She'd been thinking about this all day, what she would do. Imagining the pleasure of seeing it again, holding it. Devouring every last bit.

She knew she shouldn't be so drawn, but she couldn't help herself. It was just so easy to do; the attraction was undeniable. She didn't think she could bring herself to let go of the addiction. It always made her feel so good.

Even if it was just a trashy romance novel.

Whether you favor a racy bodice-ripper with cover art of a half-naked woman in the arms of a shirtless lover, or a dive into the paranormal world of vampires and demons who interfere in the world of mortals, romance novels are seeing an increase in readership during these tough economic times.

"I think it's kind of guilty fun," said Tammy Barrows, general manager at Borders Books in Rapid City. "It's mindless reading. If every time you turn the TV on there's bad news, it's kind of nice to have an escape."

Readers are escaping in droves. For the week of May 10, romance book sales were up nearly 2.4 percent compared with the same week last year, according to Nielsen BookScan, which covers 75 percent of retail sales. Travel book sales were down 16 percent, detective/mystery and self-help were each down 17 percent and adult fiction overall, of which romance is a subgenre, was up 1 percent.

While local bookstores say they haven't noticed an increase in romance sales, which have always been strong, the Rapid City Public Library is part of the trend.

In 2007, the library saw about 290 romance titles checked out each month, said Sean Minkel, a circulation technical services librarian. The increased to about 550 a month in 2008 and a whopping 750 titles a month so far this year.

The numbers can't be attributed to an overall increase in library usage, Minkel said.

"It's probably not general, because obviously our overall use hasn't gone up by 30, almost 40 percent," he said. "It's probably gone down in other areas."

So why the popularity of romantic literature?

"I would say that romance is probably, like other fiction genres, it's used as an escape," Minkel said.

There are plenty of places in Rapid City for fans to find a selection of used romance novels. Again Buy & Sell Books on St. Joseph Street has nearly an entire room full of paperback novels that sell for $3.49 a piece, which makes the habit an easy one to support.

"I think they just like to relax, not have to think about something heavy or deep," owner Jeanne Simon said of her romance-loving customers. "I've got some that will come in and trade in their books every week and get new ones."

But just because you read them doesn't mean you want to admit it.

"A lot of people are kind of embarrassed to say that they read romances," Barrows said. "There's this stigma that people who read romances don't read other books, and that's not true."

Plus there is a wide variety of romantic tales to choose from, she said, from the stereotypical more racy books to Westerns, mysteries, comedies and the fast-growing paranormal category.

"The paranormal is the most popular genre right now," Barrows said.

Simon attributes the growth in paranormal books, which includes otherworldly creatures such as vampires, to the recent popularity of the "Twilight" series.

But not everyone is a fan of the genre.

Clare Hafferman of Kalispell, Mont., was in Again books during a visit to Rapid City last week. The mother of library director Greta Chapman, Hafferman has been a lifelong reader and worked for a private bookstore in Kalispell for 11 years.

And while she isn't a fan of the genre, she admits that romances have always been popular.

"I think a lot of the romance novels are drivel," Hafferman said with a laugh. "I was amazed at the number of romances that we sold."

Hafferman is a fan of mysteries herself, because "I like a plot."

"I wouldn't waste my time," Hafferman said. "(But) some women read romances as escapism."

It's not just women picking up the lighthearted novels, either.

"Pretty much anyone can check out romances," Minkel said. "I wouldn't say that it's only just women."

The diversity of topics in romance novels can appeal to younger people and men, Barrows said.

"The one thing that I've learned in this business is you can't judge people based on what they read," she said. "You can't judge a customer by its cover."

Contact Savannah Cummings at 394-8426 or savannah.cummings@rapidcityjournal.com

The Associated Press contributed to this report.