Manual Margins

Manual Margins

Wrong books and wrong readers

That moral ground dictating what we should or shouldn't read, or what qualifies as "intellectual enough", does not help, and it’s just an escapism from what the romance books are trying to say.

Luisa Bedoya Taborda's avatar
Luisa Bedoya Taborda
Apr 06, 2025
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There is a cool trend now about fantasy books, romance stories and books read by young women (and some men) that “will keep you awake until 2:00 a.m.” and that everyone should read, but instead of cheers, books get all the criticism you'd expect when they review books written by and for women.

The fantasy novel “Onyx Storm” sold 2.7 million copies in its first week of release, making it one of the fastest-selling books of the last 20 years. Along with authors like Sarah J. Maas (37 million books sold) and Jennifer L. Armentrout, Rebecca Yarros is pulling millions away from the screen to read books, and that's pretty amazing. But the books are frowned upon and referred to as

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