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 Hunchback of Notre-Dame

by Victor Hugo

Publication year 1831

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Fear, Gratitude, Hate & Anger, Love, Regret, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Disability, Language, Sexual Identity, Death, Family, Friendship, Social Class, Community, Education, Nation, Politics & Government, Art, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Gothic Literature, French Literature, World History

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is an 1831 gothic novel by French author Victor Hugo, originally published under the title Notre-Dame de Paris. Set in 15th-century France, the novel concerns the intertwined stories of Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Archdeacon Claude Frollo. The story has been adapted many times for theater, television, and film, including an animated film by Disney released in 1996.This guide refers to the 2009 Oxford Classics edition of the novel, translated from French to... Read The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Summary

The Hungry Woman

by Cherríe Moraga

Publication year 2001

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Hate & Anger, Hope, Love, Revenge, Gender Identity, Indigenous Identity, Language, Mental Health, Race, Sexual Identity, Death, Mothers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Drama, LGBTQ+, Gender & Feminism, Science Fiction

... Read The Hungry Woman Summary

The Imaginary Invalid

by Moliere

Publication year 1673

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Love, Family, Fathers

Tags Comedy & Satire, Classic Fiction, French Literature

Le Malade Imaginaire, typically translated as The Imaginary Invalid, opened in Paris in 1673 and was the final play written by the famous French satirist Molière. Molière wrote frequently about doctors, and six of his comedies deal significantly with medical practitioners. The trope of the doctor who is as greedy and as pompous as he is inept—often speaking a jumble of Latin and Greek to prove his intelligence—is a stock character of commedia dell’arte, the... Read The Imaginary Invalid Summary

The Infinite Sea

by Rick Yancey

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Grief, Hope, Love, Coming of Age, Space, Friendship, Teamwork, Self Discovery, War, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Survival Fiction

The Infinite Sea (2014) by Rick Yancey is a young adult science fiction romance novel. It is the second book in The 5th Wave Trilogy, following The 5th Wave (2013) and preceding The Last Star (2016). The trilogy follows protagonist Cassie Sullivan, a 16-year-old girl who survives an invasion by extraterrestrials known as the Others. In the first novel, she meets Evan Walker, a Silencer (a human whose body has been colonized by the consciousness... Read The Infinite Sea Summary

The Island of Missing Trees

by Elif Shafak

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Love, Memory, Race, Nation, The Past, Animals, Family, Plants, Safety & Danger

Tags Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy, Romance, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Food, Trauma & Abuse, European History, World History, Immigration & Refugeeism, LGBTQ+, Love & Sexuality, Military & War, Politics & Government, Science & Nature, Race & Racism, Relationships, Religion & Spirituality, Grief & Death, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read The Island of Missing Trees Summary

The Japanese Lover

by Isabel Allende

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Memory, Race, Sexual Identity, Aging, Death, Social Class, Immigration, Art

Tags Romance, Historical Fiction, World War II, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

The Japanese Lover is Isabel Allende’s 18th novel. Like most of Allende’s work, it falls under the genres of magical realism and historical fiction. The novel was originally published in 2015, the year after Allende was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In addition to the overarching focus on romance and love, the novel addresses issues relating to World War II (WWII), Japanese American incarceration during the 1940s, racism, homophobia, and the struggles of aging... Read The Japanese Lover Summary

The Jasad Heir

by Sara Hashem

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Love, Revenge, Gender Identity, Coming of Age, The Past, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Community, Nation, War, Justice

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Mythology, Action & Adventure

... Read The Jasad Heir Summary

The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything

by SJ James Martin

Publication year 2010

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Good & Evil, Wins & Losses, Forgiveness, Love, Perseverance, Education

Tags Religion & Spirituality, Self-Improvement, Christian, Philosophy, Philosophy

The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life by Father James Martin was published in 2010. The book is an accessible introduction to Ignatian spirituality, a famous Catholic devotional practice developed in the 16th century by St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. Father Martin, who left a career in corporate finance to become a Jesuit priest, is a prolific and popular writer on Catholic topics. He is an editor-at-large... Read The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything Summary

The Kill Order

by James Dashner

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Social Class, Science & Technology

Tags Action & Adventure, Science Fiction, Fantasy

The Kill Order (2012) by American author James Dashner is the fourth novel in the Maze Runner series and a prequel to the first three books. Like the other Maze Runner books, The Kill Order is a work of young adult (YA) dystopian science-fiction. The novel reveals that a virus (the “Flare”) caused by solar flares incited civilization’s destruction and led to the development of the Glade project. The Maze Runner protagonists, Thomas and Teresa... Read The Kill Order Summary