The Reluctant Romantic

Kim Kovacs, BookBrowse reviewer

I'm a hard-as-nails network administrator for a large company, and as such I strive to present a certain image - logical, unemotional, impersonal (yes, Star Trek's Mr. Spock is my hero). Much of my reading reflects this about me. I love high-tech science fiction novels like Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon and William Gibson's Neuromancer. I'm also a fan of well-written (and well-reasoned) mysteries and thrillers, finding myself easily immersed in their order and logic. I can often be seen at lunch perusing a technical manual just for the fun of it (really).

And yet...

I've unexpectedly found buried deep inside myself a - gasp! - ROMANTIC! Yikes! What would my techie co-workers think if they only knew?

The first time I became aware of this disturbing characteristic was after having read Diana Gabaldon's Outlander. I just had to get the next book, but was appalled to find it was in the Romance section of my local bookstore. (I still think it should have been in Science Fiction due to its time-travel nature, but that's just me.). The casual observer would have been amused, watching me cruise by the shelf to determine the exact location of the book, and then cruise by a second time - several minutes later - to grab it really fast, almost without looking, before anyone could see me - me - of all people - pick up a book from the dreaded Romance section.

My latest "guilty pleasure" is Stephanie Meyer's The Host.  Once again I was attracted by the underlying science-fictiony plot, but in my heart of hearts I knew what I was getting into. True, it's not a work of fine literature, but it sure was fun and, yes, romantic. Unfortunately, this means I'll probably have to join the hoards of teenage girls and start reading Meyer's Twilight series ... but I'll be sure to disguise the cover to protect my image ... or maybe I'll just wear a mask while reading it on the bus.