The Romance Reader, www.theromancereader.com
This Web site has become a staple resource for romance savvy librarians, offering reviews divided by subgenre, author interviews, and special lists. Of particular note is their Readers Helping Readers feature, which allows a reader (or librarian) to post a query about a long-lost book and get help in tracking down the title.
Romance Writers of America, http://rwanational.org
The professional organization for romance writers features many useful items on its Web site. Of particular note is the exhaustive list of new titles published each month and the RITA award archives.
Fiction-L
A general readers’ advisory list, the very active group of subscribers often focuses on the romance genre. Not only a great resource for tracking down a title, the list also offers archives that provide a wealth of booklists relating to romance. To join the list: www.webrary.org/rs/flsubunsub.html. To search the archives: www.webrary.org/rs/FLarchive.html.
RRA-L
An indispensable guide to the romance genre, the Romance Readers Anonymous electronic discussion list has helped readers and librarians find books and understand the genre for fifteen years. Reading the posts, even as a lurker, is a great way to become familiar with the genre as a whole. The moderators shut down the site in August 2007 after many years, and a successor site was created on Yahoo!Groups, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rra-l.
Reference
- Romance Writers Association, “Industry Statistics,” www.storyforu.com/statisticsnew.htm (accessed Aug. 11, 2007).