Laura Beth Stricker
COMM 460
Dr. Johnson
December 3, 2010
College Romance Readers, Perceptions of Love and Romance, and Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Sparks is one of the top best-selling authors of the last several years. Since
1996, when his first book, The Notebook, appeared in bookstores, Sparks’ popularity took off
and hasn’t stopped, even 14 years later. With 15 published books, one memoir, and six movie
adaptations released so far, Sparks is a superstar in the world of fiction.
I am a die-hard Nicholas Sparks fan, having read all the novels many times over. He is
one of those entertaining, intriguing, and well-versed authors, and I find myself wanting to read
his novels over and over. I was convinced when I started my research that there was at least one
or two studies or papers about his influence on women readers/viewers, but to this day, I have
not found one shred of evidence. Though Sparks may not be considered your typical romance
novel author, I know reading his works have altered my perceptions of romance and love, as well
as my expectations of a boyfriend/future husband and an ideal life.
My communication phenomenon will focus on examining real-life perceptions of
romance and love as influenced by romance novel readership. I will ground my research with
Parasocial Relationship Theory. My communication phenomenon is important “because
relationships are an integral part of life and existing evidence indicates some association between
media use and attitudes and expectations about relationships, examination of this issue is
necessary” and “one particular medium that has been given little attention is romance novels”
(Long, 2007, p. 3).
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Few studies have been completed on the relationship between romance novel readership
and readers’ real-life perceptions and thoughts of romance and love, and many scholars have
advocated for further study and insight into this phenomenon. Further research has been
advocated to be completed on the relationship between romance novel readership and
relationship expectations and the differences between types of romantic media (Johnson, 2006).
The purpose of this study will be to examine the real-life perceptions of romance and love of
college-age women in a variety of relationship states, based on readership of the Nicholas Sparks
novels.
Romance Novel Readership Through the Years
The definition of a romance novel has certainly changed throughout the years. Regis
(2003) defines the romance novel as “a work of prose fiction that tells the story of a courtship
and betrothal of one of more heroines” (p. 19). Though Regis’s account is of the history of the
romance novel, so much has changed in the writing and examination of the romance novel,
especially since writing styles and audiences have shifted as the years and media influences have
passed by.
According to Lee (2008), multiple studies have been completed on popular romance
genres and romance novel readership since the 1980s. Groundbreaking research was made by
authors such as Tania Modelski, Janice Radway, and Carol Thurston, among others. Past
interpretations and observations of romance novels and romance genres have included fantasy
lives, escapist thoughts and dreams, and the intriguing contradiction of women being subjected
to a patriarchal culture, male-dominated, versus the women’s empowerment movement.
Studies that have been published more recently have shed light on how the romance
genre has been changing. Up until the early 2000s, the stereotypical romance novel was a
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Harlequin publication or another novel series, classified as romance fiction in libraries and
bookstores. These extremely popular series typically involved a dominant male and submissive
and weak female who lusted for each other, faced obstacles and challenges, and either ended up
betrothed or split apart due to a number of factors, which could range from illness, death, tragic
event, work, or other characters getting involved.
Though these novels are still popular in the present day, romance novelists have adapted
their writing styles to the different generations and ages of women readers. In Gill and
Herdieckerhoff’s (2006) study, they observed that between 1997 and 2004, popular publishing
underwent a transformation of sorts, known as “rewriting contemporary romances” (p. 488).
They stated this phenomenon was sparked with Helen Fielding’s 1996 novel Bridget Jones’s
Diary. It continued to swell with influences of the television series Sex in the City and Desperate
Housewives, causing writers to utilize more sexually explicit titles (i.e. Black Lace) and content.
In addition, publishers created specific marketing strategies to attract a particular demographic of
women: single, urban-dwelling white women in their 20s and 30s (Gill & Herdieckerhoff, 2006).
My study will focus on examining real-life perceptions of romance and love as
influenced by romance novel readership. I will ground my research with Parasocial Relationship
Theory and Uses and Gratifications Theory. I feel my phenomenon is worthy of study because
examining relationships continues to be necessary, as well as more attention needs to be given to
romance novels, as they have multiple undertones, explanations, and examinations that are
valuable to scholarly research. I hope to be able to define some of those undertones and themes
with my study, as well as help further research among scholars with examining the phenomenon
of romance novel readerships and women readers’ real-life perceptions and thoughts about
romance and love. In addition, Nicholas Sparks’ novels are worthy of study because they are
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extremely popular romance novels much like the Harlequins of past generations, and could easily
prove the relationship between readership and women readers’ perceptions of romance and love
in their everyday lives.
Theoretical Grounding
Burnett & Beto (2000) examined and successfully applied Parasocial Relationship
Theory to romance novels. The theory states television viewers form interpersonal relationships,
called parasocial relationships (PSRs), with various kinds of personalities on different kinds of
television shows (Burnett & Beto, 2000). The purpose was to determine whether similar
relationships between romance novel readers and the characters in the novels are formed.
This theory strengthens my understanding on my communication phenomenon because it
examines and explains that there is a proven connection between reading romance novels and
their influence on readers’ real lives and perceptions of love and romance. There are a multitude
of predictors that can and need to be used to adequately evaluate readers and the influences the
Nicholas Sparks’ novels have on their real-life perceptions.
This theory framed my thinking because I was unsure of whether there was a proven
theory that examined romance novel readership and influences on readers. Now that I have some
proof of a connection, it has shaped my thinking into applying this connection to today’s collegeage women and the modern romance of the Nicholas Sparks’ novels.
According to Mass Communication Context: Uses and Gratifications Theory (2001), the
uses and gratifications theory (U&G) was first cited by J. G. Blumler and E. Katz in 1974. The
theory suggests that users actively choose and select their media. For example, music listeners
actively seek out the music they desire or believe it best fulfills their needs.
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This theory “takes a more humanistic approach to looking at media use” (Mass Communication
Context: Uses and Gratifications Theory, 2001), in that there is more than one way that
consumers use media. These consumers have free will and free reign to decide what media they
use, how the use it, and how it could/will affect them.
This theory strengthens my study because U&G gives insight into why media consumers
choose what they consume. This is especially important in looking at college-age women and
how they have chosen to read some, if any, of the Nicholas Sparks’ novels. This free will
approach is important in discovering the perceptions of romance and love among the group of
college-age women I hope to assemble into focus groups. Using U&G will provide great insight
into what novels college-age women choose to read, and possibly lead to discoveries of why they
make these particular choices. Not using U&G in this study would be a great disservice to future
research on Nicholas Sparks, his novels, and choices of college-age women.
Examining Four Main Characteristics of Romance Novels
There were a number of recurring characteristics of romance novels that were intriguing
to my study. These characteristics appeared across multiple studies, where similar, if not
identical results were found by scholars and researchers. In addition, these characteristics also
contributed to the idea of a connection between romance novel readership and the everyday lives
of the women readers.
Romance novels as fairy tales
One of the first major characteristics of studying romance novels was seeing how many
scholars and researchers compared and connected them to classic fairy tales. Lee (2008) states
that romance novels have much in common with traditional fairy tales: “both are highly
formulaic invoke a fantasy realm; focus on the creation of reconciliation of a romantic pair; exist
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in an infinite variation of texts that fall into distinct types; and are often dismissed as being
‘trivial’” (p. 52). Lee (2008) focused on addressing the relationship between the romance genre
and fairy tales, where they specifically looked at parallel structures and how traditional fairy
tales are reworked and eroticized.
Lee (2008) found that fairy tales, similar to romance novels, were intended for adult
audiences, expressing adult concerns. In addition, “They invoke a fictional, fantasy realm and
express a collective fantasy for their audience” (Lee, 2008, p. 56). This means that fairy tales and
romance novels are very similar in that the writing styles create an ideal, adult fantasy for the
adult readers’ real lives. Lee (2008) also identifies publishers who have produced series that are
retellings of traditional fairy tales, including, but not limited to: “Cinderella,” “The Princess and
the Pea,” “Beauty and the Beast,” ‘Sleeping Beauty,” and others.
Romance novels as escapist fantasies
Many scholars have found that women typically read romance novels, above all, to
escape from the real world. Radway (1984) concluded that, for women to read a romance novel,
they had to detach themselves from their roles as wives, mothers, and nurturers in society. In
another study, Radway (1991), readers felt guilty about spending time and money on romance
novels, due to men feeling threatened by the very act of their reading. This implies that men felt
threatened that women were trying to replace them with the male characters of the novels.
Similarly, Burnett & Beto (2000) found not only that romance novels were a form of escape, but
also a way to relax, addressing feelings of loneliness, entertainment, and remedy missing
romance in their real lives. Thus, by this multitude of research, romance novels are perceived as
escapist fantasies, where women can relax, be entertained for a period of time, escape from their
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real lives and the real world, while also potentially using the novels as a tool to fulfill the
absence of a male counterpart or partner in their real lives.
Similar to suppressing feelings of loneliness, women also read the novels to fill the void
of a missing or un-romantic spouse. This creates the notion of escape and/or fantasy, as the novel
supplies the fictional hero as a replacement for the real-life spouse. McQuail, Blumler, and
Brown (as cited in Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1974) found four motivations to consume media:
diversion, personal relationship utility, personal identity establishment, and surveillance.
Diversion is self-explanatory; it is a distraction from the reader’s real life, even if for a brief
period of time. Personal relationship utility, divided into relationship substitution and social
utility, refers to replacing the spouse with the novel, or using the novel to advance in the world of
romance, such as creating the ideal man that woman would like to eventually date or even marry
in the future. Personal identity establishment is identifying the reader with the heroine(s) of the
novels through physical or other characteristics. Surveillance is to examine the real-life spouse or
other figure through the characteristics of the fictional characters of the novels.
Long (2007) indicated escape is the most frequently reported gratification sought from
romance novels. The study goes past mentioning the surface-level “escape,” stating readers most
frequently choose to read romance novels to specifically escape daily problems, relax, forget
about daily stressors, and to get away from others (p. 17). Other readership studies, particularly
Janice Radway’s, indicate that women see romance novels as escapist fantasies.
Romance novels as feminist critique
Modleski (1980; 1982) was a forerunner in analyzing romance novels from a feminist
perspective. She asserts the heroine can only achieve happiness after she nearly sacrifices her
pride, well-being, and nearly her entire life through self-subversion. The reader is also
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encouraged to participate and “actively desire feminine self-betrayal” (p. 435). The female
heroine is seen as sacrificial, giving, non-aggressive, and submissive. Radway (1981, 1984,
1986a, 1986b, 1991, 1995) found the reader identifies with a heroine who is either completely
independent of men or is extremely abused by them. There is also an irony; however, because the
heroine can only be happy when the male comes to protect her, i.e. “damsel in distress”
role/place.
According to Lee (2008), the popularity of the romance novel grew alongside the
feminist movement in the 1970s. Despite harsh criticism from feminist scholars, many women
who consider themselves feminists read or write these novels (Lee, 2008).
However, according to Lee (2008), if conflict in romance novels was shifted from the
quest of a love that conquers all, to a struggle for power through knowledge of the other, it
becomes possible to read these novels also as fantasies of female empowerment. Hart (1999)
found that a heroine’s quest to be a key element of a romance novel: “A love story is certainly
the track for the train in a romance. But it is not the train. It is not the ‘guts’ of the book.
Romances are women’s quest books. At the heart of every story – and a key to defining and
understanding the romance ‘formula’ – is the individual heroine’s quest … She is not only
‘tested’ on this quest, but through the book she will fail, several times, as she stumbled for the
right answers that will help her overcome this problem” (p. 97). Hart’s assertion is another key
point in stating that romance novels can also be a feminist critique or tool for female
empowerment, which has led to changes in patriarchal society, or a male-dominated
society/culture.
Romance novels and changes in patriarchal society
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Many scholars (Radway, 1986b; Christian-Smith, 1987; Crane, 1994) found romance
novels to be patriarchal, therefore silencing female readers. In her study, Radway (1986a)
asserted that readers were beginning to accept the general structure of patriarchy. Crane (1994)
agreed, correlating the novels’ popularity to a return of women deriving happiness through men.
Modelski (1980) found that “novels contribute to the already oppressive nature of society.”
These studies appear to portray romance novels in a fairly negative light due to the acceptance of
societal demands and patriarchy.
However, Radway (1986b) found many readers were outraged when critics said “their
favorite fiction is a masochistic fantasy that reasserts the subordinate status of women” (p. 18).
Women do not want to be told, by anyone, that they cannot read their favorite books because
they are lower than men. Crane (1994) agreed, asserting that women’s lives over the past 20
years had improved, with feminism causing women to adopt masculine traits instead of pursuing
traditional feminine traits. These studies, asserting that women will not stand for patriarchy and
suppression by the opposite sex, have begun to shift a more positive light or outlook on romance
novels and changes for the better of romance readers.
Dubino (1993) analyzed the “Cinderella Complex,” which she found to be connections
between romance fiction popularity and patriarchal capitalism (p. 103). Patriarchal capitalism
can be traced back to Jane Austen and her works such as “Pride and Prejudice” and “Jane Eyre.”
Dubino asserts that “romances seem to respond to a need in women that patriarchal capitalism
fails to address” (Dubino, 1993, p. 107), which is the need to be nurtured, cared for, and receive
the attention and validation that is lacking in their real lives. Despite the brief contradiction,
Dubino (1993) clearly states patriarchy is an overarching theme in romance novels, particularly
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historical ones where the man is completely dominant and the woman helpless in the
relationship.
Influence of romance novels on readers’ lives and perceptions
Thurston (1987) found connections between romance novel material and readers’ lives.
For example, a woman study participant commented she was comparing herself and her dates to
those of the men in the novels. Another woman spoke of how romance novels gave her insight
on how to create a better personal relationship with her boyfriend; through learning how to be
more open and communicating more frequently, like the characters did in the novel during
disagreements.
Additionally, in Johnson’s (2006) paper on romance novels and romantic discourses, she
researched and examined how readers thought of romance novels telling them about love and
how this influenced their understanding of intimate relationships. She then compared readers’
influences with romantic discourses that were instructed to authors for stories, and then how
readers identified them. She found readers were aware and critical of romantic discourses, but
did not incorporate them into their understandings of loving relationships. This is likely due to
the lack of attention romance novel readers are receiving for scholarly studies and examinations.
Groundbreaking research was made with this connection with Burnett & Beto’s (2000)
study of parasocial relationships (PSRs) and romance novel readership, which was previously
mentioned in the Theoretical Grounding. Burnett & Beto (2000) stated that “the possibility that
romance novels can be a source of parasocial relationships has never been studied” (p. 30). They
admitted that romance novels and PSRs would be difficult to study, but nonetheless produce
worthy research on impacts and effects on the women participants (Burnett & Beto, 2000).
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To examine how parasocial relationships impacted the lives of readers, Burnett & Beto
(2000) developed three questions to ask participants. They asked them how their everyday
interactions, conflict, and intimacy have been impacted by reading romance novels.
With the focus groups and interviews of many women romance novel readers, Burnett &
Beto (2000) found strong evidence of the existence of PSRs with romance novels. Women
participants identified that they “would be friends with a lot of the females” and that the men in
romance novels were “approachable … So you’ll want to be their friend or want to be around
them” (Burnett & Beto, 2000, p .33).
Also, according to Burnett & Beto (2000), there were also many potential predictors of
parasocial interaction (PSI) development. These predictors included the character’s
attractiveness, similar attitudes, and general similarity/identity between the novel’s characters
and the women readers.
Burnett & Beto’s (2000) observations were echoed by other studies. Attractiveness of the
character was first discovered by A. Rubin and Perse (1987a) and later, Hoffner (1996). These
three studies discussed editorial guidelines set for romance novel writers, in which they are asked
and/or instructed to create attractive characters in their works, which has great potential to
develop PSRs with readers (Burnett & Beto, 2000, p. 34).
In terms of similarity in attitudes, Burnett & Beto’s (2000) participants reported they
“would be friends with a lot of the females” in romance novels. Turner (1993) stated attitude
similarity would actually be a stronger predictor of a PSR than a character’s appearance or
background. This assimilation can be interpreted to mean that women readers better associate
with characters of romance novels when there are similar ideas expressed between the two
groups (Burnett & Beto, 2000).
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According to Burnett & Beto (2000), women readers also associate with similarity of the
novel’s characters, which can easily lead to the development of a PSR. With their study
participants, Burnett & Beto (2000) found women readers describing their previous or present
romantic partners in real life with similar characteristics or attitudes of the men in the novels. For
example, women readers described their real-life partners as “caring, protective, stubborn,
irritating, honest, and chivalrous, which were similar to romance-novel heroes” (Burnett & Beto,
2000, p. 34).
Finally, Burnett & Beto (2000) found a strong influence of PSRs on the readers’ lives,
where there was a relationship between the romance novels and the women’s everyday
interactions. In addition, handling conflict was similar in the romance novels when compared to
the women’s real lives. Intimacy was also reflected similarly between the novels and the
women’s lives.
Understanding Connections with Nicholas Sparks’ Novels
I believe that studying Nicholas Sparks’ novels is important because his style of writing,
and overall popularity, suggest that he is a modern-day romance novelist. According to Sparks’
official website (About Nicholas, 2010), he gave himself three more chances in the form of three
more novels. If none of the three were published, then he could accept that he wasn’t meant to be
a writer.
He wrote The Notebook over a six-month period between 1994 and 1995, and at the time
was making $40,000 a year. He found an agent, and in October 1995 the book was presented to
publishers. Warner Books bought the rights for a mere sum of $1,000,000 (About Nicholas,
2010). The book was launched in October 1996, and spent an incredible 56 weeks on The New
York Times hardcover best-seller list, and another 54 on the paperback list. According to Sparks’
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official website, The Notebook “was only the third novel in the previous thirty years that had
lasted over a year on the hardcover list, and the only novel to last over a year on both hardcover
and paperback lists, until J.K. Rowling came along with Harry Potter. To this point, it has sold
over 10,000,000 copies worldwide” (About Nicholas, 2010).
With his first romance novel starting off wildly popular, many of his other novels have
followed suit. All of his 15 published novels have spent most of a year or more on The New York
Times best-seller list, both hardcover and paperback. He has gone on a U.S. and Europe book
tour for the majority of his books, and even though many of his novels are several years past
publication, they are still massively popular.
One of Sparks’ signatures is that almost of his novels will guarantee tears from most, if
not all readers. Ogle wrote (2010) Sparks “has his reasons for relentlessly yanking your
heartstrings.” Sparks was quoted in the article saying, “‘In this particular genre, the love-story
genre, the goal is to move the reader through the entire realm of human emotion’” (Ogle, 2010)
while on a book tour for his newest novel, Safe Haven, which was published in September 2010.
Justification for research
My research will expand on the multiple studies completed on romance novel readership
and how it affects women readers. I will expand on the impact of romance novel readership and
its effects on readers’ everyday lives. In addition, I will assess the effects of readership of
Nicholas Sparks’ novels in the lives of college-age women and their perceptions of love and
romance, as Sparks’ work has not yet been studied in terms of romance novel readership.
Research Proposal
I have decided to study romance novel readership focusing specifically on Nicholas
Sparks and readers’ perceptions, due to my own experiences and influenced perceptions of love
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and romance through reading the novels. Many studies have been completed on the effects and
impacts of romance novel readership, its motivations, expectations, and influences. However, no
study has been completed on Sparks’ novels and their influences on readers, if any.
Present research identifies romance novel readership to be a form of escape, as well as
introduces the idea of influenced perception on readers’ everyday lives, but have not exclusively
focused on either college-age women or Sparks’ novels.
Methodology
I will be using a qualitative methodology, due to my interest in studying these women’s
perceptions/ideas/thoughts/communications about romance and love, as well as influences on
their ideas as caused by reading the Nicholas Sparks’ novels. By studying the Nicholas Sparks’
novels, I hope to discover perceptions/ideas and/or meanings that are created by these women in
relation to the novels. In addition, one major goal of this study is to examine meaning and
interpretation of both the novels and the perceptions of the Longwood women. I am creating this
study based on my own experiences and background with the Nicholas Sparks’ novels and my
personal perceptions of romance and love due to reading the novels. Since the novels are a
communication media/text, it will hopefully bring a wealth of meanings and understandings.
My research question (RQ) is as follows: “How are college-age women readers’ perceptions
of romance and love in their everyday lives affected by readership of the Nicholas Sparks’
novels?”
My hope, with this research question, is to gain fresh, new findings about romance novel
readership. In my research throughout this semester, few studies have been completed about
romance novel readership and those influences on readers’ real lives. In addition, no study to
date has ever been completed or attempted on Nicholas Sparks, one of the most popular and
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highly-influential romance fiction authors since the mid-1990s to the present day. I believe
Sparks is the modern version of the Harlequin romance, but in a different style of writing, and
his works deserve attention and examination.
Present research identifies romance novel readership to be a form of escape, as well as
introduces the idea of influenced perception on readers’ everyday lives, but have not exclusively
focused on either college-age women or Sparks’ novels.
I plan to utilize a demographic survey to select the college-age women for my study, then use
focus groups to generate discussion among these women about Nicholas Sparks, his novels, and
how their lives have been affected by reading Sparks’ novels.
Sampling or Text Selection
For my focus groups, I hope to gather a group of 20 Longwood University women. I
would like to assemble these women with a range in age from 18-year-old freshmen up to
graduate students, who could be 23-, 24-, or 25-years-old. With these women, I also hope to
gather a variety of relationship states; this includes single, dating, dating but having problems
(i.e., “It’s Complicated” in Facebook status-speak), engaged, and married. I also hope to have a
variety of races and ethnicities, including Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, Asian, etc.
In order to qualify for the focus groups, these women need be aware of Nicholas Sparks’
15 published novels – from 1996’s The Notebook to 2010’s Safe Haven. I would like to have
women participants who have read at least one of the 15 novels or more, but it would also be
interesting to have one or two women who have had no interest in Sparks’ novels, for a different
take in the focus group setting. Thus, I would like to have between 16-18 women who have read
at least one or more of Sparks’ novels, and possibly 2-4 who have not read the novels at all.
Procedure
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Considering my intention to study a large number of Longwood University women, the
best way to gauge their responses, reactions, perceptions, and ideas are through focus groups.
This will make it easier to examine a large number of participants, and it will likely generate
valuable and interesting discussion.
I will gather these 20 women through a demographic survey, which will be administered
through the SurveyMonkey website (See Appendix A).
Keyton (2011) defines a survey as “a system for collecting information” (p. 161), where
asking questions in this form can produce information that can be compared across a multitude
of people and data can be generalized. This survey will ask Longwood women of their age, year
at Longwood, and several questions about Sparks and his novels. This is strictly for purposes of
gathering the women I need for my focus groups.
Once I have assembled a number of Longwood women who have successfully completed
the survey and qualify for further study, I plan to create a focus group(s) for the participants I
have gathered, which is dependent upon the number of qualified survey participants.
Keyton (2011) defines a focus group to be “a facilitated group discussion used for
collection data from a group of participants about a particular topic in a limited amount of time”
(p. 292). Keyton (2011), however, also states that focus groups serve more purpose, allowing
discussion to be generated, as well as examine how the participants interact, formulate ideas, and
work within a group or team, depending on the topic being discussed. These focus group(s) will
allow in-depth discussion of the novels and their perceptions of romance and love. In researching
the novels and women’s perceptions, I plan on asking/facilitating a number of questions (See
Appendix B).
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In examining the potential interview and focus group questions, the two questions that
have the most potential, validity, value, and interest include:
1. What are your current perceptions/ideas/thoughts of romance and love? Give as much
detail as possible.
This is the heart of my study, which is studying college-age women’s perceptions of love and
romance. Asking their current, as of the present day thoughts/ideas will help establish a concrete
idea, which can also be used to draw similarities/contradictions, as well as begin to formulate
conclusions about overall perceptions of participants.
2. Discuss idea of whether or not the participants believe that the Sparks novels influence
current perceptions of romance and love, as well as their ideas of first dates and ideal
relationships.
This is the second prong of my study, where it begins to become clear whether or not the
Sparks novels have influenced readers’ lives. This will ultimately help fill the gaps of studying
Sparks, romance novel readership, and the participants being exclusively college women.
Using a combination of a demographic survey to select college-age women and
conducting focus groups with these participants is appropriate for my research question for
several reasons. A demographic survey with specific questions makes it easier to select the ideal
women participants for my study. A focus group is an excellent method to generate discussion,
insight, and new ideas about the participants and their perceptions of romance and love with the
influence of Nicholas Sparks and his novels. I anticipate the discussion to blossom from general
attitudes about Sparks, his novels, and his characters, to how the women participants either
compare or differ from the characters in the novels, and how their perceptions of romance and
love have been affected by reading his novels. In addition, the data and information that result
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from the discussion could potentially provide numerous research opportunities for further study
on Nicholas Sparks, his novels, and perceptions of romance and love of real-life women.
Conclusion
Nicholas Sparks’ 15 published novels have been wildly popular with women around the
world since The Notebook was first published in 1996. Many women are inspired and moved by
Sparks’ content, but no study has been completed on Sparks and his works. Previous research
has identified a strong, probable connection between romance novel readership and women’s
expectations, motivations, and desires in their real lives, but no mention has been made of
Sparks. Examining Sparks’ works and the potential affects they have had on women college-age
readers is valuable and could potentially advance research into romance novel readership and
Sparks’ works. I believe that creating a demographic survey and conducting a series of focus
groups with 20 college-age women will best suit this research due to how these women can
generate discussion about Sparks, his novels, his characters, and how their own real lives
compare or differ. This could provide a wealth of information and ideas about how romance
novel readership continues to affect women’s readers’ lives.
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Appendix A: Demographic Survey
To select these women, I plan to create and have them complete a short demographic
survey, asking them the following questions:
1.
Age








18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25+
2.
Year at Longwood

Freshman

Sophomore

Junior

Senior

Super Senior (5+ years as a Longwood student)

Graduate Student

Transfer Student
3.
Relationship Status

Single

In a Relationship

It’s Complicated (Relationship Problems)

Engaged

Married
4.
Approximately how many of Nicholas Sparks’ 15 novels they have heard of, with
publication years and a brief description of characters and events.

The Notebook (1996) – Noah and Allie; summer love during the 1940s, reunion
while Allie is engaged to someone else, eventual marriage and journey through
Allie’s Alzheimer’s disease

Message in a Bottle (1998) – Garrett and Theresa; Theresa finding a bottle in
Boston that traveled from North Carolina, her journey searching for Garrett and
the mysterious Catherine

A Walk to Remember (1999) – Landon and Jamie; high school seniors working on
the Christmas play, helping at a local orphanage, Landon helping Jamie through
leukemia
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5.
The Rescue (2000) – Taylor and Denise; volunteer fireman Taylor rescues Denise
from car accident when her young son Kyle goes missing, Taylor finally falling in
love and dealing with his past
A Bend in the Road (2001) – Miles and Sarah; Miles loses true love Missy in a
hit-and-run accident, meets son Jonah’s second-grade teacher who is divorced,
helping heal emotional wounds, shocking secret and heartbreaking choices
Nights in Rodanthe (2002) – Paul and Adrienne; divorcee Adrienne watches over
her friend’s beachfront inn over a weekend, Paul is the only guest, hurricane
strikes, blossoming romance with letters while Paul is in Peru
The Guardian (2003) – Julie and Great Dane dog named Singer; thriller where
Julie is grieving over husband Jim’s sudden death, Julie looking for new life
partner as another man, Richard, becomes obsessive
The Wedding (2003) – Wilson and Jane; celebrating 30 years of marriage while
helping plan their daughter’s wedding, called a sequel to The Notebook as Wilson
and Jane are described as Noah and Allie’s daughter and son-in-law
True Believer (2005) – Jeremy and Lexie; New Yorker and supernatural expert
Jeremy travels to Boone Creek, North Carolina investigating ghostly lights in the
cemetery, Lexie runs town library and determined to stay in Boone Creek, city
boy meets country girl, Jeremy has to make tough choices and taking chances
At First Sight (2006) – Jeremy and Lexie; sequel to True Believer, engaged to be
married when mysterious emails threaten their relationship, explores
tension/romance/surprises of newlyweds, love between man/woman and
parent/child
Dear John (2007) – John and Savannah; met at beach while Savannah was in
college, John deployed with the Army after September 11th, they sent letters
throughout the years, Savannah moves on from John to marry Tim with his
autistic brother Alan
The Choice (2007) – Travis and Gabby; neighbors, veterinarian, dogs,
overcoming obstacles, merging lives from neighbors to lovers
The Lucky One (2008) – Logan and Beth; U.S. Marine Logan finds a photograph
in Iraq, and goes on a journey from Colorado to North Carolina with his dog to
find the woman in the photo; meets Beth, ex-husband who is town sheriff, and 10year-old son Ben; but Logan has a secret that threatens everything
The Last Song (2009) – Will and Ronnie; bitter 17-year-old Ronnie sent from
New York to North Carolina with brother Jonah for the summer, meets volleyball
player Will, helps care for a nest of sea turtles, dad Steve trying to fix shattered
church stained glass window due to suspected arson
Safe Haven (2010) – Alex and Katie; mysterious Katie appears in widower Alex’s
North Carolina town, form relationships with Alex and kids along with single
neighbor Jo, Katie holds dark secret which takes her across the country and
Southport, choice between life of safety or one with risks and rewards
How many of the 15 novels (complete list) they have read in the last 12 months.
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The Notebook
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6.
Message in a Bottle
A Walk to Remember
The Rescue
A Bend in the Road
Nights in Rodanthe
The Guardian
The Wedding
True Believer
At First Sight
Dear John
The Choice
The Lucky One
The Last Song
Safe Haven
A comment box that will appear if a participant does not select any of the 15 novels,
presenting the participant with the opportunity to explain/elaborate why they have not
read the novels (NOTE: Non-readership will not necessarily disqualify the participant
from being asked to participate in the subsequent interview/focus group --- See interview
questions below).
With these six survey questions, I believe they will be the first crucial steps to uncovering
the potential influence of Sparks’ novels on readers’ lives and perceptions. Because Sparks’
novels are so popular with college-age women, a variety of Longwood women will likely select
at least one, if not more of the novels that they have heard of as well as read. With the comment
box regarding non-readers, this will also give insight on the perceptions of those Longwood
women who have not read Sparks’ novels. Although I anticipate the number of non-readers to be
low, their ideas/thoughts/perceptions are still valid, interesting, intriguing and necessary to begin
to examine, interpret, and understand whether or not reading Sparks’ novels truly influences
readers’ perceptions of romance and love.
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Appendix B: Focus Group Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
What are your current perceptions of romance and love? Describe in as much detail as
possible, including ideal man, feelings, thoughts, experiences, etc.
Discuss the Nicholas Sparks’ novels that have been read. What attracted the participants
to these novels? Why/why not?
Discuss the characters in the novels that were identified by participants. Do any of the
participants identify similarities/differences, likes/dislikes, physical characteristics, etc?
If anyone has not read the novels, discuss why and how their perceptions may/may not be
different from those Sparks readers.
Discuss the participants’ relationship statuses. Let discussion flow freely to allow
examination of participant perception of similarities/differences, likes/dislikes,
characteristics, etc.
Discuss ideas/perceptions of first dates.
Discuss ideas/perceptions of ideal relationships that could/do/have resulted in happy and
satisfied marriage.
Discuss idea of whether or not the participants believe that the Sparks novels influence
current perceptions of romance and love, as well as their ideas of first dates and ideal
relationships.
I anticipate these focus groups to run at least an hour, if not longer. I expect these topics
to generate lots of discussion and thoughts. Since these participants will have several things in
common (based on the demographic survey in which they were selected), I expect the discussion
to be extremely valuable, thought-provoking, and intriguing. This is because Sparks’ novels have
not been studied at all, and studying Sparks will likely give fresh light and possible evidence to
romance novel readership influencing readers’ lives.
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