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.

A Marvellous Light

by Freya Marske

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Appearance & Reality, Family, Self Discovery, Social Class, Equality, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Edwardian Era

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America

by Walt Whitman

Publication year 1888

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Nation, Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Gratitude, Hope, Love, Equality, Place, Community

Tags Free Verse

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A Midsummer Night's Dream

by William Shakespeare

Publication year 1595

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Love, Order & Chaos, Appearance & Reality

Tags British Literature, Comedy & Satire, Fantasy, Fairy Tale & Folklore, Arts & Culture, Love & Sexuality, Relationships, Animals

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedic play by William Shakespeare that was likely first written and performed around 1600. The first certifiably recorded performance took place in 1604. Set in the Greek city-state of Athens, the play centers on an impending marriage. Before the wedding, the characters find themselves in a forest where a group of fairies manipulates and tricks them. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most popular and most performed... Read A Midsummer Night's Dream Summary

A Million Little Pieces

by James Frey

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Love, Nature Versus Nurture, Family, Self Discovery

Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Addiction & Substance Abuse

A Million Little Pieces (2003) is a controversial memoir-style novel by American author James Frey. Characterized by its raw, stream-of-consciousness prose, the book recounts a young man’s experience in drug and alcohol rehabilitation. The narrative graphically explores the nature of addiction and the painful challenges of overcoming it. Initially marketed as a memoir, A Million Little Pieces was selected for Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club and became a New York Times bestseller. However, the book became... Read A Million Little Pieces Summary

A Model of Christian Charity

by John Winthrop

Publication year 1838

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Love, Colonialism

Tags Religion & Spirituality, Education, Education, US History, American Literature, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

“A Modell of Christian Charity” is a sermon written by John Winthrop, a Puritan lawyer who served as the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, an English colonial settlement around present-day Boston, and the second settlement in New England. A sermon is a speech on a religious subject, usually used for those delivered by clergy in Christian church services. The sermon’s epigraph (a short, introductory quotation or informational text) tells us Winthrop wrote on... Read A Model of Christian Charity Summary

A Monster Calls

by Patrick Ness

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Guilt, Love, Fear, Grief, Perseverance, Hope, Wins & Losses

Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Grief & Death, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Religion & Spirituality

A Monster Calls (2011) was written by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Jim Kay, and the original idea for the novel is credited to the late Siobhan Dowd. Ness wrote the novel in Dowd’s memory after she passed away in 2007 from breast cancer. Set in present-day England, A Monster Calls is a young adult fantasy novel that explores topics of terminal illness, grief, death, anger, and the grieving process through the eyes of a child;... Read A Monster Calls Summary

Anathema

by Keri Lake

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Shame & Pride, Social Class, Power & Greed

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Horror & Suspense, Gothic Literature

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An Echo in the Bone

by Diana Gabaldon

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Wins & Losses, Power & Greed, Love, Perseverance, Conflict

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction, World History

An Echo in the Bone (2009) is the seventh novel in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Combining elements of the historical fiction, adventure, fantasy, magical realism, and romance genres, the series follows the adventures of Claire Randall, a WWII battle nurse who accidentally time travels to 18th-century Scotland and falls in love with Jamie Fraser, a Highland warrior. Over the course of 10 planned novels, Gabaldon follows Claire, Jamie, and their family as they... Read An Echo in the Bone Summary

An Essay on Man

by Alexander Pope

Publication year 1734

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Space, Love

Tags Philosophy, Relationships, Religion & Spirituality, Neoclassicism, Didacticism, Education, Education, British Literature, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

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A New England Nun

by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman

Publication year 1891

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Marriage, Love

Tags Classic Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Love & Sexuality, Victorian Period, Education, Education, US History, American Literature, World History

Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman’s "A New England Nun" was first published in 1891's A New England Nun and Other Stories. The collection exhibits the author’s many modes of writing, demonstrating her mastery of the Romantic, Gothic, and psychologically symbolic genres. The stories focus on the native scenery, dialogue, landscape, and values of 19th-century New England. The stories center on themes of women’s integrity and hardships, femininity versus masculinity, and the commerce and culture of the... Read A New England Nun Summary

Angel Of Greenwood

by Randi Pink

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Love, Race, Family, Friendship, Community, Equality, Good & Evil, Justice, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger

Tags Race & Racism, Social Justice, World History, Historical Fiction, Romance

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Annabel Lee

by Edgar Allan Poe

Publication year 1849

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Love, Death, Community

Tags Lyric Poem, Grief & Death, Love & Sexuality, Education, Education, Horror & Suspense, American Literature, Gothic Literature, Romance, Classic Fiction

The last poem Edgar Allan Poe—infamous poet and fiction author of the macabre—completed during his tumultuous life, “Annabel Lee,” was first published in the New York Tribune in 1849, two days after Poe’s death. Displaying the melodic lyricism, gothic overtones, and memorable imagery which informed so much of Poe’s work, “Annabel Lee” is considered one of the defining entries in his canon, and a classic of 19th century American poetry.The poem concerns the death of... Read Annabel Lee Summary

Anne of Avonlea

by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Publication year 1909

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Community, Friendship, Love, Education, Hope

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

Anne of Avonlea, the second novel in the Anne of Green Gables series, is the heralded sequel that brings readers back to the second chapter in Anne Shirley’s life from age 16 to 18. First published in 1909 by Canadian author L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea is set in the latter part of the 19th century in fictional Avonlea, a small town on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Filled with many familiar characters from the first... Read Anne of Avonlea Summary