It’s no surprise that bookish people are some of the most romantic people out there. Sometimes hopelessly so, where we think love conquers all and keep believing in love even if love has hurt us before. I like to think it makes us special — or maybe it’s insanity. Maybe it’s the thousands of romance-filled books we digest every day. Either way, it’s a common experience for us bookish people. Here are three main reasons why the bookish community are romance obsessers!
Books ≠ Reality
Books don’t have to follow the rules of reality. The author can write just about anything (within reason), and it will work. This also goes for romance in books. Anything is possible, from the endless tropes — enemies to lovers, fake dating, etc. — to relationships between different species. Even perfect love can exist, and no one would question it.
Because love usually works out in fiction, it’s difficult to remember that it isn’t always the case in real life. (Especially since we bookish people tend to be introverted and more often buried in books than conversations with others.) It’s easy to forget that love in real life isn’t guaranteed, and that there is no promise of a happy ending. But we keep hoping anyway, wanting a love just like our favorite literary couples, because nothing else is enough.
More Exposure to Romance
Romance is very common in most fiction genres, so most of us are exposed to romance when reading. (Not to mention adaptations, too.) So we’re exposed to more romance than non-bookish people, and we absorb it quickly. We’re also exposed to more kinds of relationships, and it seems like anything is possible if two people just love each other enough.
All of this exposure can be bad since unhealthy literary romances are a dime a dozen, but it can also be really sweet. It may help us realize what a loving relationship can look like, as well as what we want. With so many kinds of love, and so many different kinds of literary couples, it really makes love seem possible for anyone.
Love (Usually) Wins (in Books)
There are so many tropes used in books. We’ve got soulmates, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, meet-cutes, forbidden love, and so many more. In each of these, love nearly always works out — unless it’s a tragic love story, in which case it doesn’t. We watch characters fall in love, get together, struggle together, sometimes break up, and even realize that their first love isn’t their true love. But in the end, the characters get together with their true love, and they’re happy.
Real life doesn’t often happen like this. Reality is messy, and people are — sometimes — awful. However, that doesn’t stop us from trying, or from wanting to find the person who is just right for us. We may have to go through a partner or five to find the one we’re meant to be with. It’s not easy, but true love is — hopefully — worth it.
If our favorite characters can find love, so can we!
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