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.

Wildfire

by Hannah Grace

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Shame & Pride, Fathers, Self Discovery

Tags Romance, New Adult, Sports, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction

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Wild

by Cheryl Strayed

Publication year 2012

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Forgiveness, Memory, Hate & Anger, Love, Shame & Pride, Fear, Grief, Perseverance, Conflict, Loneliness, Hope, Safety & Danger, Environment, Place, Mothers

Tags Grief & Death, Travel Literature, Relationships, Love & Sexuality, Science & Nature, Action & Adventure, Biography

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Wild Wings

by Gill Lewis

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Nature Versus Nurture, Love, Animals, Community, Family

Tags Animals, Realistic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Grief & Death, Children`s Literature, Science & Nature

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Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Publication year 1795

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Coming of Age, Love, Art

Tags Philosophy, German Literature, Coming of Age

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship (1795-96) is a foundational bildungsroman (novel of education) that follows a merchant’s son, Wilhelm, as he tries to exchange bourgeois security for a life shaped by the theater. The novel moves from private romance and theatrical apprenticeship into a wider world of traveling performers, aristocratic patronage, and secretive educational networks and explores themes of The Gradual Formation of Character Through Experience, The Tension Between Artistic Aspiration and Bourgeois... Read Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship Summary

Wings of Starlight

by Allison Saft

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Guilt, Hope, Joy, Love, Coming of Age, Future, The Past, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Nature Versus Nurture, Place, Friendship, Teamwork, Community, Politics & Government, War, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Fairy Tale & Folklore

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wishes for sons

by Lucille Clifton

Publication year 1987

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Coming of Age, Childhood & Youth, Love, Shame & Pride, Fear, Perseverance, Conflict, Hope, Justice, Equality, Power & Greed, Mothers

Tags Lyric Poem, Gender & Feminism

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