What Should I Read?
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, its fun to read a book about love – soul mate love, friendship love, or family love. Personally, I am torn between two very different books. Book Lovers by Emily Henry which looks to be a meet-cute book with a twist. Henry writes smart, fun stories (read below for a recommendation for another of her books), so this would a light, presumably quick read. A more serious choice would be Everything I Have is Yours: A Marriage, a memoir by Eleanor Henderson. Eleanor recounts her 20-year marriage to her husband with medical and mental health issues.
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(Note: After I posted this, I realized Book Lovers won't be published until May 2022. Oops!)
I’ll make the choice after I finish re-reading my book club book, Anxious People by Fredrick Backman. I’m looking forward to this discuss because it was a hard novel for me to get into but it worth it. I’m curious what others will think.
My Favorite Love Story (lately)
A few years ago, a friend recommended The Heart of Hearing Hearbeats by Jan-Philipp-Sendker (shout out to Dayna) a few years ago. It is a beautifully written love story that stays with you. After finding a love letter from her father to a Burmese woman, a daughter (Julia) sets out to find out why her father mysteriously disappeared years ago. Set
primarily in Burma, Julia learns the story of her father’s first love. I always love reading books about new places and Sendker gives you a feel for Burma and Burmese people.
A Few Ideas for You
Everyone has their idea of a good love story so I’m going to throw out a few ideas – books that tell different types of love stories.
Looking for a steaming novel? Nothing beats Diana Gabaldon’s first book in The
Outlander series: The Outlander. Jamie and Claire have a steamy, lusty love that becomes rooted in true, soul-mate love. And you get eight more books! Don’t let the time-travel aspect steer you away (its done very well) but I would understand if 850 pages overwhelms you.
Want to read a book in a weekend? Pick up Beach Read by Emily Henry. Two authors end up working on their next novel in neighboring beach houses. Throw in some history between them and some well-meaning friends and watch the sparks fly.
More interested in a story about friendships? Try The Love Story Of Missing Carmichael by Beth Morrey. I wrote a short review on my Goodreads account and this was one of my favorite books of 2021. 79- year-old, Missy is lonely and stuck reliving her past relationships with her children & husband. After meeting some neighbors, she comes into her true self. These few sentences don’t do it justice.
Do you want to cry? Pick up John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. The book was also made into a movie which is a tearjerker too. Hazel has been fighting cancer for most of her life when Augustus joins her Cancer Support Group and changes her life. Be sure you have a box of tissues nearby.
Whichever story appeals to you, I hope you spend time with love ones on or around Valentine’s Day.
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