Happy Friday, folks!
Yesterday on my twitter account (@RHelmsBooks in case you’re interested), I asked my followers this question: Do you guys like books that make you sob? Or do you avoid tear-jerkers?
I didn’t answer the question myself because I wanted to hear what others said, but I figured I’d discuss that topic on here today.
My answer? Yes and no. How’s that for wishy-washy? 
Sometimes I’m in the mood for an ugly cry, lol. You know, the kind where you do those big, hiccuping gasps for breath and your eyes swell up and it looks like you punched yourself in the face about twenty-five times. There’s something cathartic about getting that out of me, purging all of those emotions in one dramatic blow-out.
It’s why I watch the movie Love, Actually all the dang time. Dude, there’s that proposal scene at the end with Colin Firth, and then the woman learned English because she loves him too, and it’s sooooo romantic…*choking up*. Um, anyway. You get what I mean.
Generally though, when I read a book or peek through submissions, I’m not auto-seeking one that tears me up inside. The times I’ve acquired tear-jerkers for Carina Press (one that comes to mind is WHAT BINDS US by Larry Benjamin–hoo boy, did I blubber when reading the submission, lol) have usually been when the tears snuck up on me out of nowhere. I’m reading along, the story is getting emotional and intense, I find my chest starting to tighten and my eyes burn…and then I’m sobbing in front of my computer, and my husband is bringing me a big glass of wine because HE TOTALLY KNOWS.
So while I may not seek out heart-breaking stories, I always appreciate them when they hit my desk, or when I’m cuddling up on a couch and squeezing in some personal reading. I find I enjoy them more when it’s not all doom-and-gloom, but tempered with moments of levity. That breath allows me to gather myself and relieve the intensity for a bit before we dive back into the Emotion Ocean.
Yeah, I went there. lol
What about you? Do you like to cry when reading? If so, what are your favorite tear-jerkers?
~ Editor Rhonda
Oh my word, I both love and hate tearjerkers. One writer who gets me dehydrated from sobbing every time is Amy Lane, and yet, I keep buying her books, sobbing my eyes out, cussing at my kindle, and then doing it over and over again because I love her characters and her stories, even if I feel gutted afterwards. Catharsis through fiction!
The last tear-jerker I read was Me Before You. I sobbed and it stuck with me for a while. Another tear-jerker I always remember is My Sister’s Keeper. But, for the most part, I prefer to escape into a ‘happy’ story that makes me think or smile, or both.
I like to cry when reading a book, too. But it takes A LOT to get me there. Or a certain type of tragedy (pretty much anything with kids). The last book I cried with was the Hunger Games.
The only books that I really loved (even though they depressed me) that could be described as tear-jerkers were 100 Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. It’s partially a lack of exposure, though — I guess I have to be in the right mindset to read those types of books. Larry’s stuff is beautiful, and I love what I’ve read… but I had to put down What Binds Us halfway through. I could tell that one was gonna hurt.
Oh, Shawn…you have to keep reading. For me!!
As I said on Twitter, it takes a LOT to make me cry, and they tend to be happy tears more than sad ones. Tear-jerker moments most often come with things that touch me on a very personal level. Rick R. Reed’s AIDS-era M/M romance “Caregiver” did that to me several times. *sniffles*
I love tearjerkers, but I don’t go looking for them. I don’t like books that seem written specifically for the purpose of making me cry. Feels like a cheap trick and some authors over use it. Honestly? I rarely see the point in writing something depressing unless there is a message of hope buried in there somewhere. A really loud message to make up for the boxes of tissues I used along the way.
I can’t remember the last book that made me cry, but when I do need one of those ugly sobs, I usually pick a movie. Love, Actually is a great one!
So I totally have gained a reputation for making readers cry (I got an email just this morning)and at this point I probably need to send Rhonda a case of Kleenex.
I cry a lot in general. I cried a river as I was writing What Binds Us, but I find I cry when I read other books–it’s how I know the writer got it right–they made me feel. So generally if I laugh or cry, it’s not a bad experience for me it just means the story/character seemed real.
I cry at movies, too. And during election results. Maybe I need to keep that case of Kleenex for myself…
Kristan Higgins and Susan Elizabeth Phillips are good at making me both laugh and cry.
Bless those husbands and life mates of all flavors, that don’t much understand their book lover’s attraction to intense books of all kinds but especially tear-jerkers. Since I’m inevitably drawn to the books that make me cry, he makes sure I have a drink and tissue, and best of all he has quit asking the age old question, “why do you read it if it makes you feel so miserable?”
I’m drawn most to the tear jerker’s intensity because the author must be truely gifted to make the reader care that much about the characters. Those are the gems that constantly pull me back to the book bin searching for the one that will bring me back to slogging through tissues amd trying very, very hard to cry quietly .