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 Retrieved Reformation

by O. Henry

Publication year 1903

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Love, Fate

Tags Education, Education, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Classic Fiction, American Literature

“A Retrieved Reformation,” by prolific American short story writer O. Henry, was first published as “A Retrieved Reform” in The Cosmopolitan in 1903. The story is an example of Realism, a literary movement popular in the US and Europe in the years between the end of the American Civil War and the early 20th century. Realism explores the everyday lives of ordinary people, using detailed descriptions and colloquial dialogue. Events in “A Retrieved Reformation” are... Read A Retrieved Reformation Summary

Ariel

by Sylvia Plath

Publication year 1965

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Death, Femininity, Perseverance, Love, Order & Chaos

Tags Free Verse, Animals, Race & Racism, Gender & Feminism, Confessional, Women`s Studies, American Literature, World History, Mental Illness, Classic Fiction

... Read Ariel Summary

Artemis Fowl

by Eoin Colfer

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Perseverance, Wins & Losses, Safety & Danger, Power & Greed, Justice, Trust & Doubt, Teamwork, Environment, Coming of Age, Family

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Mythology, Children`s Literature

Artemis Fowl (2001) is the first of 11 fantasy novels in the Fowl Adventures series. It was written by Eoin Colfer, an Irish writer, and details the titular character’s attempt to restore his family’s fortune by kidnapping an elf named Holly Short. Taking place in Colfer’s home country of Ireland, the novel is also his first foray into the fantasy genre. The novel explores themes of community, environmentalism, and the line between magic and science.In... Read Artemis Fowl Summary

A Ruin of Roses

by K.F. Breene

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Safety & Danger, Guilt, Hope, Gender Identity, Appearance & Reality, Plants, Family, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Romance, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Humor

... Read A Ruin of Roses Summary

As A Man Thinketh

by James Allen

Publication year 1902

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Fear, Joy, Love, Mental Health, Future, The Past, Environment, Nature Versus Nurture, Place, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Art, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Literature, New Age, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies

Tags Self-Improvement, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion & Spirituality, Inspirational

... Read As A Man Thinketh Summary

As Bright As Heaven

by Susan Meissner

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes War, Family, Grief, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Gratitude, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Regret, Nostalgia, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Coming of Age, Death, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II

... Read As Bright As Heaven Summary

A Severe Mercy

by Sheldon Vanauken

Publication year 1977

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Marriage, Beauty, Grief, Death, Self Discovery, Love, Trust & Doubt

Tags Religion & Spirituality, Christian, Grief & Death, Biography

Sheldon Vanauken’s celebrated memoir A Severe Mercy is a moving portrait of deep love confronted with suffering and death. Published in 1977, A Severe Mercy was written by Vanauken from the compilation of many years’ worth of journal entries, hand-written letters, and firsthand accounts of the people and events that the narrative relates. As a Yale- and Oxford-trained scholar and professor of English and an accomplished poet and author, Vanauken brings his literary expertise to... Read A Severe Mercy Summary

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

by William Wordsworth

Publication year 1800

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Grief, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Nostalgia, Aging, Death, Environment, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Lyric Poem, Grief & Death, Romanticism

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) is the author of the lyrical ballad “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal” (1800). The poem appears in the second edition of Lyrical Ballads (1800), which featured poems by Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. There are four editions of Lyrical Ballads, and the first edition (1798) helped launch English Romanticism. The movement stressed the tumultuous power of nature and the individual human spirit. “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal” reflects the principles... Read A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Summary

A Spark of Light

by Jodi Picoult

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Guilt, Love, Politics & Government

Tags Realistic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Health, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature

Published in 2019, Jodi Picoult’s novel A Spark of Light tells the story of a gunman’s attack on an abortion clinic from multiple points of view, examining the lives of different characters and the events that lead them to the clinic on that day. Picoult is a New York Times best-selling author and has written 28 novels, several of which have been adapted for film and television. Her books are known for tackling social issues... Read A Spark of Light Summary