I'm a member of several chat groups, and I find them helpful. I learn who is doing interesting stuff, who will be where, and who likes what type of reading--sometimes ad infinitum.

How many adages do we have that speak of differing tastes? We know there are wide variances among people, and yet we spend time and energy trying to make them read what we read. Someone says he doesn't like police procedurals. Immediately there are multiple responses detailing why the police procedural is the foremost form of writing in the world today. Unfortunately, most of the reasons begin with "I." "I find the protagonists fascinating." "I like learning what cops do." "I pick up details that make the stories more realistic."

"I" is a word that only applies to the speaker. "I" can't make "you" like anything simply by telling you why I do.

Recently a post offered advice for when a writer in the romance genre gets the raised eyebrow and the sneered, "I don't read romances." The writer claimed Psychology Today did a study that found that women who read romances have sex 73% more often than those who don't.

Great. I'll bet that will get everyone to drop quantum physics and Alexander McCall Smith and start catching up on their romance reading.

The point is that our reading tastes are a complex mix of our experiences, our personalities, our place in life, and, yes, our prejudices. A plot device that pulls one reader in will make another drop the unfinished book into her donation bag for the next trip to Goodwill. And all the reasons in the world won't change that.

So why do we try? I don't know, but let me tell you what I like about historical mysteries...

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