See the AJC for rebuttal & great comments by romance authors. Clearly neither columnist knows anything about romance novels. Also, that book Feldhahn cites? The full title is Finding the Hero in Your Husband: Surrendering the Way God Intended http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1558749306?ie=UTF8&tag=readforplea-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=1558749306
I bet Feldhahn's a "surrendered wife". Creepy.
http://www.equityfeminism.com/articles/2001/the-surrendered-wife-phenomena/

Each to their but, when a teacher, I was happy to see kids reading anything (within reason of course). Hero books all have an element of risk because a book can influence. Why, if you read Never ending story, you may try to wade through a mudpit.
Mind you, the books which have caused the most suffering, are the most widely read and quoted from! Guess what they are.

I'm with you. Reading for pleasure is a good thing, whether it's Dickens or Nora Roberts - it all exercises the language parts of the brain, and keeps up people's reading comprehension, reading speed, and spelling. It's not just about useful skills either: reading for pleasure is a great break from everyday life.

The saddest thing about the AJC column is that Feldhahn tries to define a whole genre of books as "bad" because she thinks women can't distinguish between fact and fiction. That argument goes back hundreds of years. t's not only a slam on women - it takes away the great value of fiction: to transport us into a place/person/time/life that's different from reality!