Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for November 10, 2020

Romance Novels? – I bet that Nancy has a library of Novels.

oh, won’t that book be mind-easing for Bernice

Given how susceptible Bern is to suggestion?

TAIL…?

It’s Nancy to the rescue — and with a bodice-ripper. (If only Bernice knew what a bodice was…) maybe we can get a 2 week dream about being romanced by a swarthy Latin lover.

The title alone is stressing me.

While my wife enjoys rom-coms, I find them incredibly frustrating.

Algebra? Analytic Geometry? Even Calculus!

Heck, I’ve been drawing Karnaugh maps for recreation. (Designing a state machine for a model railroad layout) (Okay, so I’m too broke to actually build it, but I love the Boolean Logic and the mental exercise)

Anything but a rom-com!

Please!

Oh oh! Giving a book like that to a vulnerable, young, inexperienced girl…. hilarity ensues?

Ah. We are seeing why Bernice moved into DeGroots when she really doesn’t need to. She needs a friend who shows her how to enjoy life and not be so serious all the time. Maybe put a little of her daughter in Bernice. After all she did raise Luann.

If just looking at the cover makes Bernice’s eye-dots go askew, the actual story should mess her up.

Once again, Bern finds an enabler so she won’t have to face her reality.

That should be “tale”, not “tail”.

Perfect! Just the right age to read this. It will give Bernice the mental vocabulary to focus some of her feelings. Really empowering.

Yay Nancy!

Damn Nancy is good.

The algebraic bodice ripper is when checking into the cheap hotel, you co-sign with the tangent.

Look out, Jack! The way Bernice’s mind works, she will think it is an instruction manual and act accordingly.

.

Warning, Warning Jack Robinson!

Well, at least it’s not The Turner Diaries.

Yeah, Greg and Karen. “Tails”?

With a single bound, he was by her side. She felt his hot breath on her neck as he ripped the thin silk from

Bern needs to get heated up. Then she might realize – in the game of chess with Jack – she has the white pieces….

Some of the dark corners of romance stories available on the internet are quite unexpected, e.g., my dark were bear lover. Let’s hope Bernice’s eyes are opened to what she’s been missing all of her life — passion.

Must be a bodice ripper.

After my straight-laced grandmother passed away, we were going through her stuff and found a big box of Harlequin Romance novels. OMG! Grandma!

Nancy, you’ve been holding back ….

My mother had all of those dirty books by Harold Robbins and such, so as a kid, (11 or 12 )and bored on summer break, I read them.

Boy, were my eyes opened! I learned WAY too much and was WAY too young lol!Now for pleasure reading I find myself reading more to learn. History, gardening, cooking, biography- but have not picked up a dirty Harlequin romance since my teens. I guess I outgrew them but my mother (may she rest peacefully ) never did! ;-)

Reading for pleasure means reading what you enjoy. If you enjoy romance novels, then fine, but if you enjoy history, then you can read that for pleasure.

Leave her alone and let her read what she wants to read, Nancy.

And, Nancy introduces Bernice to “Bodice Rippers.” Don’t know if that is going to ease Bernice’s stress, because one point of unvoiced stress, is trying to figure out what it is she’s feelings around Jack.

@Cheapskate0, what is the road name of this fictitious rail line?

Romance novels are merely “R” rated books. I don’t care if women read them. It’s your business. My wife would read them to pass time on trips. One day she finished a novel on a flight so she grabbed one of my hard science fiction novels. She said it was like reading a textbook.

Bernice, give it up. It’s okay that you’re in love.

That book might have by curiosity up. What kind of Atlantean creature would it be that has a tail made out of lovers? I mean there could be soul mates in a heel, but lovers in a tail?

I think maybe Nancy wishes Luann would study more and not be such a slob.

Uh, Mom? She’s just had an encounter with Jack, for whom she’s slowly developing the “hots” – you might want to get another title…

The Awakening of Bernice, coming to a cartoon strip near you.

Next up is, Fifty Shades of Grey.

So Nancy corrupts Bern. Goodbye budding professional, hello ditz. Thanks a lot, Nancy. :-(

That mere high school textbook put such a smile on her. Now she’s got a nice novel from Nancy who’s good at reading people!

:)

My current reading for pleasure is Angus Konstam’s 2019 “Hunt the Bismarck” My wife says she doesn’t think she’s touched a non-fiction book for pleasure since she got her MBA

I will run away from such a title. Give me a good SF book with solid science and well written scenario. And yes, I am a woman.

OK, that’s kind of creepy. “Here Bernice, read my mommy porn instead.”

For a while there, I thought this was an arc about Bernice losing her v-card. That is about as close as I can get to saying what I wanted to say.

For me a “de-stressor” is a hammock under a tree in the backyard and peace and quiet.

So Nancy will be Bernice Halper’s new mom. To the commenter that suggested that she would take on the role weeks ago;kudos!

Tail?

Why can’t people let the nerd be a nerd and always try to “fix” her interests.

Well, I was thinking yesterday there might be a fantasy sequence coming. Chances look good. With Atlantis as the theme. I’ll wager a “tail” will be involved. And it won’t be Monstro’s!

barf

Nancy is awesome! Maybe the book is too romantic. But Bernice is in a romantic situation and doesn’t seem to understand it. Let’s hope this will be the opportunity for her to discover the beauty of reading novels♡♡♡.

Yep. Soft porn. Just what she needs.

Stick to history, Bernice.

I do what I do every day; plot to take over the world!

And TADAA! The brother Ben issue is gone! Honestly I get whiplash by the way these stories change and never get resolved. Maybe that’s the method to the madness. I agree with the other posters that using the word tail is a little bit, well okay, a whole lot, obvious, but it’s a fun change for Bernice. Now we can watch how big her eyes get with each chapter! LOL

Uh, for you maybe. Not for Bernice. She needs to start shutting her door.

“A ‘tail’ of star-crossed lovers”? Really?

Considering that Nancy watched Bernice grow up and probably considers her an ersatz daughter I find it a little unlikely that she’d offer her a steamy (and probably badly written, although that just may be me thinking that Nancy has better taste in writing) romance novel. It would be a bit embarrassing, like going to a sexually explicit movie with your kids.

Now THIS is rich.

Nancy, the same woman once once gave her son Brad no end of grief for hiding girlie magazines in his room, now cheerfully hands torrid, titillating, sleazy romance trash to her young impressionable house guest. Geeze. Did Nancy also pass those tawdry novels along to her daughter Luann to read after she was done with them?

What IS it with these DeGroots, anyway? It’s like Nancy and Luann (And add Jack to the list, too) don’t want Bernice to THINK. She finally hits upon a temporary solution to her “depression problem,” by going to her room, reading a book that she enjoys and retreating into her own head. Now Nancy hands a her a (A-HEM) ‘book’ which if “read,” is SURE to give Bernice sweet dreams and wrong ideas about her chances with Mr. Jack. And GAW help her if Jack, in the epitome of “bad timing,” decides to drop by later, and innocently invite Bernice to go to the animal shelter with him. That’ll start the train-wreck rolling.

If Nancy REALLY wants to “help” Bernice? Then give her a job at the Fuse. Nothing like Work to get your mind off things. And Bernice is a fairly good worker, provided there’s no guy she’s interested in, working at the same place. So between Les, Ox and Old Smiley, She’s safe. Besides, I suspect there’ll soon be a job opening coming up, now that Tiffany is back at home with new gold cards and in her dad’s good graces. I also suspect that the first time Old Smiley comes over to cook, Tiff will hook him into another hair-brained scheme that’s sure to get BOTH on trouble.

AGAIN. ;)

Tail, not tale? Romance historical fantasy? I wonder how this will land?

Nancy is about to broaden Bernice’s horizon! This act has become interesting all of a sudden. Ley’s hope we’re not in for a letdown!

Seriously, it is sad that Bernice checks her books and has nothing but textbooks to read for pleasure. She has made it this far in life and reads nothing but school assigned texts. This young woman needs her literary horizons broadened. Rom Coms are not my first choice, but you have to start somewhere!

Shiny cover? Suggestive title?! …

Why, NANCY!! Such a ‘Harlequin’ move you’ve made there!

… (This should be good!) :)

Right, Nancy. Bernice is the bodice-ripper type for sure. Stop trying to be helpful.

This could bring a huge sea change (no pun intended) in the dynamic of the strip. Think about it! Bernice has moved into the GeGroot household. She has exhibited familial behavior by cooking for the DeGroots and interacting with Luann as sisters would. Frank has said it was nice to have a second daughter fawning over him. Nancy is exhibiting “mothering” behavior towards Bernice in today’s strip. Ben has moved into the Halper household. Bernice acts as if she resents Ben as being the cause of having to leave her home.

There is a not so subtle reversal of fortunes here. Ben was a “problem child” and “kicked out” of the “family” at birth. He has now returned to “kick out” Bernice as the “problem child” and supplant her in the Halper clan.

Ben and Bernice have yet to resolve their roles and feelings about the situation. Bernice’s psyche is further hammered by “hormonal” impulses toward Jack; which she is currently unable to assimilate in her narrow world.

Her narrow world is about to be expanded by a “bodice ripper” novel provided by Nancy (Mommy porn?). Tis could really throw Bernice into a tizzy!)

HEY! 1212! Hilarity is about to ensue! 8^ )

Hooo boy…. Bern will read the first sentence and be sucked in. She’ll scold herself maybe; she will try to go back to the history book, out of a sense of righteousness. But she won’t be able to do that; hormones win in the end.

Seems fishy.

Looks like she’s reading the all encompassing “Greg 11-10” book ebveryones been talking about. The “Yo momma 11-11” is the one I’m saving for though. But then, I’m just a skate-boarding frog.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

Nancy is the best!

Wow, Ben got forgotten even faster than I predicted. Now we get to watch Bernice’s introduction to mermaid erotica.

Uh oh! If Nancy gets Berniece reading a romance she will be more stirred up than ever! But it will certainly take her mind off her problems with Ben!!!!!

Excellent. Bern needs this. LOL

Otherwise known as the last Aquaman movie.

And so begins the corruption of a young mind.

I know! Bernice will read the book, become obsessed with the fantasy of writing hot romance stories and become a famous author! Money problems solved.

Hmm? A “tail” of tide-crossed lovers?

tomorrow: Frank questions Nancy about this.

Lots of folks have referred to “Bodice rippers.” Huh? What are those?

In my comment, I said “rom com,” and was surprised to see people not know what that was.

Apparently, this stuff has been out there, but not everybody has the same name for them.

If Bernice loves history, would it be right to say she’s past-caring?

Doubling down on Angel s comment, above:

Regardless of what you call it, it’s still unsolicited advice.

Bernice needs to relax. Bernice knows what to read that relaxes her.

If all Nancy does is suggests and, after Bernice politely declines, and Nancy then withdraws the suggestion, then all is well.

If Nancy persists, then her unsolicited advice becomes unwelcome.

Regardless of what any of us thinks of the quality of the literature Nancy is suggesting.

A tale called “Forbidden Atlantis” could be a romance set way back in history before Atlantis sank beneath the sea. A tail of Atlantis suggests a more modern story where Atlanteans have adapted to living under the sea and have become mermaids and mermen. Add a land man finding sunken Atlantis and we have a plot like Futurama’s “The Deep South” That one ending with Fry running away because mermaids don’t have lady parts in their tails.

Why is her wedding ring on her right hand?

Tail? Greg needs to watch his spell-checker.

Anybody catch the misspelling of “Tale” in the title of the love novel? Me thinks the writer needs a human spell checker.

So is the book about Aquaman or Namor’s origin?

I know what Bernice means. In an English class in High School, we were scheduled to read Hemmingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”. Due to time restraints, we did not read it for class work, but I read it anyway for pleasure and enjoyed it thoroughly.

To all who are b&tthurt about “Tail” -

Obviously Bern is mis-reading (mis-seeing) the word. It’s part of GnK’s running joke about Bern’s fixation on “tail”.

But it does seem a bit pervy of Bern to be focussed on the wrong side of the male anatomy,

I smell a major romance arc with a mending familial relations side story with a few other side stories sprinkled in coming. :)

She’s giving Bernice a novel with Explicit Sex Scenes?

Okay, the grammar nerd in me just shrieked! “Tail?” Really?

Perfect… Nothing like reading a romantic comedy to keep her mind off the romantic comedy she’s in now.

How many, if anyone, would consider " Gone With The Wind ,“Roots”, The Winds of War", " Or “The Color Purple”, to be a Bodice Ripper? They were historical romance fiction novels to be sure. They had, passion, lust and power struggles in them, as well as some racy language & pretty descriptive scene ( for their time) However, they also tackled some important historical, moral and social issues. Would anyone consider Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to be a 16th century bodice ripper? Probably not. So what elevates these books over the" Harlequin romance" novel genre? Are Harlequin Novels the literary equivalent of " Soap Opera’s"? Some TV soaps tackled some very important and influential issues in their heyday. Were they strictly for entertainment or ratings? If so, what accounts some of them lasting on the air for 20 to 30 years or more? Come to think about it," Luann" has been a daily staple for over 30 years so I guess she is in good company.

He always liked to tell us how much “I….LOVE….WALTER (McCarty)!”

He can’t tell us that any more, sadly.

Boston Celtic legend Tom Heinsohn has passed away at the age of 86.

R. I. P. to a superstar in Boston professional sports.

I know Nancy means well, but she clearly does not understand Bernie (as if anyone does!)….

Try something less randy, Mrs. DeGroot. How about Bern learns to knit? Maybe a nice winter hat for blockhead, I mean, Jack.

Not a fan of love stories.

I believe she meant “tale”, not “tail” !!!! Spell Check, Mr. Evans.

I started reading when I was about 3. When I was about 8, I LOVED reading the World Book Encyclopedia (1968). To me, they were little short stories about EVERYTHING!