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!

…Men are from the Hot Wheels aisle, women are from the Barbie aisle. (2005)

Getting a Valentine's gift for your significant other can be as tricky as making a tactical error on The Apprentice. One mistake and you'll be painfully backpedaling for weeks. Thus the question lurks in the minds of men everywhere--what do women want for Valentine's?

As the big day creeps ever nearer, the holiday advertising becomes as inescapable as kudzu. Some advertising features sex, and some features romance. And it all seems to be aimed at men doing the purchasing. For Valentine's is about the myth of men pursuing, not the woman's art of being caught.

But why is it that men are the ones doing the buying? Shouldn't love be a two way street? Not a chance buddy, not a chance. And the toys we played with as children are partially responsible.

One painfully popular guide to male/female relationships is, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Perhaps a more accurate title might be, Men are from the Hot Wheels Aisle, Women are from the Barbie Aisle.

Let's start with a look at how boys are indoctrinated into the world of "Me Macho Tarzan, You Decorative Jane." The "boy aisle" at the local discount retailer is filled with rows of crushing, maiming, crashing, shooting and body-slamming things. With all of this relentless activity, is it any wonder that a sensitive man is as difficult to find as half-price Godiva?

Meanwhile, back in Barbieland, girls are indoctrinated into cleaning, cooking, grooming, and caring for others. With that in mind it's hard to consider the Easy Bake Oven and Snack Center as anything other than a tool of capitalistic sex-role indoctrination. Or, as Barbie might say during a political uprising, "Never mind the barricade, girlfriends; lets just make more cupcakes!"