I’m A Pop Culture Human, Standing Next to Drew Barrymore

Posted December 29, 2009 to Digital, Media Appearances

Linda Holmes, mastermind of the NPR blog Monkey See, has named me among her Top 10 Favorite Pop-Culture Humans of 2009. I don’t think there is a better compliment than “pop culture human.” Even better? I’m #8 between Drew Barrymore and Ben Folds. Sweet Holy Crap.

8. SB Sarah. One of the founders, and seemingly the current primary blogger, at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, Sarah Wendell is fearless and opinionated and puts her chin out every day to do one of the toughest jobs a lady can assign herself, which is to challenge people’s preconceptions and prejudices about culture. In Sarah’s case, she writes thoughtfully and hilariously about romance novels, dumping on the worst cliches and celebrating the writers who find ways to make a difficult genre interesting.

She’s also become very knowledgeable about e-books (which are perfect for romance readers), and wrote wisely and well about the new FTC guidelines for bloggers. Nothing warms my heart like a stereotype-buster, and nobody busts the stereotype that women who read romances are dumb, unthinking, or anti-feminist quite like Sarah.

I have fainted with the power of the compliment above. Gracefully, of course, and my skirt didn’t fly up and reveal my shapely ankles or anything. HOLY CRAP. Thank you, ma’am.

Tags: awesomesauce, blog, npr, pop culture

I get to use the word “douchebag” at HuffPo

Posted December 08, 2009 to Digital, Media Appearances

Huffington Post invited me to submit a rebuttal to that I mentioned in passing late last week. Mr. Elsner took a stack of romances from the library, read them, and pronounced the entire genre as absolute crap.

My response is now up over at Huffington Post’s book section: An excerpt:

In response, I refer to that book he holds in such high regard, “Pride and Prejudice”, by Jane Austen:

“You have insulted me in every possible method. You can now have nothing farther to say.”

A shabby, patched-up survey of books with no curation involved, let alone curiosity, does not an expert make. I invoke Smart Bitch Law #1: Thou shalt not diss the reading material of another person merely to elevate one’s own. By doing so, thou art passing the buck, and verily thou art being a douchebag.

I worked on this entry for days – and am very pleased that folks seem to like it.

Check It Out!

I was a guest on The Gayle King show on October 10, talking about Everything I Know About Love, I Learned from Romance Novels. Here’s a 1:10 clip from the show where I highlight the top two lessons learned from reading romance novels. I received a TON of compliments about my necklace and my shoes [...]

Appearances

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