Books About Love: Read this Next!


Reply
 
Topic Tools Search this Thread
Dropdeadredtx is offline Dropdeadredtx Post #1  February 12,2011, 7:07am
Dropdeadredtx's Avatar

Still listening for the jingle of dog tags that isn't there...

Board Leader - Books

Joined: Apr 2010

Houston

Posts: 14,638

See profile

In honor of St. Valentine, I thought we would start with the 'L' word - books about love. Now where not talking about Harlequin romance novels and chick lit, but real literature about real love.
According to the authors of Read This Next, the top books about love are:

Camille, by Alexander Dumas, fils
Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert
Enduring Love , by Ian McEwan
Chilly Scenes of Winter, by Anne Beattie
The Pursuit of Love, by Nancy Mitford
The Bloody Chamber, by Angela Carter
Endless Love, by Scott Spencer
Gentleman Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
Marriage, a History: How Love conquered Marriage, by Stephanie Coontz
The Last of the Wine, by Mary Renault
The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five, by Doris Lessing
The Blue Flower, by Penelope Fitzgerald


(This list does not include historical romance or alternative love stories, those have their own lists!)


So - have you read any of these books? Do you agree or diagree? What is on your list, and why - touching story, true characterizations, beautiful writing? I have my own list, but I'll save it for later.
 
  Reply With Quote
Sassafras54 is offline Sassafras54 — Advice Official Moderator Post #2  February 12,2011, 9:48am
Sassafras54's Avatar

Your Community Coordinator

Moderator

Joined: Oct 2009

San Pedro, CA

Posts: 9,088

See profile

I think the only one of those I've read is Madame Bovary ... and that was a long time ago; probably should re-read. It's an archetype at this point!

I really like Andrea Barrett's books, for thoughts about love. They're not specifically about that but they explore relationships in a deep way and her writing is beautiful, among the best I've ever read. She really has become one of my favorite authors. Her only drawback is she's not terrifically prolific! However I think she isn't very old so hopefully there will be a lot more.

These 3 are basically a trilogy, although she did not plan them to be; she just got interested in some of the side characters and kept developing them, so you can read them in any order:

Servants of the Map
Ship Fever
Voyage of the Narwhal
 
  Reply With Quote
Dropdeadredtx is offline Dropdeadredtx Post #3  February 12,2011, 10:04am
Dropdeadredtx's Avatar

Still listening for the jingle of dog tags that isn't there...

Board Leader - Books

Joined: Apr 2010

Houston

Posts: 14,638

See profile

Sassy, Voyage of the Narwhal has been recommended to me a time or two, so I think I may have to go for it now. You say there is no particular order?
 
  Reply With Quote
Sassafras54 is offline Sassafras54 — Advice Official Moderator Post #4  February 12,2011, 11:57am
Sassafras54's Avatar

Your Community Coordinator

Moderator

Joined: Oct 2009

San Pedro, CA

Posts: 9,088

See profile

Narwhal is a novel, and the other 2 books I listed are short story collections. Some of the short stories have characters who occur in other stories and in Narwhal, or are related to those characters.

The short stories jump around in time, while Narwhal is set in one time -- so you pick up bits of this or that character's backstory when you've already read about their later life, etc.

You could check on their publication dates and read them in the order that she wrote them, but you'll still get the chronological jumping around, so it doesn't really matter. I read Ship Fever first, Servants 2nd, Narwhal 3rd.

And on love ... Narwhal has 2 extraordinary love stories in it ... and the short-story books have a number of love stories.

I just can't over-praise Barrett ... I think she'll be a classic. Enjoy!
 
  Reply With Quote
Dropdeadredtx is offline Dropdeadredtx Post #5  February 19,2011, 8:34am
Dropdeadredtx's Avatar

Still listening for the jingle of dog tags that isn't there...

Board Leader - Books

Joined: Apr 2010

Houston

Posts: 14,638

See profile

I have thought about it, and I would have to add Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund; The Woman and the Ape by Peter Hoeg, Bag of Bones by Stephen King (I know, I know, but the love at the center of this novel is toushing and enduring) and my number one choise, The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald.
Who can deny the beauty of this passage:
At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower, and the incarnation was complete.
 
  Reply With Quote
smay is offline smay Post #6  February 19,2011, 8:37am
smay's Avatar

is in a relationship

Quick Study

Joined: Dec 2010

Texas

Posts: 81

See profile

Dropdeadred, you have wonderful taste in books. Have you read any A. S. Byatt? You would like.
 
  Reply With Quote
Dropdeadredtx is offline Dropdeadredtx Post #7  February 19,2011, 9:43am
Dropdeadredtx's Avatar

Still listening for the jingle of dog tags that isn't there...

Board Leader - Books

Joined: Apr 2010

Houston

Posts: 14,638

See profile

smay wrote :
Dropdeadred, you have wonderful taste in books. Have you read any A. S. Byatt? You would like.
I read The Children's Book and thought it was good but a tad wordy, but have since read reviews that it is not her best work. What would you recommend?
 
  Reply With Quote
smay is offline smay Post #8  February 19,2011, 3:46pm
smay's Avatar

is in a relationship

Quick Study

Joined: Dec 2010

Texas

Posts: 81

See profile

Dropdeadredtx wrote :
I read The Children's Book and thought it was good but a tad wordy, but have since read reviews that it is not her best work. What would you recommend?
Possession or Babel Tower.
 
  Reply With Quote
Reply


« Read This Next! | Books | Historical Romance »
Topic Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new topics
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off

Similar Topics
Topic Topic Starter Board Replies Last Post
Relationships and the ritual of love? Diana_P Relationships 6 January 18,2011 6:48am
Is love something you do or own? Diana_P Philosophy and Dating 1 January 4,2011 9:14pm
How many books did you read this year? eHA_Admin_Lori Books 23 January 2,2011 5:53pm
What is Love? lionelatl Christian Singles 1 November 27,2010 2:49pm
do all men read the mars venus books? nishatika Dating 30 September 25,2009 8:20pm

Looking for a Great Relationship?

Get started now. Fill out this form and take the questionnaire to receive your matches.

First Name:

I'm a:
seeking

Postal Code:

Country:

Email:

Confirm Email:

Password:


How did you hear about us?


Latest on our Dating Advice Discussion Boards

“He broke up...The best way to stay hung-up is to keep dwelling,wishing, hoping, reminiscing....Like staring at an empty bottle of booze when you are trying to quit drinking. Rather than focus on a ... ” –  Wiseman2

Join the “Can I wait and move on at the same time?” discussion

“Oh how annoying - I had typed a HUGE post prompted by TheThinker's query as to why I would think it a good idea to wait 5-10 years to date/or until children are out of the house. I am too annoyed to ... ” –  picklesNcream

Join the “Transition from dating to relationship” discussion

“This is very true. If someone has a truly old /outdated account since the questionnaire was altered then it's a decent solution. It's become an urban legend on eHA that this is a good idea. Mostly ... ” –  Wiseman2

Join the “Different Strategy” discussion

“Shared interests and ones who are laddetts for mine.” –  ian80au

Join the “Green Flags in Profiles” discussion

“Completely cancel /delete your existing account. That will also cancel /delete all long-dead, geographically irrelevant matches. Since you are in a new area it's silly to use an old /outdated ... ” –  Wiseman2

Join the “Removing old matches - there has to be a better way” discussion

“I'm very sorry for your loss, Suzanne. It's not surprising you're feeling confused and making some memory errors. That happened to me too when my mother died. Life just isn't normal for awhile. ... ” –  Sassafras54

Join the “Photo Review” discussion

“I am closing this thread since the Original Poster (OP) was asking about the eHarmony of 2-1/2 years ago -- the thread is old (see date in the upper right of the first post). Some responses will no ... ” –  Sassafras54

Join the “What about a "PET BOX" ?? again this sounds simple or??” discussion

“Thanks for your advice guys, really helps out. I guess everything is a matter of balance, which isn't something that I can work out right now. I think I will focus on school for the remaining 3 years ... ” –  jrw93

Join the “Should I ever date in college?” discussion



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 5:44am.

Discussion Boards Archive

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2012, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0