Valentine's can literally be a heaven or hell. Although I'm a single gal on this Valentine's Day, I'm okay with it. Valentine's is a strange time though, and it does make you reflect on love and romance, right? In thinking about this Valentine's I started digging through my book shelves to see what books I had that fit this holiday. Below are just a few of my favorite "love and romance" centered novels.
Gone With the Wind. Honestly, I was in my 20s before I actually read this novel, but like most readers, this became a favorite right away. You might want to shake Scarlet, but her connection to Rhett Butler can't even escape the green eyed vixen! (By the way, the above cover, is the exact cover that I have on my movie edition of the novel. I'm positive it's a collector's item at this point, and I love it.)
A Hopeless Romantic. This was one of my favorite reads of last year, and one that I still really love. Having given up on love, this character finds that romance has more to do with a real love than anything else.
Bridges of Madison County. Yes, I really loved this short novel. I read this book in one sitting many, many years ago, and still remember shedding more than a few tears. This was one of those books that challenged the way I thought of "true love," and how people end up together. If you don't know the story at all, it is gut wrenching.
Anything by Jane Austen. Of course I love Pride and Prejudice, but because of my leaning towards the tragic or semi-tragic, I really love Persuasion. It helps that it has a happy ending though! (Let me add here that I also really love Sharon Lathan's Pride and Prejudice follow up series. As far as romance goes, those are definitely that!)
I've always really loved the Bridget Jones books, as well as most of what Sophie Kinsella has written, such as The Undomestic Goddess, and True Love, and Other Lies by Whitney Gaskell.
As far as "love" unfeigned is concerned, I can't think of a better book than Les Miserables for not only showing the love between a young couple, but mainly the love of one man for all mankind. Just excellent.
I know there are many other books that I could list here, but these are just a few of the books I look to on this Valentine's Day for a good look at love and romance. To all, Happy Valentine's Day!
So, what books do you consider a great fit for the category of love or romance?
Nice selection of books! I always found Pride & Prejudice to be so romantic, and loved Bridget Jones's Diary!
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day! :-)
I read Gone With the Wind for the first time last year, and I LOVED it! BTW, I got the collector's 70th anniversary DVD set for Christmas last year, and your book cover is the cover they used on the lovely velvet collector's box. It's a classic. :)
ReplyDeleteLoved this post! I might have to add some (okay, all) of these to my "to-read-or-reread" list. Hope all is well!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big fan of Bridges of Madison County, though it was okay. I guess my favorite romance would be Jane Eyre.
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