Great
romantic
ADDITIONAL
RECOMMENDED
ROMANTIC FICTION
reads
“The Elegance of the Hedgehog” by Muriel Barbery
“The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Miffenegger
“Possession” by A. S. Byatt
life. Still suffering from his own heartbreak,
it seems “the only one he can’t heal through
literature is himself.”
“A Long Fatal Love Chase” by Louisa
May Alcott: “(The heroine) Rosamond Vivi-
an, brought up on a remote island by an indif-
ferent grandfather, swears she’d sell her soul
to Satan for a year of freedom. When Phil-
ip Tempest enters her life, she is ripe for the
plucking, but is soon caught up
in a web of intrigue, cruelty and
deceit stretching back far into
the past.” —Publisher’s Weekly
“One Plus One” by JoJo
What’s not here
Moyes: “One Plus One
The wildly popular, more
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formulaic romances, by
its ensemble cast of skillful-
authors like Victoria Holt,
ly crafted characters — from
Georgette Heyer, Nora Rob-
single-mom Jess Thomas to
erts and many others, are a
tortured goth teen Nicky and
huge topic best reserved for
gifted sister Tanzie to Ed
another day. Two things are al-
Nicholls, technology mil-
ways present in them: the sto-
lionaire — each person’s
ry focuses on the relationship
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and romantic love between two
they all meld together into
people and always has a happy
an uncommonly good sto-
ending or at least the expecta-
ry about family, trust and
tion of one.
love.” —Donna Chavez on
Also not included here are the
Booklist
great romantic classics of au-
“The Rosie Project”
thors like Jane Austen, Daphne
by Graeme Simsion: “In
du Maurier, the Brontë sisters,
his bestselling debut nov-
and the like — proof certainly
el, ‘The Rosie Project,’
that there are plenty of literary
Simsion introduced the de-
romances out there. However,
lightfully original character
it’s doubtful that most readers
of Don Tillman, an Austra-
don’t already know about these
lian geneticist with Asperg-
authors’ works.
er’s syndrome who sets out
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Fiction
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“Scott Pilgrim’s Precious
—People Magazine
Little Life” by Scott O’Mal-
“The Plum Tree” by El-
ley: ³7KH ¿UVW LQ D VL[ERRN
len Marie Wiseman: “Told
graphic novel series about
from the perspective of a
love lost and won. (It’s)
young, non-Jewish German
centrally based around mu-
woman living through the
sic (and/or) games, with a
‘Comedy of Errors’ feel. It shows how Scott d e p r i v a - tions of WWII and the rising
learns about things far beyond himself with fear of the Nazis … (this book) follows a
the help of a young woman named Ramona family torn by feelings of patriotism … and
and her exes.” —Lindsay Johnson, Astoria the growing Nazi terror. (Wiseman) weaves
a story of intrigue, terror and love from a
Librarian
“Little Paris Bookshop” by Nina perspective not often seen in Holocaust
George: Calling himself a “literary apothe- novels.” —Jewish Book World
“The Wind is not a River” by Brian
cary,” Monsieur Perdu (which means “lost”
LQ)UHQFKRSHUDWHVDÀRDWLQJERRNVWRUHIURP Payton: “(A) gripping tale of survival
a barge on the Seine in Paris, where he pre- and an epic love story in which a husband
scribes novels to heal customers’ troubles in and wife — separated by the only battle
With Valentine’s Day around the corner,
there are few better ways to get your “ro-
mance injection” than through books, in print
or digital form. To help get you started, area
libraries and bookstores kindly recommend-
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— of books fashioned in a romantic vein.
They’re listed here in no particular order; and
because the next best thing to enjoying a book
is to turn someone else onto it, this writer
couldn’t resist adding some
of her favorites to the mix.
of World War II to
“Change of Heart” by Jody Piccoult
take place on Amer-
“Lakeside Cottage” by Susan Wiggs
LFDQ VRLO ² ¿JKW WR
“Brooklyn” by Colm Tobin
reunite in Alaska’s
starkly
beautiful
“Keeping Kate” by Lauren Winder Farnsworth
Aleutian Islands.”
“The Poldark Saga” by Winston Graham
—Amazon.com
“A Sweetness
“War Brides” by Helen Bryan
to the Soul” by
“Becoming Clementine” by Jennifer Niven
Jane Kirkpatrick:
“Based on his-
torical characters
and events … the
captivating story
of young, spirit-
ed Oregon pio-
neer Jane Herbert,
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self involved in an
unusual and touch-
ing romance with a
dreamer 16 years her
senior, struggles to
make peace with an
emotionally distant
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build a family of her
own.” —Amazon.com
When it comes to
well-written
romantic
to helping win World War II,
¿FWLRQDIHZRIWKLVZULW-
American soldiers stationed in
er’s personal favorites
the U.K. also won the hearts of
include: Mrs. Gaskell’s
more than 70,000 young women
wonderful 19th centu-
from all over their host country.
ry novel of love amid the
:KHQWKH¿JKWLQJVWRSSHGWKHVHEULGHVIRO-
industrial revolution in northern Britain, lowed husbands they hardly knew to a new
“North and South”; Alison Lurie’s explora- life in the U.S.
tion of seniors in love in “Foreign Affairs”;
the young adult novel “The Sherwood Thanks to director Jane Tucker and librarian Lindsay John-
Ring” by Elizabeth Marie Pope, which in-
son at the Astoria Public Library; Karla Nelson, owner of
FOXGHVWDVW\ELWVRIKLVWRULFDO¿FWLRQDQGWKUHH Time Enough Books in Ilwaco; Esther Moberg at the Seaside
ghosts; and “Pink Slip” by Rita Ciresi.
Public Library; and library assistant Katherine White at
Ilwaco Timberland Library for their invaluable help.
Non-fiction
“The Astronaut Wives Club” by Lily
Koppe: The wives who smiled bravely
as their husbands — America’s Mercury
7 astronauts — took off on death-defying
missions is the subject here. These women
came as close to being royalty as is possi-
ble in this country. They enjoyed tea with
Jackie Kennedy, graced the cover of Life
magazine and even set fashion trends. A
fascinating and inspiring story.
“GI Brides: the Wartime Girls who
Crossed the Atlantic for Love” by Dun-
can Barrett and Nuala Calvi: In addition
the arts
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February 11, 2016 | coastweekend.com | 9