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.

Love

by Toni Morrison

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Hate & Anger, Social Class, Race, Gender Identity

Tags African American Literature, Grief & Death, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

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Love in Excess

by Eliza Haywood

Publication year 1719

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Femininity, Sexual Identity, Marriage, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Romance, Love & Sexuality, British Literature, Women`s Studies, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

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Loveless

by Alice Oseman

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Love, Sexual Identity, Community, Friendship, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity

Tags Romance, Coming of Age, LGBTQ+, Modern Classic Fiction

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Lovely War

by Julie Berry

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Race, Mental Health, War, Beauty, Music

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Mythology, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Grief & Death, World History, Love & Sexuality, Military & War, Music, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, World War I, World War II, Fantasy

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Love Medicine

by Louise Erdrich

Publication year 1984

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Race, Forgiveness, Guilt, Memory, Love, Hate & Anger, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Wins & Losses, Conflict

Tags Historical Fiction, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

American author Louise Erdrich’s debut novel, Love Medicine, was first published in 1984 to critical acclaim. A bestseller and winner of the 1984 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, the novel follows three generations of members from five Ojibwe families in Minnesota and North Dakota. Lyrical, metaphorical, and a complex exploration of oppression, joy, and family, the novel is both a record of history and an analysis of love. Blending the genres of historical... Read Love Medicine Summary

Love, Pamela

by Pamela Anderson

Publication year 2023

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Fame, Perseverance, Love, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Coming of Age, Mothers, Self Discovery, Beauty

Tags Canadian Literature, Arts & Culture

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Love's Labour's Lost

by William Shakespeare

Publication year 1598

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Love, Masculinity, Appearance & Reality, Marriage, Truth & Lies

Tags Classic Fiction, Comedy & Satire, British Literature, Dramatic Literature, Romance, Humor

Love’s Labour’s Lost is an early Shakespearean comedy, produced in the burgeoning theatrical culture of Elizabethan London. It tells the story of four Lords, led by the King of Navarre, who swear to dedicate three years to study and avoid women. However, they immediately fall in love with four ladies, led by the Princess of France. The play follows their attempts to woo the ladies, while a host of comedic characters in the subplot squabble... Read Love's Labour's Lost Summary