February 2024 — A Many-Splendored Thing

Enter any store on January 2 and you will be inundated by all the pink and red effusiveness that signals the approach of Valentine’s Day in the U.S. Like so many other holidays here, its religious origins have mostly been crowded out by a more superficial display. Romantic love earns the most shelf space—its themes even penetrate the cards exchanged at classroom parties. Despite the narrowed marketing, love was once believed to take many forms. The ancient Greeks, fond of categorizing and describing abstract concepts, identified 7 (sometimes 8) different types of love. Their taxonomy incorporates emotional bonds in other crucial, if less passionate, ways.

This month, I am borrowing the framework from our philosophical friends by listing some titles sorted by the type of love they primarily portray. These books demonstrate how Valentine’s Day might include celebrations of affection beyond the standard roses and chocolate.

	Eros- Romantic Love
	*The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks* "A deeply moving portrait of love itself, the tender moments and the fundamental changes that affect us all."
	*You Made A Fool of Death with Your Beauty - Akwaeke Emezi* "Vivid and passionate writing takes us deep into a world of possibility and healing, and the constant bravery of choosing love against all odds."
	Philia - Affectionate Love
	*My Brilliant Friend - Elena Ferrante* "Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between her two protagonists."
	Family Meal - Bryan Washington "Hope and sustenance and friendship can come from the most unlikely source. A story about how the people who know us the longest can hurt us the most, but how they also set the standard for love."
	Storge - Familial Love
	Gilead: A Novel - Marilynne Robinson "An intimate tale of three generations, from the Civil War to the 20th century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart."
	Hello Beautiful - Ann Napolitano "Vibrating with tenderness, Hello Beautiful is a gorgeous, profoundly moving portrait of what’s possible when we choose to love someone not in spite of who they are, but because of it."
	Ludus - Playful Love
	The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion "A moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges."
	Romantic Comedy - Curtis Sittenfeld "Explores the neurosis-inducing and heart-fluttering wonder of love, while slyly dissecting the social rituals of romance and gender relations in the modern age."
	Pragma - Enduring Love
	The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffennegger "In the face of this force they can neither prevent nor control, Henry and Clare’s struggle to lead normal lives is both intensely moving and entirely unforgettable."
	*A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini* "A story of family and friendship, of an unforgiving time, an unlikely bond, and an indestructible love."
	Mania - Obsessive Love
	Death in Venice - Thomas Mann "A successful but aging writer who follows his wanderlust to Venice in search of spiritual fulfillment that instead leads to his erotic doom."
	Euphoria - Lily King "A firestorm of fierce love and jealousy begins to burn out of control, threatening their bonds, their careers, and, ultimately, their lives..."
	Agape - Universal Love
	How to Love - Thich Nhat Hahn "Shows that when we feel closer to our loved ones, we are also more connected to the world as a whole."
	Atlas of the Heart - Brene Brown "A journey through eighty-seven of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human."
	Philautia - Self-Love
	Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of RAIN - Tara Brach "...discover step-by-step the sources of love, forgiveness, compassion, and deep wisdom alive within all of us."
	Hidden Potential - Adam Grant "This book reveals how anyone can rise to achieve greater things. The true measure of your potential is not the height of the peak you’ve reached, but how far you’ve climbed to get there."
	Summaries sourced from publishers' marketing materials

February's Featured Review

Darling Rose Gold - Stephanie Wrobel

"After serving five years in prison, Patty begs her daughter to take her in. The entire community is shocked when Rose Gold says yes. And Rose Gold is no longer her weak little darling... And she's waited such a long time for her mother to come home."

Hop on the Holds List

1. Funny Story – Emily Henry

2. Extinction – Douglas Preston

3. The Familiar – Leigh Bardugo

4. The Demon of Unrest – Erik Larson

5. You Like It Darker – Stephen King

Quote of the Month:

"Where there is love, there is life." — Mahatma Gandhi

Bookish News and Links:

Love Lists? Try these:

The Grande Dame of searchable content on all things romance-related, with a great breakdown by the genre's common tropes: https://www.romance.io/

A well-established podcast whose episodes are short and sweet reviews of recent romance fiction: https://www.shereadsromanceboo...

Some recommended titles in the newborn sub-genre of "Romantasy:" https://bookriot.com/romantasy...

Adaptation News: March will be a great month for science fiction fans!

Dune Part 2 will be released in theaters on March 15, continuing Frank Herbert's classic story of Paul Atreides.

Netflix is releasing an adaptation of Liu Cixen's popular science fiction trilogy with the 3-Body Problem. Streaming March 21.

Mickey7 is based on a book by Edward Ashton about a "disposable human" sent to colonize an ice planet. It will star Robert Pattinson and is scheduled to appear in theaters on March 29.

Recent Reads

I have recently finished re-reading The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. What a difference reading it again 20 years later! I also just finished listening to The Great Man Theory by Teddy Wayne on Hoopla.

I am currently reading Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie and Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe by Emma Torz. I am listening to the audiobook of Strangers to Ourselves by Rachel Aviv.

How do you celebrate those you love—on Valentine's Day, or on any day?! Fill me in at: jnmegan@gpl.

Until next time: Be safe, be well, and be well-read!

Joelle

So, who am I, anyway? I am a resident of West Groton, with a husband, 3 children in college (and one at GDRHS) and a Samoyed that keeps my vacuum well-employed. I am currently working part time at the Groton Public Library and in a former life I was a Director or PR/Marketing at a high-tech consulting firm. My BA is in Psychology, but most of my time was spent in college earning a Concentration on the Novel. That is all to say that I make no claims at being an expert of any kind and my thoughts, opinions and mistakes are solely my own. I am just a person whose passion for books has continued to grow from the moment I was first able to grip and gnaw on them. I have been devouring them ever since.

Feb 01, 2024 / Joelle M Egan