5 Books To Read When You're Falling In Loooooove
Unfortunately, most literature is food for the love hungry -- not the love satisfied. But if you can focus while your brain chemicals are raging, here are some books that will teach you something about that wonderful thing called love.
By Natalie Ramm
Falling in love feels like you’re on the downward swoop of a rollercoaster all the time. It’s like being encased in a bubble where good feelings swirl around you and bad feelings bounce right off. Unfortunately, most literature is food for the love hungry — not the love satisfied. But if you can focus while your brain chemicals are raging, here are some books that will teach you something about that wonderful thing called love.
How The French Invented Love, by Marilyn Yalom
A nonfiction book that takes you through 900 years of French history while cataloging tales of lovers. The French are love experts. Paris is the city of love after all. And this book shows us why that’s the case. The author, an American, also talks about her own love journey, and how lovers in France are different from those in the States.
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Other People’s Love Letters, by Bill Shapiro
A beautiful book of love letters from strangers around the nation. It’s modeled like Post Secret books — featuring full-color pages. These intimate words that were never meant for your eyes may even inspire you to write a love letter of your own. It is almost Valentine’s Day!
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Everything I Know About Love I Learned From Romance Novels, by Sarah Wendell
I love romance novels and, as flawed as they are, I think they’ve taught me a lot about love. For example, we all deserve a happy ending (like in the together forever way)! This book is Sarah Wendell’s extremely entertaining account of how romance novels have shaped her view of relationships.
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Emma, by Jane Austen
When you’re in love, it’s fun to read about others falling in love. Maybe you know for sure that the person you love loves you back — but maybe you don’t. Jane Austen was a master at the suspense of courtship and the anxiety that comes with letting your feelings be known.
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All There Is: Loves Stories From StoryCorps, by David Isay
These are stories from David Isay’s oral history project — some of which you may have heard on NPR. They span the butterflies of first dating to the solid commitment of long-time partners. Stories of real people in love — just like you. 
Related: 11 Books You Should Read If You’re A Woman In Your 20s.
