Eight Great Books for Valentine’s Day

Love stories, family sagas, feline feel-good tales…Whether you’re looking for a gift from the heart to give your new love or the little kids in your life, our friends at Books & Books in Westhampton Beach share their picks for the ideal Valentine’s Day reads.

For the Grown-Ups

Brooklyn: A Novel by Colm Toibin

An achingly sweet tale told by bestselling Irish author Colm Toibin, Brooklyn follows Ellis, an Irish immigrant, and Tony, an Italian New Yorker, as their paths intertwine. Readers will be swept across the Atlantic with Ellis, and then swept away by the emerging love story.

Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution by Mary Gabriel

Brilliantly researched and wonderfully written, Love and Capital is a heartbreaking and dramatic saga of the family side of the man whose works redefined the world after his death. Acclaimed biographer Gabriel earned a National Book Award nomination for her vivid portrait of the personal lives of the Marx family.

The Odds: A Love Story by Stewart O’Nan

For Valentine’s weekend, Art and Marion Fowler flee their Cleveland suburb for Niagara Falls, desperate to rekindle their relationship on a second honeymoon. A tender yet honest exploration of faith, forgiveness, and last changes, The Odds is a reminder that love is always a gamble.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Behind the scenes of the magical night circus, a fierce competition is underway. The duel is between two young magicians, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

Just Kids by Patty Smith

It was the summer Coltrane died, the summer of love and riots, and the summer when a chance encounter in Brooklyn led two young people on a path of art, devotion, and initiation. In this milieu, two kids – Patty Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe – made a pact to take care of each other. Scrappy, romantic, committed to create, and fueled by their mutual dreams and drives, they would prod and provide for one another during the hungry years. Winner of the 2010 National Book Award, Just Kids begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. (Note: Books & Books has autographed copies of the gorgeous book in both paperback and hardcover.)

For the Kids

I Like You by Sandol Stoddard Warburg and Jacqueline Chwast

This small, whimsical book is a heartwarming celebration of our closest relationships, whether with your partner, child, or best friend. A perfect Valentine’s gift for the special people in your life – the ones you can be yourself with. Or, as Warburg puts it, “You know how to be silly / That’s why I like you / Boy are you ever silly / I never met anybody sillier than me / till I met you.”

Love, Splat by Rob Scotton

The lovable but insecure feline Splat the Cat returns to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Splat has a special valentine for a certain someone in his class. Her name is Kitten, and Splat likes her even more than fish sticks and ice cream. But Kitten doesn’t seem to like him at all. And then there’s Splat’s rival, Spike, who also likes Kitten. Will Splat’s heartfelt valentine win Kitten’s paw in the end?

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman

A great Valentine’s Day read for the YA crowd! Min, precocious and equally obsessed with classic cinema and good coffee, broke up with Ed, a popular math-loving jock who secretly carries a protractor. Daniel Handler weaves this heartrending story of first love and other powerful firsts as Min reveals, item by item, what’s in the box she’s leaving on Ed’s doorstep. As readers learn why these two unforgettable characters broke up, the significance of these simple love tokens, beautifully illustrated by Maira Kalman, charmingly unfolds.

For these and other great Valentine’s Day gifts, visit Books & Books at 130 Main Street, Westhampton Beach, NY, call 631- 998-3260, or go online at www.booksandbookswhb.com. (Books & Books Westhampton Beach will be closed February 1 through February 10).