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 Last Ride Together

by Robert Browning

Publication year 1855

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Love, Nostalgia

Tags Poetry: Dramatic Poem, Love & Sexuality, Victorian Period

“The Last Ride Together” is a poem by the Victorian poet Robert Browning (1812-1889), first published in his 1855 collection Men and Women. It is an example of the poetic genre for which Browning is most famous: the dramatic monologue. Such a poem consists of words uttered by a speaker who is different from the author and whose personality is gradually revealed through his/her own words. This genre appealed to Browning because it allowed him... Read The Last Ride Together Summary

The Last Song

by Nicholas Sparks

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Regret, Coming of Age, Death, Appearance & Reality, Family, Fathers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Music, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Dramatic Literature, Coming of Age

The Last Song (2009) is a contemporary coming-of-age romance novel by American author Nicholas Sparks, a celebrated writer of best-selling works such as The Notebook and A Walk to Remember that are often set in coastal North Carolina. Sparks developed the novel’s story alongside the screenplay for its 2010 film adaptation. The plot centers on a rebellious teenage girl forced to spend the summer with her estranged father, leading her to reconnect with her passion... Read The Last Song Summary

The Last Tycoon

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Publication year 1941

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Power & Greed, Love, Fate

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

The Last Tycoon is an unfinished novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald that charts the rise of Monroe Stahr, a film producer in 1930s Hollywood. Its fragments were collected and edited by Fitzgerald’s friend Edmund Wilson and published posthumously in 1941, the year after Fitzgerald’s death. The book’s protagonist is widely considered to be modelled after the real-life film producer Irving Thalberg, whom Fitzgerald greatly admired. The story focuses on the inner workings of the film... Read The Last Tycoon Summary

The Life She Was Given

by Ellen Marie Wiseman

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Disability, Coming of Age, Animals, Place, Mothers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Beauty, Fame, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Drama, Animals, World History, Dramatic Literature

... Read The Life She Was Given Summary

The Little Paris Bookshop

by Nina George, Transl. Simon Pare

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Literature, Love, Grief, Death

Tags Romance, Psychological Fiction, German Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, French Literature, Travel Literature

Nina George’s romance novel The Little Paris Bookshop was originally published in German in 2013 and was translated to English by Simon Pare in 2015. The story follows Jean Perdu, a bookseller, as he travels from Paris to Avignon on his floating bookstore, the Literary Apothecary. Perdu leaves Paris on a whim after receiving heartbreaking news about the death of his former lover. Perdu is joined in his travels by Max Jordan, a bestselling author... Read The Little Paris Bookshop Summary

The Longest Ride

by Nicholas Sparks

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Marriage, Coming of Age

Tags Romance, Historical Fiction, Relationships, Grief & Death, Love & Sexuality, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature

In 2013’s The Longest Ride, Nicholas Sparks, one of the most prolific and successful American romance novelists of the millennium, investigates how despite their differences, opposite personalities can find their way to commitment. In juxtaposing two relationships, one ending after more than 50 years and the other just beginning, this #1 New York Times bestselling novel explores how love can flourish, endure, and sustain even through the most difficult times. The novel is part Western... Read The Longest Ride Summary