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Community Corner

Looking for A Love Story? Check Out These Books

Follow your heart to the library or bookstore where the best in love stories (both self-help and fiction) awaits.

 

Whether or not romantic love is in your life, there are several great “love”-themed reads that range from traditional boy-meets-girl stories to those that focus on self-love reflection.

Christine Hage, director of the , said Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre was the first love story she read, back when she was in seventh grade.

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The love story Hage usually recommends is called Phantom Waltz, by her favorite author, Catherine Anderson.

Michelle Wooddell, co-owner of the in Berkley, suggests delving into the world of love triangles, bridal showers and singles ads.

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Her favorite picks for Valentine’s reading include:

  • An Available Man,  by Hilma Wolitzer. New in Hardcover – this is the story of a widower who cautiously makes his way back into the dating world when his children place a singles ad for him.  “Will he find true love again?” asks Wooddell, who lives in Huntington Woods. 
  • The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides, is  one of 2011’s best novels, says Wooddell, and is shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award.  This novel tells the story of three college friends and the love triangle that engulfs them as they make their way in the world.
  • Girls in White Dresses, by Jennifer Close, is a novel that focuses on three women whose lives are consumed with bridal showers and weddings as they watch their friends find true love. “Will these three ever find the right man, though?” Wooddell asks.

For reflection and heart-happiness, Carol Mastroianni, executive director
of the Bloomfield Hills-based Birmingham Bloomfield Community Coalition
suggests non-fiction tomes, including:

  • Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert.  Follow a woman and her issues on her inspiring trip around the world to find peace.
  • The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz (Those “agreements” are: Be Impeccable with Your Word, Don’t Take Anything Personally, Don’t Make Assumptions, Always Do Your Best)
  • You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise L. Hay. If we are willing to do the mental work, almost anything can be healed, believes this author.  
  • The Power, by Rhonda Byrne (author of The Secret). Byrne reveals how to have anything you want.
  • A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle, who believes that with a new state of consciousness, your life can be fulfilling.
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