Men should read Romantic novels ... if they want to romance women.
I've always thought that, and now more strongly than ever.
And not just because I think that if men could overcome their fear of being 'girly' they might enjoy such books. But because a good romance writer understands the female psyche, and that understanding would be better for male/female relations than a room full of therapists and closet full of Dr. Phils.
There are cultural differences between men and women. But some of it goes beyond that. Some of it is hard wired. A good writer intuitively knows that. The way they express it has a lot to do with what their audience wants. There still is Unisex literature. Then there are the genres, and books aimed at men or women. A well written novel can please both sexes. And you can learn a lot about what the opposite sex wants by reading those books aimed specifically at them.
Read a good old fashioned popular Western novel pitched to men, and you'll find females giving their all for the Hero the moment after they clap eyes on him. Then they clap a whole lot more on him. It's sudden, fast, and fulfilling for both of them. After which , of course, he tips his Stetson, says 'Thankee Ma'am' and rides off into the Sunset, while she waves a damp hanky at him, grateful for having had him, even if just for a little while. (Hello, Bridges of Madison County.)
The James Bond syndrome still thrives in modern suspense novels - those written by men. There you will find brilliant and stunning women so eager to have the Hero that they just can't help themselves. They go all to pieces, or at least, their clothing does. It is brief and tumultuous, but she thinks that's great. There's more and more, and then when he has to move on, she too says a brave good-bye. (If she's still alive.)
Great male sex in these books equals fast, easy sex without consequences.
In Romance fiction, women fall in love at first glance too. But it usually takes a while for the Hero to get his love down the mattress. Once there, it's he who has all the right moves. He's a living, breathing Karma Sutra. He knows what responses to go for, and he gets them. He has patience, style, control and endurance. And afterward, he's the one who can't forget her. What's more, he doesn't have to. We have a match.
Great female sex in romances equals: an expert partner, and lifelong consequences.
I think every women should give her man her favorite Romance novel to read. And then they should discuss it. But all I ever see is in the Romance Section of the bookstore is smirky teenage boys thumbing through romances for the "good parts" and reading them aloud as their girlfriends giggle. If they actually read the "good parts" they'd find a surer way to make the girls smile.
It's all there in the pages of the romance novels, ready to be read by anyone.
Do you have any ideas about how to get more guys to read romance? Then, the 'good parts' would be good for both men and women.
And which books would you recommend?