Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love

Our Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love Collection features titles centered on love and all of its complexities. This Collection represents authors who have grappled with romantic, familial, and other forms of love through writing. With titles ranging from contemporary romance picks to works by Shakespeare, this Collection has something to offer any reader who has ever lost or found love.

Bread of Angels

by Patti Smith

Publication year 2025

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Marriage, Family, Perseverance, Grief, Love, Memory, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Midlife, Death, The Past, Objects & Materials, Place, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Art, Beauty, Fame, Literature, Music

Tags Memoir & Autobiography, Music, Arts & Culture, Love & Sexuality, Grief & Death

... Read Bread of Angels Summary

Break

by Dorianne Laux

Publication year 1990

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Memory, Love, Hope, Fate, Safety & Danger, Family

Tags Lyric Poem, Arts & Culture, Climate Change

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s

by Truman Capote

Publication year 1958

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Love, Memory, Femininity, Truth & Lies

Tags Classic Fiction, American Literature, World History, Romance

Breakfast at Tiffany's is a 1958 novella by Truman Capote. In the story, an unnamed narrator is introduced to a young woman named Holly Golightly and the unique New York world she inhabits. The novella is one of Capote’s most popular works and has been adapted as a musical, a play, and most famously as an Academy Award–winning film in 1961 starring Audrey Hepburn. This guide refers to the eBook version of the 2000 Penguin... Read Breakfast at Tiffany’s Summary

Breaking Dawn

by Stephenie Meyer

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Family, Friendship, Community, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Romance

Breaking Dawn (2008) by Stephenie Meyer is the fourth and final novel of the best-selling Twilight book series. It is a young adult fantasy romance novel following the life of Bella Swan, a teenager who falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen. The three prior novels explore Bella’s attempts to assimilate into the secret vampire world with Edward and his family, as well as the love triangle with her best friend, Jacob Black, whom... Read Breaking Dawn Summary

Bride

by Ali Hazelwood

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Sexual Identity, Marriage

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

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Bridge of Clay

by Markus Zusak

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Love, Grief, Siblings, Conflict, Forgiveness, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Memory, Regret, Death, Order & Chaos, Loyalty & Betrayal, Literature, Mothers, Marriage, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, The Past

Tags Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Grief & Death, Modern Classic Fiction

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Bridge of Sighs

by Richard Russo

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Forgiveness, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Nostalgia, Regret, Death, Social Class, Community

Tags Modern Classic Fiction

Richard Russo’s 2007 novel Bridge of Sighs is a work of literary fiction that became a national bestseller. The novel follows 60-year-old Louis “Lucy” Lynch, who has lived his entire life in the small, economically distressed town of Thomaston, New York. As Lucy and his wife, Sarah, prepare for their first trip abroad to Venice, he begins to write a history of his life, his family, and his hometown. This act of remembering frames the... Read Bridge of Sighs Summary

Bridget Jones's Diary

by Helen Fielding

Publication year 1996

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Femininity, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery

Tags Romance, Humor, British Literature

Written by Helen Fielding in 1996, Bridget Jones’s Diary is a romance novel with a comedic twist. In 1998, it was named the British Book of the Year, and in 2003, it placed at number 75 on a BBC survey of favorite novels. A film adaptation was released in 2001. Renee Zellweger played the titular character and received an Academy Award nomination for her performance.This guide refers to the 1996 MacMillan Publishers print edition. Content... Read Bridget Jones's Diary Summary

Bringing Up Bébé

by Pamela Druckerman

Publication year 2012

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Mothers, Gratitude, Hope, Love, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Language, Childhood & Youth, Midlife, Food, Nature Versus Nurture, Daughters & Sons, Marriage, Social Class, Immigration, Nation

Tags Memoir & Autobiography, Parenting

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Brokeback Mountain

by Annie Proulx

Publication year 1997

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Love, Sexual Identity, Social Class, Hope

Tags Romance, LGBTQ+, Western, Modern Classic Fiction

“Brokeback Mountain,” by award-winning American author Annie Proulx, addresses themes of Masculine Sexuality and the Forbidden Love of Queer Romance, The Inescapable Effects and Momentum of Poverty, and Powerlessness and Loss of Hope. Like much of Proulx’s work, the story includes a strong sense of place. Wyoming’s unforgiving landscape figures prominently in “Brokeback Mountain,” and the film adaptation by the same name received acclaim for its cinematography as well as its unapologetic portrayal of queer... Read Brokeback Mountain Summary

Broken Bonds

by J Bree

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Love, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Friendship, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Education, War, Fate, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Romance

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Brooklyn

by Colm Tóibín

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Coming of Age, Immigration, Nostalgia, Family

Tags Romance, Historical Fiction, Irish Literature, American Literature, World History

Brooklyn is a 2009 historical fiction novel written by Colm Tóibín. The book follows Eilis Lacey as she emigrates from Ireland to Brooklyn in the 1950s, finding a job in a department store and falling in love with a young Italian man named Tony. Despite her new life in Brooklyn, Eilis makes a return to Enniscorthy, the same town Colm Tóibín was born and raised in, when her older sister Rose dies. While there, she... Read Brooklyn Summary

Brothers

by Alex Van Halen

Publication year 2024

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Love, Memory, Language, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, Siblings, Teamwork, Fame, Loyalty & Betrayal, Music

... Read Brothers Summary

Bully

by Penelope Douglas

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Hate & Anger, Love, Revenge, Coming of Age, The Past, Fathers, Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt

Tags Bullying, New Adult

... Read Bully Summary