Romance Readers Social….at the University Hills Library
Bad timing and helping my friend Byron move at the last moment killed this post for Austinist…but if the people in it ever Google themselves, they might see this! Maybe….
Valentine’s Day is a holiday fraught with peril, no matter your particular relationship status. If you’re single, sometimes you spend time fretting about what might happen on Valentine’s Day. If you are already in a relationship, there’s the trauma of worrying if you’ve gotten the right gift for someone, if you’ve made the right restaurant reservation, or exactly how you’re going to manage a smile if you wind up being gifted with ill-fitting lingerie!
The whole holiday is so stressful that sometimes it seems that you’d be better off throwing caution aside and jumping between the covers….of a good book. Especially a good romance!
Luckily, the University Hills branch of the Austin Public Library is presenting the Romance Reader’s Social; on Saturday from 11-1. Located in Northeast Austin, near the intersection of 290/183, this free event is a chance for romance readers to swap books, have some yummy food, and maybe win prizes! There is even a “passionate reading contest” focusing on the vocal performance of “juicy scenes.” We were even promised that the event would have lots of chocolates!
This year the event will have an Asian theme, and the room where it is held will be set up as a bistro, according to Frank Schmitzer, managing librarian of the University Hills branch.
“The two ladies who do it pour their heart and soul into it, ” Schmitzer said. Those two ladies are: Michelle Beebower and Katrina Townsend. Schmitzer said that this event has been held for the last three or four years, and usually attracts between 75 and 100 guests.
On a practical note, the book-swap section of the event will feature books divided into romance genres, like Teen, Chick Lit, and other pertinent divisions. (Personally, we’re hoping this genre breakdown might include time-travel romances, but we might just be swayed by multiple readings of the Outlander
With the real-life holiday often being filled with romantic disappointment, there’s a good chance that if you come looking for romance at this social, that you’ll find it. Even if it’s with that perfect bad-boy who only exists between pages 13 and 342!
