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.

The Bourne Identity

by Robert Ludlum

Publication year 1980

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Memory, Mental Health, The Past, Self Discovery, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Justice, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

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The Bridge of San Luis Rey

by Thornton Wilder

Publication year 1927

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Fate, Death, Appearance & Reality, Order & Chaos

Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature

Thornton Wilder’s philosophical novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927) opens with a catastrophic event in colonial Peru. On July 20, 1714, a centuries-old Incan rope bridge collapses, plunging five travelers to their deaths. Witnessing the tragedy, a Franciscan friar named Brother Juniper embarks on a six-year investigation into the lives of the victims, hoping to uncover a divine pattern and answer the question of whether their deaths were part of God’s plan or... Read The Bridge of San Luis Rey Summary

The Bridges of Madison County

by Robert James Waller

Publication year 1992

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Love, Art, Fate

Tags Romance, Arts & Culture, Love & Sexuality, Relationships, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

A world-traveling photographer and a farmer’s wife connect in a sudden, impossible romance in The Bridges of Madison County, a 1992 novel by Robert James Waller. Lauded by critics as a soaring, spiritual story of true love thwarted, but ridiculed by others for greeting-card sentimentality, Bridges became a #1 New York Times bestseller and stayed on the list for three years. With theater and film adaptations, it is one of the most widely read books... Read The Bridges of Madison County Summary

The Brothers Karamazov

by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Publication year 1879

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Hate & Anger, Guilt, Love, Religion & Spirituality, Justice, Good & Evil

Tags Russian Literature, Dramatic Literature, Religion & Spirituality

Written in the last two years of the author’s life, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s final novel, The Brothers Karamazov (1880), is the culmination of a politically fraught career spent pursuing a full, unsentimental vision of humanity. Dostoevsky is famous for his work’s distinctive psychological nuance—particularly involving pathological dimensions of self-destruction and misguided sentimental altruism—and has deeply influenced Western schools of theology, existentialism, and literary modernism.The eponymous brothers are the four sons (including Pavel, implied to be Fyodor's... Read The Brothers Karamazov Summary

The Butcher Game

by Alaina Urquhart

Publication year 2024

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Fear, Hate & Anger, Love, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Mental Health, Death, Environment, Plants, Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction

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The Butterfly Lion

by Michael Morpurgo

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Coming of Age, Death, Animals, Friendship, War, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Animals, World History, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure

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The Canterbury Tales

by Geoffrey Chaucer

Publication year 1400

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Marriage, Sexual Identity, Love

Tags Classic Fiction, Satirical Literature, Medieval, Narrative Poem, British Literature, Education, Education, Historical Fiction

Written in the late 1300s, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is one of the greatest surviving works of Middle English literature, and was a huge influence on later writers from Shakespeare to Keats, among many others.This guide refers to Neville Coghill’s modern English translation (Penguin, 2003).Plot SummaryThe Canterbury Tales tells the story of a group of pilgrims traveling from London to Canterbury to visit the holy shrine of St. Thomas Becket. This is a story... Read The Canterbury Tales Summary

The Captain's Daughter

by Alexander Pushkin

Publication year 1836

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Love, Social Class, War, Good & Evil, Justice

Tags Classic Fiction

The Captain’s Daughter (1836) is a work of historical fiction by Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. Written in the form of a memoir, it tells the story of 16-year-old nobleman Pyotr Grinyov, who is sent to serve as a military captain at a remote outpost on the Kirghiz steppe in 1773. While there, he falls for the daughter of the fort’s captain, Maria Ivanovna. He is separated from his beloved when the fort is attacked by... Read The Captain's Daughter Summary

The Caretaker

by Ron Rash

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes War, Family, Power & Greed, Grief, Loneliness, Love, Disability, Coming of Age, Death, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Southern Literature, Southern Gothic, Korean War

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The Castle in the Attic

by Elizabeth Winthrop

Publication year 1985

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Joy, Love, Loneliness, Regret, Shame & Pride, Family, Friendship, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Good & Evil, Fate, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature, Classic Fiction

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The Cat Who Saved Books

by Sōsuke Natsukawa, Transl. Louise Heal Kawai

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Animals, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Hope, Joy, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Coming of Age, Death, Future, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Friendship, Grandparents, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Community, Economics, Education, Art, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Fantasy, Magical Realism, Japanese Literature, Contemporary Literature

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The Caucasian Chalk Circle

by Bertolt Brecht

Publication year 1944

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Mothers, Love, War, Justice

Tags Drama, Symbolic Narrative, Modernism, German Literature, Education, Education, World History, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

Bertolt Brecht’s celebrated play, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, was written in 1944. The story is structured as a play within a play and touches on themes of justice, motherhood, and moral choices in times of crisis. Brecht, a German playwright best known for his unique style of drama called “epic theater,” was based in the United States at the time, and the play was translated into English by his friend, Eric Bentley. It went on... Read The Caucasian Chalk Circle Summary

The Changeling

by Thomas Middleton, William Rowley

Publication year 1622

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Religion & Spirituality, Love

Tags Tragedy, British Literature, Harlem Renaissance, Education, Education, World History, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

The Changeling is a Jacobean tragicomedy written in collaboration between established playwrights Thomas Middleton and William Rowley. It was first performed in 1622 and published in 1653. The play is adapted from John Reynolds’s 1621 story collection titled The Triumphs of Gods Revenge Against the Crying and Execrable Sinne of Willful and Premeditated Murther.The play has two plots: a tragic main plot and a comedic subplot. Scholars believe Middleton wrote the majority of the main... Read The Changeling Summary

The Charm Offensive

by Alison Cochrun

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Loneliness, Love, Forgiveness, Appearance & Reality, Femininity, Disability, Masculinity, Beauty, Trust & Doubt, Loyalty & Betrayal, Truth & Lies, Friendship

Tags Romance, Humor, Love & Sexuality, Relationships, LGBTQ+, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

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The Chaser

by John Collier

Publication year 1940

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Marriage, Love, Masculinity

Tags Magical Realism, Symbolic Narrative, Humor, Satirical Literature, Love & Sexuality, Business & Economics, Relationships, American Literature, Post-War Era, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

John Collier (1901-1980) is best known for his short stories, many of which are constructed as fantastic parables of modern day life. He also wrote poetry and screenplays, and was a developer for the television show “The Twilight Zone.” “The Chaser” first appeared in his short story collection Fancies and Goodnights, which won the 1952 Edgar Award and the 1952 International Fantasy Award. It is a cautionary parable of love, capitalism, and the wisdom of... Read The Chaser Summary