racing the romance

Psst…have you heard? Nascar hearts Harlequin. Pass it on.

Nascar drivers — heroic, adventurous but, to judge from the books anyway, in need of a down-to-earth woman they can count on — are more in the traditional mold, so for booksellers much of the appeal of the new Harlequin series stems less from its novelty than from the power of the Nascar brand, which commands tremendous loyalty among racing fans.

…In these books there is also a good deal more engine-revving, so to speak, than actual clutch-popping or rubber-burning. “Nascar is a family sport,” said Ms. Warren, the author of “Speed Dating,” and so the writers have to abide by certain rules: no crashes, no drugs or alcohol, no sex.

Well, thank goodness.

Speaking of great works of literature... On a recent trip to her local Borders, accompanied by pal Leon Wieseltier (the literary editor of The New Republic), Maureen Dowd was shocked and dismayed by the avalanche of chick lit. She writes:

In the 19th century in America, people often linked the reading of novels with women. Women were creatures of sensibility, and men were creatures of action. But now, Leon suggested, American fiction seems to be undergoing a certain re-feminization.

''These books do not seem particularly demanding in the manner of real novels,'' Leon said. ''And when we're at war and the country is under threat, they seem a little insular. America's reading women could do a lot worse than to put down 'Will Francine Get Her Guy?' and pick up 'The Red Badge of Courage.' ''

Thanks, Maureen, for performing such a valuable service in using your column to give voice to this new problem! I sure had never heard about it anywhere before. And Leon…you are so right. All the men I know are reading Stephen Crane’s classic book (or something equally substantive and pre-approved) in their spare time. That at least some women are not doing the same must be the reason we are all so stupid. And can't locate Iraq on a map.

Also of note and via the NYT:

-- Not only can women now get vaccinated against HPV (and by extension, cervical cancer), but the TV ads promoting it are really pretty great.

-- On the flip side, there’s also a new way of getting cancer, designed specifically for the ladies.

-- You may have heard about the wee controversy over Susan Patron's The Higher Power of Lucky (the children’s book that won this year’s Newbery Medal), but the Times story about it includes a truly fantastic quote. Says teacher and librarian Dana Nilsson of Sunnyside Elementary School in Durango, Colorado: “I don’t want to start an issue about censorship…But you won’t find men’s genitalia in quality literature.”