Morinville Library’s Shelf Indulgence: Breaking the Romance Stigma, One Page at a Time

From left: Library Assistant Julia Bunt and Program Coordinator Jessica Sheppard show off some
of the books to be discussed in the Morinville Community Library’s Romance Book Club. –
Stephen Dafoe Photo
By Stephen Dafoe
The Morinville Community Library hopes those who enjoy romance novels will consider coming
out to the library to discuss the genre at their Shelf Indulgence Book Club, which meets on the
last Friday of the month.
Shelf Indulgence is one of three book clubs the library is involved with and joins the Between
the Covers Book Club, which deals with contemporary and historical fiction, and the Rendez-
Vous Book Club, where Rendez-Vous Club members select the books.
The new book club is designed for readers 18 and older and Library Program Coordinator
Jessica Sheppard, who runs the club with colleague Julia Bunt, are hoping romance lovers will
attend.
“The fun thing about romance is there are so many different sub-genres of romance. There’s
fantasy romance; there’s science fiction, contemporary romance,” Sheppard said. “There’s just
a bunch of different genres, so we kind of wanted to highlight that and get something going for
romance book lovers.”
Sheppard said romance book readers are hesitant to discuss their green of preference due to
the stigma that exists surrounding the genre.
“A lot of people don’t think there is any substance to romance and that it is all just fluff, but
there are actually some really good romance books out there,” Sheppard said. “We just recently
read a book by Emily Henry, and she incorporates something that is called Chick Lit—essentially
women’s fiction with romance. We discussed it. There’s a lot of family dynamics involved in the
book. It was just really fun to have a group of people who really like romance books.”
Sheppard said both she and co-organizer Julia Bunt enjoy romance books and find it nice to get
together with others who enjoy the genre to share that enthusiasm.
The monthly in-person gathering is coupled with a discord server where the group shares
humorous romance-themed memes and videos and offers book recommendations. The group
votes on which book will be read and discussed at upcoming gatherings.
Sheppard said that although the group is predominantly women, men who enjoy romance
books are also welcome.
For more information, visit the Morinville Community Library in person or online at
MorinvilleLibrary.ca.