Announcing My Resignation

For the record: I have given All About Romance my resignation.  I wish the other three owners – Blythe, Lynn, and Sandy – as well as AAR’s talented staff,  the best.

All About Romance has a great deal of fantastic content and commentary on romance novels to enjoy.  I have spent 8 years contributing to reviews, Special Title Listings, If You Like lists, and, more recently, blog content, but I have been in a reading funk for a good long time now.  I’ve only read a few books since the beginning of the year and can’t seem to work up the enthusiasm to write about anything I’ve read.  My passion lies elsewhere now, so I am retiring from the site.

–AAR Rachel

On behalf of Blythe, Lynn and myself, we were saddened that Rachel felt the time was right for her to resign from AAR.  We would like to thank her for her years of dedication to AAR.  She brought talent, insight, and an unflagging willingness to roll up her sleeves and get the job done.  We will miss her contributions and wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

— Sandy AAR

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Mabel Amendola
Mabel Amendola
Guest
11/27/2011 4:30 pm

Get a dog or cat that can sing opera. It’s always worked for me.

Kari S
Kari S
Guest
04/20/2010 8:36 pm

Rachel, this makes me so sad. Of all the reviewers on the site, you were the one who introduced me to Sharon Shinn, Wen Spencer, and dozens of other books – many not romances! Our tastes just seem to mesh. Hang in there, enjoy your son, and eventually you’ll find the way “”back”” to good books. (If you need any help with finding kids’ books, let me know – one librarian to another!)

Donna Lea Simpson
Donna Lea Simpson
Guest
04/19/2010 10:52 am

Rachel, you will be missed.

SusanS
SusanS
Guest
04/15/2010 4:13 pm

Rachel,
I know how you feel. A few years ago, after 5+ years of reviewing for The Romance Reader I ultimately felt that I had nothing left to say. I will miss your insightful and intelligent reviews.
Susan Scribner

socalgal59
socalgal59
Guest
04/15/2010 2:32 pm

Best of everything to Rachel. And a HUGE thank you to the entire AAR team for all that you do. I come to this website each and every day because I learn something new, gain a different perspective and delight in the sharing among readers, authors and reviewers. Because of AAR, I have read books and authors I didn’t even know existed. I appreciate the passion of everyone who is affiliated with AAR. Like the HEA of romance books, I can count on honest opinions and a love of books whenever I log into this website. Thank you…thank you to everyone affiliated with AAR. You make a positive contribution to my life and to all of us who are looking for respite from our daily routine.

Tracy Grant
Tracy Grant
Guest
04/14/2010 11:03 pm

Best wishes Rachel! I’ve loved reading your reviews, columns, and posts, and I so enjoyed the thoughtful interview you did with me. You will indeed be missed!

mingqi
mingqi
Guest
04/14/2010 8:49 pm

Thank you for all your contributions to this site and to my enjoyment of the romance genre. I wish you the best on your other interests! I can understand your reading funk. I’ve actually been in a romance funk lately and can’t bring myself to start a new romance novel, though I’m visiting this site daily and learning about all sorts of great books I will want to read one day. I’ve finally started accumulating a TBR pile. It feels wasteful and I feel like I should just start reading them and hopefully things will kick back into gear, but I don’t want to read with that mindset. For now, I will just indulge in my current obsessions.

I am going to miss seeing your name around the site. And I hope you will get out of the reading slump one day and months, a year, 5 years from now….pop in on AAR.

AAR Lynn
AAR Lynn
Guest
04/14/2010 7:05 pm

@Laurie – Thanks! Hope all is well in your neck of the woods, too.

I was very sad to get your news about resigning, Rachel, and as Sandy said, I’ll miss everything you did here. Wishing you well and many good books ahead!

Janine (LFL)
Janine (LFL)
Guest
04/14/2010 6:56 pm

Rachel, although I understand how tough reading slumps can be on a reviewer, I will miss your reviews very much. Your reading tastes were diverse and your reviews thoughtful and perceptive. I also discovered some terrific books thanks to them!

I wish you all the best and hope that you will return to book reviewing someday.

Colleen Gleason/Joss Ware
Colleen Gleason/Joss Ware
Guest
04/14/2010 4:41 pm

Good luck, Rachel! Maybe I’ll meet you in person someday…especially since we’re both Michiganders!

Danielle D
Danielle D
Guest
04/14/2010 4:17 pm

Best of Luck Rachel.

kathy
kathy
Guest
04/14/2010 12:16 pm

I second everything Anne W says and then some!

Anne W
Anne W
Guest
04/14/2010 11:16 am

Janet W introduced me to AAR several years ago and I’ve been visiting almost everyday since. Once a diehard romantic suspense reader only, my eyes were opened to a whole new world of reading genres – thanks to AAR and their bloggers. Now I have read well over a thousand books from contemporaries to historicals, futuristics, vampires, westerns, mysteries, classics, and, of course, my first love – romantic suspense. I’ve found numerous new authors who are now my favorites. Seasoned authors and books I missed out on years ago were brought to my attention. AAR has definitely been a source in broadening my reading horizon and I’m very thankful for this site and its contributors.

Rachel, you’ll be missed. I wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Heather AAR
Heather AAR
Guest
04/14/2010 11:08 am

I wish you the best, Rachel.

Tina Schultz
Tina Schultz
Guest
04/14/2010 11:01 am

Hate to hear you are leaving, but good luck in whatever you do! May your reading slump be over soon.

I will still be using the site on a daily basis. This is the best reviewer website out there in my opinion. LOVE IT.

Caryl
Caryl
Guest
04/14/2010 10:31 am

I “”found”” AAR 8 years ago and really enjoy and love this site. Every person’s distinct voice and reading preferences come through so clearly and wonderfully–it is the best the web has to offer and the closest thing to curling up in front of a fire on a rainy night with your friends.

Rachel, I know your life-long love of reading and books will return some day. You well know there is nothing like the wonderful fugue state a good book can put you into, taking you out of yourself and altering space-time (am I a man dreaming I am a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming I am a man?).

In the meantime, take up sword-fighting or macaroni art, something to tickle your funny-bone and get your blood moving!

I’ll miss you and wish you every health and happiness.

Sandy AAR
Sandy AAR
Guest
04/14/2010 10:27 am

Thank you, Laurie. Hope all is well with you.

Janet W
Janet W
Guest
04/14/2010 9:47 am

As I said earlier today on the Book Lovers Message Board, All About Romance has been — and continues to be — one of the pillars of my love affair with romance. And the suggestions in the “”If You Like”” columns filled up my keeper shelves! Thank you for everything you have contributed to AAR over the years.

Wishing you all the best in the future Rachel — someone, somewhere said something to you about your love and knowledge of libraries and their future. My mum is a librarian and libraries are my 2nd home: if you do anything in that field, please tweet about it so I can keep up with your efforts. And, of course, I hope you get your love*of*reading*mojo back :)

MarissaB
MarissaB
Guest
04/14/2010 9:29 am

I’m sorry to see you go, Rachel, but I wish you the best.

Maria
Maria
Guest
04/14/2010 9:13 am

I’m sorry to see Rachel leave and I will also not be visiting this site anymore. I’ve been lurking for years and have gotten some wonderful reading ideas from here and I’m very thankful but sometimes it is best to leave something that may ultimately hurt your spiritual health. Some of my opinions were taken to another site and I was called everything from a twit, to a retard (love how tolerant liberals love to apply this one to anyone who doesn’t agree with them!), to comments that stupid people like me did not deserve to live. Yet these comments, while making me sad did not offend me. In my opinions I did not use any degrading terms towards any of the big majority of posters who did not agree with me and I wouldn’t. I wish everyone the best in life! May God bless each and everyone in this site, owners and visitors, and may his light shine in their life.

Rachel, I do admire you for your courage! I know what happens to us when our lives are transformed by our faith. God bless you and your family and give you strength because our battles will only get worse but the victory has been won.

Lea AAR
Lea AAR
Guest
04/14/2010 8:48 am

For the past five years, when I have thought of “”If You Like”” lists or “”Special Title Listings””, I’ve thought of you Rachel. The past year or two, when I’ve needed a technical guru, you’ve been there for me and I know that side of things has meant a lot of hard work for you. Thanks for it all!

LinnieGayl
LinnieGayl
Guest
04/14/2010 8:23 am

Oh, Rachel, I’m really going to miss you. I wish you nothing but the best.

maggie b.
maggie b.
Guest
04/14/2010 6:53 am

Good bye Rachel! You’ll be missed.

Magdalen
Magdalen
Guest
04/13/2010 8:04 pm

I’m sorry that you’re resigning, Rachel, but I too understand about the reading slump.

I would like to write here what I’ve commented elsewhere: I support Rachel specifically, but also everyone at AAR. This is a happy blog — and I mean that in the highest possible way: I’m happy to come here, I don’t worry about what I’ll read, and I know everyone associated with AAR to have the best intentions and the highest level of integrity. Content is a distant second to maturity in the qualities I look for in a blog.

Bluntly, I don’t need a blog to agree with everything I think, but I don’t want to visit one that expects me to agree with everything the bloggers think.

roseisa
roseisa
Guest
04/13/2010 7:48 pm

Rachel – you will be missed.

8)

Tee
Tee
Guest
04/13/2010 6:59 pm

I understand the slump. I’m in an ongoing one right now that’s getting worse as the days go by. Every now and then, a good book gets into my hands, but it’s not often.

So for whatever reasons you feel you need the time away from the site as part of the staff, I hope you’ll frequent it as a poster. Being a Michiganian, I know you realize the financial pit our state is in, specifically in regard to our libraries. Let’s hope better times are coming in that direction, as well as in other areas. Good luck to you, Rachel, and keep in touch on the boards.

CindyS
CindyS
Guest
04/13/2010 6:28 pm

I will miss working with you Rachel – wishing you all the best!

CindyS

Laurie G
Laurie G
Guest
04/13/2010 6:20 pm

Wishing Blythe, Rachel, Sandy, and Lynn the best.