Reading Romance Novels on Cell Phones

April 16, 2007 — -- It is a truth universally acknowledged that the pressures of modern life leave most of us yearning for a little romance, even if it's only of the fictional variety. With apologies to Jane Austen, few would think to argue with this sentiment.

And now, the publishers of the famed Mills and Boon romance novels have decided to marry fiction and technology, by introducing pocket-sized thrills for the single girl on the go. Click and text hello to the downloadable romance novel, ready to read on your cell phone.

Harlequin, the parent company behind the M&B imprint, has signed a deal with ICUE, a British company which specializes in transferring books onto mobile phones.

The first set of romance downloads -- priced between $4 and $10 per novel -- is set to hit the British market in May, with high hopes that it will repeat the company's success in Japan, where women have taken to reading mobile romances with a vengeance.

E-books have already enjoyed success in the United States, and Jane Tappuni, spokesperson for ICUE, told ABCNEWS.com that she expects mobile books to take off in the same way in the U.K.

"M&B novels have a fanatical fan base, and we don't expect those readers to necessarily give up their books for mobile phones, but rather, hope to reach people who tend to read less and use their phones more," Tappuni said.

People like the 20-something reader, who, as Tappuni acknowledged, "probably thinks of romance novels as something quite old-fashioned."

Old-fashioned and a bit embarrassing, according to some 20-somethings:
"My impression of M&B readers is that they are quite old."
"When I think of M&B, I think of these historical, bodice-ripping novels that my grandmother used to love."
And that's coming from fans of the genre.

This move to make the novels available on mobile phones could very well succeed, for it allows people to read them without having to admit to reading them.As Lavanya Ashok, a 24-year-old investment associate said, "I had to perfect the art of furtively reading romance novels, amid much parental disapproval, in high school. So I am thinking that cell phones might provide the perfect cover for that."