# Amish Romance Books-Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 11, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056 "2010-05-11T15:47:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![skearton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@skearton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skearton)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/21 "2010-05-12T13:30:12Z")
"And I gripped his member like the handle of a butter churn… " I am from Licking County, Ohio. It’s not uncommon to find manure on the roads in these parts… even more so for the Holmes County resident. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/22 "2010-05-12T16:25:42Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > Rumspringa (literally, “running around”) is the name of the time when the kids are allowed to run wild. Bundling originated either in the British Isles or in the Netherlands, although I have it on good authority that it was practiced in some areas of Scotland up into the early 60s (and may still be, for all I know). I believe that it was practiced in Iceland aswell. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/23 "2010-05-12T18:11:59Z")
“Christian” romance, which is just as chaste but without the bonnets, is a fairly large segment of the romance novel market, which itself accounts for more than 50% of all fiction sold. Why do they exist? Because interest in stories of love did not arise with the advent of electricity or the car. Why shouldn’t the Amish want to read love stories? [78 million Americans read at least 1 romance novel in 2008. 90% of readers were women. Almost 8% of the books published were “Inspirational” AKA Christian romance novels](http://www.rwanational.org/cs/the_romance_genre/romance_literature_statistics/industry_statistics) That means about 50% of all American women read a romance novel in 2008, based on current total US population of 309 million, females being just slightly over half. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/24 "2010-05-12T18:34:55Z")
Why do Amish romances always have to feature two mennonite? ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/25 "2010-05-12T18:36:51Z")
Those of you not in the world of books and publishing might not know that romance novels cover a wide spectrum of romantic attachments from make a hedonist blush graphic descriptions of the big nasty to chaste Christian love where any description of fornication would be veiled in G-rated euphemisms and never occur outside the bonds of marriage. The people who read them take great care to select their reading from the specific sub-niche that appeals to their lifestyles. A woman at a library I used to work at checked them out by the grocery bag full, and she could spend an hour going over the romance novel spindles to make sure her selections were just right for her. I don’t pretend to understand the allure of the genre. I just check 'em out and good day, ma’am. I’m not sure that the Amish romances are meant for the Amish, necessarily. The appeal would be wholesome Christian attitudes combined with a back to nature simplicity set in a somewhat exotic culture. ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/26 "2010-05-12T18:39:37Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > “Christian” romance, which is just as chaste but without the bonnets, is a fairly large segment of the romance novel market, which itself accounts for more than 50% of all fiction sold. > > Why do they exist? Because interest in stories of love did not arise with the advent of electricity or the car. Why shouldn’t the Amish want to read love stories? [78 million Americans read at least 1 romance novel in 2008. 90% of readers were women. Almost 8% of the books published were “Inspirational” AKA Christian romance novels](http://www.rwanational.org/cs/the_romance_genre/romance_literature_statistics/industry_statistics) That means about 50% of all American women read a romance novel in 2008, based on current total US population of 309 million, females being just slightly over half. I don’t dispute the popularity of romance novels at all, but I would be mighty surprised to find that Amish women are the ones reading the Amish-themed romance novels. I sometimes shop at Amish general stores (not the touristy ones, but the ones where Amish people actually shop), and I don’t think I’ve ever seen an Amish-themed romance novel in the book section. I’ll have to check next time I go back, though. Part of what makes romance novels work for people are the exotic settings. It’s why there are so many set in history rather than the present day. The Amish probably don’t get too jazzed reading about buggies, since that’s just life. And since fictional accounts of Amish people are often less than stunningly accurate. Or, what **Arrendajo** just said, slightly more quickly. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/27 "2010-05-12T18:46:34Z")
Yeah, I don’t think the Amish romance novels are marketed toward the Amish, either. They don’t do a whole lot of shopping at the places where these things are sold, which are generally tourist traps like the windmill-shaped diner (a particularly egregious misreading of “Pennsylvania Dutch”) out in the county or giant smorgasbords near the outlets. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/28 "2010-05-12T19:14:49Z")
There’s a [woman](http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/2010/05/11/emma_the_amish_model/index.html) out there doing nude modeling who claims to have been raised Amish, but that she left during rumspringa. She was apparently the #1 hot Google search earlier this week, implying that there’s some more prurient interest in the Amish as well. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/29 "2010-05-13T01:44:37Z")
I have heard the Amish Gay bars have 2 for 1 Bacardi Rum Springa’s on Saturday afternoons. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/30 "2010-05-13T02:17:08Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > She was apparently the #1 hot Google search earlier this week, implying that there’s some more prurient interest in the Amish as well. Germanic religous zealots and sex, what could possibly go wrong? ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/31 "2010-05-13T02:41:38Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > The going wild is called something like ‘rumpspringer’ and the board between the promised couples is called ‘bundling’. > > I say Amish romances are cropping up as a sort of new novelty - readers may be amazed, reading about life in a restrictive, strict society. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/32 "2010-05-13T02:50:25Z")
There has to be some Amish Berzerkers und Ihrer Schnecke. I mean these are the Swisss… real mountainmen. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/33 "2010-05-13T03:31:39Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > There has to be some Amish Berzerkers und Ihrer Schnecke. I mean these are the Swisss… real mountainmen. I mean, His Holy Father, The Holy See has a Swiss Hit Squad and Guard at Arms. Amish isn’t far removed. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/34 "2010-05-13T03:36:26Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > I mean, His Holy Father, The Holy See has a Swiss Hit Squad and Guard at Arms. Amish isn’t far removed. They don’t dress anywhere NEAR as snazzy, though. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/35 "2010-05-13T04:14:40Z")
Technically the Blues Brother’s Suits or the Men In Black Suits are up to code. Minus the fancy buttons… ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/36 "2010-05-13T04:57:08Z")
You laugh… but if the Amish Mafia is at your doorstep, you better excercise the Golden Rule. Cheese, they make some of the best. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/37 "2010-05-13T12:17:44Z")
> [@skearton](#): > > "And I gripped his member like the handle of a butter churn… " > > I am from Licking County, Ohio. It’s not uncommon to find manure on the roads in these parts… even more so for the Holmes County resident. 😛 So you’ve got one county named after a sexual proclivity and another named after a porn star then? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/38 "2010-05-13T16:24:32Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > Amish Romance Books-Why? Because sometimes you’ve got to party like it’s 1699. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/39 "2010-05-13T16:35:57Z")
Yeah, I love the centerfold in Amish Life.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056/40 "2010-05-13T16:49:30Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Because sometimes you’ve got to party like it’s 1699. Please report to the front office for your beating. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amish-romance-books-why/539056.md?page=3)