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 Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus The Rest Of Us

by Martha Stout

Publication year 2005

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Fear, Loneliness, Love, Mental Health, Community, Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Sociology, Psychology, Science & Nature, True Crime, Mental Illness

The Sociopath Next Door is a nonfiction exploration of “sociopathy” (now referred to as antisocial personality disorder, or ASPD) written by psychologist Martha Stout, PhD. The book was originally published in 2005 and reflects commonly held clinical and public views of ASPD as an incurable personality disorder that isolates those who have it from the rest of society. Stout is a psychologist who works with patients who have experienced trauma, and many of these traumatic... Read The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus The Rest Of Us Summary

The Song of Hiawatha

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Publication year 1855

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Love, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Memory, Language, Race, Future, The Past, Environment, Place, Family, Colonialism, Community, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Narrative Poem, Fairy Tale & Folklore, American Literature, Romanticism, Agriculture, US History, Science & Nature

... Read The Song of Hiawatha Summary

The Sorrows of Young Werther

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Publication year 1774

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Grief, Love, Mental Health, Self Discovery

Tags Classic Fiction, Romanticism, German Literature, Education, Education, World History, Romance

The Sorrows of Young Werther (in German, Die Leiden des jungen Werthers), written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is a semi-autobiographical epistolary novel published in 1774. The story unfolds through a series of letters penned by the eponymous protagonist, Werther, and mainly chronicles his experiences in the small town of Wahlheim. Werther, a sensitive and idealistic young man, arrives in the town and becomes enamored with Lotte, a local magistrate’s daughter. His unrequited love becomes... Read The Sorrows of Young Werther Summary

The Spectator Bird

by Wallace Stegner

Publication year 1976

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Aging, Love, Environment, Immigration, Regret

Tags American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

The Spectator Bird, Wallace Stegner’s 11th novel and winner of the 1977 National Book Award, takes a hawklike view, both expansive and intimate, of such things as aging, death, love, loss, temptation, and regret. A sequel to his novel All the Little Live Things (1967), Bird follows the same protagonist and narrator, the retiree Joe Allston, but interlaces past and present, death and rebirth, memory and mythology. Stegner, who was 67 when Bird was published... Read The Spectator Bird Summary

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

by Anne Fadiman

Publication year 1997

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Love, Disability, Trust & Doubt

Tags Health, Science & Nature, Sociology, Immigration & Refugeeism, American Literature, Education, Education, Anthropology, Anthropology, World History, Biography

Anne Fadiman’s nonfiction book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures chronicles the life of Lia Lee, a Hmong girl who lives with her family in Merced, California, in the 1980s and 1990s. The book examines the cultural misunderstandings and conflicting belief systems that result in Lia’s poor medical treatment after she is diagnosed with a severe form of epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome... Read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Summary

The Stationery Shop

by Marjan Kamali

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Forgiveness, Grief, Hope, Joy, Love, Memory, Nostalgia, Regret, Race, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Midlife, Death, Future, The Past, Family, Marriage, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Economics, Immigration, Politics & Government, War, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Middle Eastern Literature, Romance

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The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

by Jennifer E. Smith

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Family, Coming of Age, Fathers, Marriage, Self Discovery, Fate

Tags Romance, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Jennifer E. Smith’s The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (2012) is one of nine books that she has written for young adults to date. In an interview with Buzz Magazine, Smith said, “I’m kind of obsessed with moments in time that act as hinges, days where there’s a really clear split between before and after—where yesterday, your life was one way, and tomorrow it will be entirely different” (“Author Interview: Jennifer E. Smith.”... Read The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight Summary

The Stolen Heir

by Holly Black

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Wins & Losses, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt, Safety & Danger, Power & Greed, Loyalty & Betrayal, Family, Appearance & Reality, Love, Hate & Anger

Tags Romance, Fantasy, Fairy Tale & Folklore

... Read The Stolen Heir Summary