Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
They [romance novels] get checked out the most at least in part because they’re short, quick reads. One Harlequin-type romance could be borrowed, read and returned 10 times in the time it takes to read the latest Walter Isaacson or Simon Schama, say.
|
You're speaking of Category Romance, which is only one subgenre of romance novels. Most other romance novels - contemporary, non-category historical, etc - are pretty standard length genre novels. From a quick squiz at the last few I read: 249, 413, 434, 368, 436, 393, 350, 418.
Quote:
|
someone can read 10, 20 romance novels to one academic history. This is one of my issues with libraries in general, that they buy a lot more romance and chicklit than other fiction and serious nonfiction.
|
I'm still not seeing the unfairness. Those category romances are probably about $4-7 also (that's retail; not sure of library package deals), while your academic history is going to cost a fair bit more, for many fewer checkouts. As you say, they're catering for their readers, which is their job description.
I've found my local librarians are very good at ordering books that their patrons request.