with Great PerformancesCheck out Shelf Love’s updated website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsRomancelandia Holiday Fairies Gift Drive (2020)Guest: Dr. Angela ToscanoTwitter | Website | JPRS Notes & QueriesBooks Discussed:The Secular Scripture by Northrop FryeThe Hathaways by Lisa KleypasRomancelandia Holiday Fairies Gift Drive (2020)

073. Structuring Romance: The Secular Scripture pt 1 with Dr. Angela Toscano

This episode is about feelings, and romance novels, and hope, and anger, and powerlessness, and the year 2020.Show Notes:Shelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.comRomancelandia Holiday Fairies Gift Drive (2020)Check out Shelf Love’s website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsI mentioned Jayashree Kamble's idea of "the media romance," which she writes about in Making Meaning in Popular Romance Fiction (on sale until 12/31/20 for $20!) She also writes about it in her chapter in the Routledge Research Companion to Popular Romance Fiction "Romance in the Media."Romancelandia Holiday Fairies Gift Drive (2020)Thank you to beta listeners for this episode: Hannah Hearts Romance, Jhen, and Madison

072. I Just Have A Lot of Feelings

The Swoon Awards organizers drop in to share their exciting new romance award for readers. Ari, Amber, Lynell, and Nick were the perfect crew to join me to talk about favorite romances of the year and along the way we explain our own personal criteria for deciding what made the cut.Show Notes:Shelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.comRomancelandia Holiday Fairies Gift Drive (2020)Check out Shelf Love’s updated website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsGuests: The Swoon AwardsWebsite - submit a nomination/vote | TwitterAri: Goodreads ; Twitter | Amber: Blog ; Twitter | Lynell: Blog ; Twitter | Nick: Blog ; TwitterBooks Discussed:Sign up for my email newsletter for the full list with more details!Top Five Reads for 2020:Ari's Top 5See Me After Class by Meghan QuinnCall Me Maybe by Cara BastoneThe Roommate by Rosie DananThe Lineup by Meghan QuinnThe Tip-Off by Rebecca JenshakAmber's Top 5The Roommate by Rosie DananYou Should See Me in My Crown by Leah JohnsonGirl Gone Viral by Alisha RaiTake a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert (episode with Talia Hibbert)Boyfriend Material by Alexis HallLynell's Top 5Office Hours by Katrina Jackson (Katrina Jackson is on Shelf Love's editorial advisory board and a frequent guest)Blind Date with a Book Boyfriend by Lucy Eden (episode about this book!)Ties that Tether by Jane IgharoDirty Hearts by Kenya WrightHow to Catch a Queen by Alyssa ColeNick's Top 5The Widow of Rose House by Diana BillerAccidentally Engaged by Farah HeronSpoiler Alert by Olivia DadeThe Hidden Moon by Jeannie Lin (episode that talks about how love was different in the Tang dynasty)The Psy-Changeling Series by Nalini SinghAndrea's Top 5The Widow of Rose House by Diana BillerHow to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole (episode with Alyssa Cole)Harbor by Rebekah Weatherspoon (episode about Harbor and my favorite episode with Rebekah)The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham (episode about The Rakess, episode where Scarlett was a guest)White Whiskey Bargain by Jodie Slaughter (episode about White Whiskey Bargain, episode where Jodie was a guest)—Support the Holiday Fairies Gift Drive

071. Personal Favorite Romances from 2020 with The Swoonies

Jhen, host of the Monogamish Podcast, drops in to discuss consensual non-monogamy aka polyamory in popular romance. We discuss Harbor by Rebekah Weatherspoon and Neighborly by Katrina Jackson.Show Notes:Shelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.com15 Romance Novel Audiobooks that Combine Swoony Words with Great PerformancesCheck out Shelf Love’s updated website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsGuest: Jhen from MonogamishJhen is a host of Monogamish, a podcast about consensual non-monogamy through the lens of a Black Carribbean lens.Jhen on Twitter | Jhen on Instagram | Listen to MonogamishBooks Discussed:Harbor by Rebekah WeatherspoonNeighborly by Katrina JacksonSupport Romancing the Runoff:Website | Twitter | Instagram

070. Consensual Non-Monogamy in Romance Novels - Shelf Love x Monogamish

Scarlett Peckham, professional writer of alpha heroines, joins me to discuss her problematic favorite trope: house parties! Forced Proximity! Lunch hampers! Bed hopping! Both everything and nothing is riding on who marries whom! And of course, capitalism, imperialism, and labor exploitation. Womp womp - don't worry, they kiss at the end.--Show Notes:Shelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.com15 Romance Novel Audiobooks that Combine Swoony Words with Great PerformancesCheck out Shelf Love’s updated website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsGuest: Scarlett PeckhamWebsite | Twitter | Instagram | The Rakess | The Lord I LeftBook Discussed:What I Did for A Duke by Julie Ann LongSupport Romancing the Runoff:Website | Twitter | InstagramShelf Love Auction ItemsChoose an Episode Topic! | Baby Quilt!Buy Stacy Abrams' Romance novels (Selena Montgomery)Print is backordered, but available digitally right now

069. Scarlett Peckham and the Problematic House Party

Guest: Dr. Danielle Knafo, a clinical psychologist who studies fantasy, perversion, sexuality, and gender. In this episode, we discuss questions like, is it harmful to start reading romance novels too young? Why might someone fantasize about things that are undesirable in real life? What's the deal with sadomasochism? Am I become a joyless hag who's sucking all the fun out of romance novels by trying to critically understand problematic faves? Is the Happily Ever After really just a way for us humans to deal with existential dread?Show Notes:Shelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.comScarily Ever After Recommended ReadingCheck out Shelf Love’s updated website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsGuest: Dr. Danielle KnafoWebsiteBook Discussed:The New Sexual Landscape and Contemporary Psychoanalysis* by Dr. Danielle Knafo and Rocco Lo BoscoSupport Romancing the Runoff:Website | Twitter | InstagramBuy Stacy Abrams' Romance novels (Selena Montgomery)Print is backordered, but available digitally right now

068. Happily Ever Existential Dread

Dr. Maria DeBlassie joins me to discuss three contemporary romance novels that explore everyday, practical magic with Black heroines: Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon, A Taste of Her Own Medicine by Tasha L. Harrison, and Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert. Maria shares her experience as a practitioner of Brujeria, and explains how everyone can manifest some everyday magic.Show Notes:Shelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.comScarily Ever After Recommended ReadingCheck out Shelf Love’s updated website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsCo-Host on this episode: Dr. Maria DeBlassieTwitter | Instagram | Website | Maria on episode 041 of Shelf Love: The Kiss QuotientCheck out (what's basically) part 1 of this conversation: 066. African Diaspora Conjuring Practices in Popular CultureBooks Discussed:Xeni by Rebekah WeatherspoonA Taste of Her Own Medicine by Tasha L. HarrisonTake a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

067. Everyday Black Magic

Dr. Margarita Guillory, associate professor of religion at BU, shares her knowledge about the history of African diaspora conjuring practices, how they are and have been portrayed in popular culture, and how Black millennials and younger generations are practicing witchcraft digitally. Dr. Maria DeBlassie co-hosts. This conversation lays the groundwork for next episode, in which Maria and I build on what we learned from Margarita to discuss Black witches in contemporary romance.--Show Notes:Shelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.comScarily Ever After Recommended ReadingCheck out Shelf Love’s updated website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsGuest: Dr. Margarita GuilloryCV | BU faculty page | The Atlantic article on Black Millennials, Dr. Guillory quotedCo-Host on this episode: Dr. Maria DeBlassieTwitter | Instagram | Website | Maria on episode 041 of Shelf Love: The Kiss QuotientNotes:The Atlantic Article: The Witches of Baltimore Young black women are leaving Christianity and embracing African witchcraft in digital covens.Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition First Edition by Yvonne P. ChireauHoodoo in America by Zora Neale HurstonDr. Anthony Pinn - Terror in TriumphJames Cone, founder of Black Liberation TheologyBlack womanist scholars: Katie Cannon and Emily Townes, Stephanie MitchemAzealia Banks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SOXS9f5UDgPrincess Nokia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUcAPCxrSQsBbyMutha: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/bbymutha-muthaland/American Horror Story - The CovenMarie Laveau: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Laveau

066. African Diaspora Conjuring Practices in Popular Culture

Dr. Eric Selinger is back to discuss Glitterland by Alexis Hall and how it's basically a big old allegory for the romance genre. Eric and I speak authoritatively about books we've never read, and how Glitterland addresses mental health stigma.-Show Notes:Shelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.com58 Romance Novellas For A Quick Hit of HopeCheck out Shelf Love’s updated website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsGuest: Eric SelingerDePaul website | Twitter | Routledge Research Companion to Popular Romance FictionEric also lent his expertise to the Modern Romance Canon episode and spoke about the three waves of romance research in episode 063.Notes:Books we reference (and either have or have not read):Eva Illouz - Consuming the Romantic Utopia: Love and the Cultural Contradictions of CapitalismThe Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco"Elizabeth Lane, reading this as a Christian romance novel": Unfortunately the original links are dead but this is Eric's post writing about his reaction.How to Talk About Books That You Haven't ReadLaura Vivanco - For Love and Money - Chapter 3 is about "Metafiction"CS Lewis - Surprised By Joy, which is about his becoming a ChristianJRR Tolkein - On FairyStories.Episode referenced:Congruence - 051. The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham with Hannah Hearts Romance

065. Glitter Pirates in Glitterland by Alexis Hall

John Jacobson, freelance editor at Carina Press, joins me to trouble the binaries as we unpack a problematic favorite trope: women in pants in historical romance novels.Show Notes:Guest: John JacobsonTwitter | Check out Best Laid Plaids by Ella Stainton | The Immortal City by May PetersonShelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.com58 Romance Novellas For A Quick Hit of HopeCheck out Shelf Love’s updated website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsNotes:Johanna Lindsey - Gentle RogueAmanda Bynes in She's The Man (2005 film)Judith ButlerVirginia Henley - SeducedSusan Faludi's book: BacklashDisclosure (Netflix Documentary)Hélène CixousMallory Jagodzinski - On Bustles and Breeches: Cross Dressing Romance Novel Heroines and the Performance of Gender Ideology."You and I are humans, and there is something complicated between us": Untamed and queering the heterosexual historical romance by Jodi McAlister in the Journal of Popular Romance StudiesRecent projects as editor:Ella Stainton - Best Laid PlaidsThe Immortal City by May Peterson

064. Women in Pants: Unpacking Problematic Faves

Romance scholar Eric Selinger explores different questions that have been asked about popular romance (not enough), how romance research has come in waves (three, to be precise), and asks "how can I make this romance more interesting?" (you always can).Show Notes:Shelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.com58 Romance Novellas For A Quick Hit of HopeCheck out Shelf Love’s updated website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsGuest: Eric SelingerDePaul website | Twitter | Routledge Research Companion to Popular Romance FictionEric also lent his expertise to the Modern Romance Canon episode.Notes:Stephanie Burt Don't Read PoetryMichael Moorcock SFF book by Mark ScrogginsWhat is it Then Between Us: Traditions of Love in American Poetry by Eric SelingerEric's Researching the Romance 2018 Talk: How can I make this more interesting? Also, My Beautiful Enemy!Video with Eric Selinger from the Popular Romance ProjectIASPR Digital Showcase 2020 Conference: View every presentation here!Become a member! I became a member as an "independent scholar" for just $25.

063. The Three Waves of Romance with Eric Selinger

Guest Jayashree Kamble, romance scholar is back to discuss My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas. This novel is a cross between Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and a passing narrative, and layers in discussion of Chinese culture and the history British imperialism. Jayashree explored the Wuxia influence and transculturalism in a paper published in March 2020 in the Journal of Popular Romance Studies.-Show Notes:Shelf Love:Sign up for the email newsletter list | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Email: Andrea@shelflovepodcast.com58 Romance Novellas For A Quick Hit of HopeCheck out Shelf Love’s updated website including the transcript for this episodeShelf Love episodes with transcriptsGuest: Jayashree KambleHumanities Commons | Twitter | Routledge Research Companion to Popular Romance FictionNotes:We discuss Jayashree Kamble's article from JPRS: When Wuxia Met Romance: The Pleasures and Politics of Transculturalism in Sherry Thomas’s My Beautiful EnemyCharacters:MC 1: Ying-Hua aka Ying-Ying aka Catherine Blade.  Stepfather: Da-RenMC 2: LeightonVillain: Lin aka The CentipedeVocabulary - as an American English speaker, I was unfamiliar with some of these pronunciations so providing a bit of a guide based on how I heard Jayashree pronounce things to help you match the spelling of these words to what you heard in the episode. I'm sure I'm missing lots of nuance here, so grain of salt and all that:Wuxia - pronounced "Woo-shya"Qing Dynasty China - pronounced "Ching"Bao and Baoying - pronounced "bah-oh" and "bah-oh-ying"Video with Sherry Thomas from the Popular Romance ProjectAlso Jayashree has videos too!Love Between the Covers DocumentaryIASPR Digital Showcase 2020 Conference: View every presentation here! Several of these discussions that happened just before Jayashree and I spoke are referenced in the episode.Become a member! I became a member as an "independent scholar" for just $25.Thank you to this episode's beta listeners Madison and Kelsey. I appreciate your help!

062. Transculturalism & Wuxia in My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas

On Shelf Love, we discuss romance novels and how they relate to our personal lives, relationships, and the society that we live in. We also play fun games and recommend other books you might like. Guest hosts include romance reviewers, longtime readers, authors, and newbies to the genre.

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Shelf Love: A Romance Novel Book Club

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