Aw, Valentine's Day is just around the corner and according to online retailer Amazon.ca, Saskatoon is Canada's most romantic community, based on an analysis of sales data just before Valentine's Day.

When CBC News asked the director of Amazon.ca why this would be, John Nemeth speculated, "I do know it's very cold there. Maybe that has something to do with it."

Just in case you are wondering, Regina was fourth on the list after Saskatoon, Calgary and Victoria. Hmm...if you take into account the cold weather as the primary factor for increased sales, then how do you explain Victoria beating out Regina for third spot? Any thoughts?

To read the complete article and see the top 10 list, click on this link.

As a genre, romance is probably one of the most criticized areas of fiction reading, and as a reader of this genre, I am getting tired of it. Luckily, Chris Szego over at Cultural Gutter has written a splendid article defending the romance genre. I especially like when she says "the blanket belief that, alone among the literate, romance readers believe everything they read is seriously insulting" in response to the argument that romance novels give women unrealistic expectations. Head over to Cultural Gutter to read the entire article, and get some great book recommendations from Szego.

Back in February, CBC did a quick article on Harlequin romances, looking at the history of the company and its evolution over the years. It was really interesting!

- JC

Click here to read a very funny article from The Cultural Gutter on overused trends in the romance industry. And if you have any to add to the list, post them here.