Passionate romances, star-crossed lovers, and sweeping gestures of affection. At some point and even now, we have all been enthralled by such stories. But there are diverse ways in which love manifests itself.
Today I share with you a compilation of recommendations beyond traditional romances that showcase love in all its forms. From platonic friendships to familial bonds. From self-love to the love for our furry friends. Some popular. Some under-appreciated. A diverse range of reads that celebrate the different facets of love.
Books Celebrating Self-love
At the top of the list is the most important love of all. Loving oneself. Across genres, the amount of books on the subject is endless. I share my top favorite fiction reads that are worth the hype.
From Black Cake, a brilliant book that I cannot recommend enough to Evelyn’s personal journey. From a coming-of-age story Where the Crawdads Sing to Elizabeth Zott’s journey of self-discovery in Lessons in Chemistry.
Young Adult Books on Self-love
Self-love is such an important topic that it deserves a sub-category of its own. Young readers today are blessed to have access to a diverse range of books. Characters and experiences they identify with.
TJ Powar has Something to Prove and Fat Chance, Charlie Vega on body positivity. Felix‘s journey of self-discovery to Tania de Batz’s resolve to not allow her illness to define her (a gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers). Who says YA books are not for adults?
The Beauty of Platonic Love and Friendships
Unconventional love stories that do not follow formulaic plots. Friendships. Compassion. Kindness. Discover a collection of books that celebrate the unbreakable bond.
A heartwarming tale of neighborly love in A Man Call Ove to an unconventional friendship between a dying professor and a student in Tuesdays with Morrie. Platonic love in Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow to found family in Happy Place.
Exploring Filial and Sibling Love
Love them, hate them, can’t live without them. Family is family after all. Think family and The Bennet Sisters are the first ones that come to mind. Here are my favorite picks celebrating sibling and filial love.
A laugh riot Dial A for Aunties to Carter family’s resolve in The Hate U Give. The story of three sisters in The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters to the My Sister the Serial Killer.
Tails of Love for our Furry Friends
Our furry companions are more than our friends. They are family! If you are a pet parent or not, pick these heartwarming reads that celebrate the bond and unconditional love. A journey filled with love, laughter, wet noses, and wagging tails.
From Marley, the world’s worst dog to Bailey, a “good dog” who finds his purpose. Dewey, the small-town library cat who touched the world to Enzo, a philosopher with a nearly human soul.
Tales of True Patriotism
As an army child surrounded by soldiers within the family and beyond, I have grown up on a healthy dose of heroic tales about valor. If you like me enjoy such stories, check out the recommendations below
From Param Vir Chakra awardees to the heroes of the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak war to the very recent series India’s Most Fearless by Shiv Aroor.
For the Love of Reading
A list of book recommendations cannot be complete without discussing the love for books and reading. Magical realism, historical fiction, non-fiction, or a contemporary read, whatever your genre of choice, I have a pick for you.
From the magic of books in The Wishing Game (I am currently listening to the book and thoroughly enjoying it) to the healing power of The Reading List. From the Where I’m Reading From that raises some pertinent questions to the ever popular The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
Rumi once said, “Love is not an emotion, it is your very existence.” Let’s continue to embrace all forms of love, in literature and in our lives. Because love is love, in all its beautiful and diverse forms. What are your favorite books that celebrate love? Do share in the comments below.
Beyond Romance: Books That Celebrate The Diverse Forms Of Love #BlogaberryDazzle Click To Tweet
This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Bohemian Bibliophile.
This post was created for the Blogaberry Creative (Monthly) Challenge.
Photo credit: Canva.com
February 21, 2024 @ 8:00 am
I’m intriguied by Evelyn Hugo. Want to check that out soon! Also, my sister, the serial killer.
February 21, 2024 @ 11:45 am
What I liked about this post of your Ritu is the acceptance of the fact that love is indeed of diverse type and flavour and not just restricted to man and woman love. I am in love with the little kids in my neighbours, because I love their innocence, naughtiness, and being raw in their approach. I love my friends because somewhere or other they made me feel that they are an integral part of my life with whom I enjoy spending time and in this category falls the books too. I love my baby because I see me in him, I love my husband because I find peace, warmth and support being with him. I love my sister and my parents because I grew up with them and they know me how to pamper me, scold me, love me and make me feel special. I feel good when I seat beside them and their touch… it gives me a sense of love and warmth. But I cannot deny the fact that I love them all I talked above because they are linked with me somehow or other… As I love myself I love the people/books/ living and non living things who are part of my life. That I call is self love. Books are indeed the ones for me which make me taste the flavour of love in diverse forms. Just loved your point of view. You are brilliant Ritu… And I love you too because I love your thought-process and your presence is important for me too.
February 21, 2024 @ 8:59 pm
Ritu, thanks for this compilation blog post. I was reading about all the books mentioned here and it’s intriguing me to have a look at them immediately. Though I know about some of them but most of the books were unknown. I especially loved the last one, ohh, for the love of reading!
February 24, 2024 @ 9:15 pm
My my Ritu… quite a diverse selection but all about love of one kind or the other. I again won’t tire from saying that I truly admire your devouring capacity… I wish I even had a miniscule percentage of that. I have made a note of a few books from your list… I have to read them!
February 21, 2024 @ 10:24 pm
Oh, so so many lovely books!! I have read a few from the list and adding many more to my tbr 🙂
February 24, 2024 @ 8:31 am
Ritu, you just increased my wish list! I don’t know where to begin. I have a backlog of 70 books and added these too. Love the idea of reading and doing nothing else, this is also love, no 😛 Anyways, will first begin with The Wishing Game.
February 24, 2024 @ 9:12 am
WOW! What a compilation ! This shows how much you love books. Kudos to you. My top favourite book celebrating love is Ruskin bond’s LOVE AMONG THE BOOKSHELVES.
February 24, 2024 @ 1:03 pm
This post is a lovely ode to love in all its brilliant and dazzling forms. Not much of a romantic at heart, but I still found common ground with some of the books you have talked about.Ingenious was your inclusion of love for the country and Filial love in books
February 24, 2024 @ 3:04 pm
Lovely compilation! You have given so many additions to my TBR!!! Thanks so much!
February 24, 2024 @ 7:16 pm
I have made a list of your suggestions for we share similar love for those books that I have already read. I have started with The Reading List now. By the way, your list made me realize that though I am no pet-parent, have read three out of the four that you have written about the furry babies and love them all.
Good share.
February 25, 2024 @ 5:56 pm
Always your love for books is what makes you write blog posts that have great compilations and recommendations when it comes to books. Books on self-love stood out to me.
February 24, 2024 @ 7:21 pm
I have made a list of your suggestions for we share similar love for those books that I have already read. I have started with The Reading List now. By the way, your list made me realize that though I am no pet-parent, have read three out of the four that you have written about the furry babies and love them all. Good share.
February 24, 2024 @ 10:20 pm
Ritu You have shared an amazing list of books that are great in any way. I really wanted to compile a great list of books, and now, after reading yours, I know which books I am going to read. I just finished Ikigai and am probably going to grab the reading list next. Thanks for such a detailed list.
February 25, 2024 @ 6:45 am
I have recently got The Seven Husbands book, it’s been on my TBR list for so long. I have been reading a lot of Ana Huang’s books. completing the King of Sin series.
thanks for these recommendations.
February 25, 2024 @ 1:18 pm
Ritu, your book recommendations are fantastic! I’ve been wanting to put together a great reading list, and after going through yours, I’ve got my picks to order whenever I am visiting India. Hopefully, I’m not the only one who’s only read two from your list 🙈
February 25, 2024 @ 3:25 pm
An absolutely different take on ” in the Love Month. I’ve read all the books in the ‘The Beauty of Platonic Love and Friendships’ and also ‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ and ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’. Will try reading the books on partition, as I’m a huge history buff.
February 25, 2024 @ 5:24 pm
The way you’ve connected all of this to love is amazing. If someone could position valentines day around it, it’ll surely be less cringe.
February 25, 2024 @ 5:57 pm
Always your love for books is what makes you write blog posts that have great compilations and recommendations when it comes to books. Books on self-love stood out to me.
February 25, 2024 @ 5:58 pm
I need to bookmark this post for the amazing reccos you’ve shared. Will add quite a few to my TBR from them. Young Adult is often a lot of fun to read.
February 25, 2024 @ 6:12 pm
I used to read romances by the dozen when I was younger. It would be nice to read these other kind of books too.
February 25, 2024 @ 7:08 pm
Dial A for Aunties sounds right up my alley. What an amazing compilation this is, Ritu. I’ve bookmarked it for days when I’m looking for my next read. My favorites out of these have to be the ones under ‘For the Love of Reading’. Thanks for these recommendations, Ritu. My bookish heart is grateful 😍
February 25, 2024 @ 7:31 pm
This is quite an exhaustive list. We both seem to share a liking for similar books. What stuck me was the fact that I am no pet-parent but I had read three out of four books that you recommended and liked them all.
Added more to my TBR.
February 25, 2024 @ 7:45 pm
There ar only a few among the books you’ve recommended that I’ve read. Thanks for the recommendation. I loved the fact that you’ve listed all categories of love and have managed to find several under each.
February 25, 2024 @ 9:05 pm
I’ve read some and I’m intrigued by the rest.
Thank you for these amazing recommendations. I shall start with ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’
February 25, 2024 @ 10:27 pm
It’s so important to embrace and celebrate all types of love, and these books seem like the perfect way to do just that. Definitely adding some of these titles to my reading list!
February 26, 2024 @ 12:30 am
I used to read love and Romance but in my teenage. Currently I love to read mystery and thriller. But your compilation is so thrilling. Love but varieties of love is so incredible. I don’t know whether I will check all it but surely my sister is killer this one I am going to read. Thank you for the Lovely list.
February 26, 2024 @ 12:50 am
What a lovely compilation Ritu. I spotted a lot favorites. Definitely picking up the furry friends recommendation
February 26, 2024 @ 10:30 am
Lovely compilation…I am gonna add them to my list …love always fascinates me
February 26, 2024 @ 11:49 am
I truly believe that love is of diverse nature and these books are the proof. Thanks for this diverse range of book recommendations. Loved all of them and one by one going to read them for sure.
February 26, 2024 @ 1:17 pm
I love how well-thought-out and well-structured your posts are. I like that you’ve brought together books on diverse kinds of love. We often slot it simply as romantic love, which is rather unfair. This one has so many titles that have been on my TBR for a while. I really need to get to them.
February 26, 2024 @ 9:01 pm
Impressive compilation! Your passion for books shines through. Kudos to you. Personally, I found “Tuesdays with Morrie” quite slow-paced.
February 26, 2024 @ 9:26 pm
I loved the collection and these books are getting a lot of good reviews. Many books were in huge demand on Netgalley too. Thanks for sharing.
February 26, 2024 @ 11:55 pm
Wow, this post really opened my eyes to the diverse ways love is portrayed in literature! I love how it goes beyond traditional romance and explores themes like self-love, friendships, and even love for our furry friends. Personally, I love “Pride and Prejudice” for its exploration of familial and romantic love, and “The Alchemist” for its spiritual take on love’s significance. I’m going to pick a few books from here. Thanks for the recommendations!
February 27, 2024 @ 3:02 am
what a lovely post! I loved reading this and seeing all the pretty book covers, added a few to my goodreads TBR list too.
This year i have been wanting to read book on books 🙂 so your last section i feel you have written just for me 🙂
February 29, 2024 @ 12:53 pm
Thank you, Ritu, for that varied spread of love. I feel small in front of your diverse reading list and enthused about using that as a reference.
March 2, 2024 @ 2:15 am
What a wonderful compilation of book recommendations celebrating love in its myriad forms! I’m truly inspired by the diversity and depth of affection depicted in these stories. From self-love to platonic friendships, familial bonds, and even the unwavering devotion to our furry companions, each recommendation resonates deeply.
I particularly appreciate the emphasis on self-love, a topic often overlooked but so crucial for our well-being. The YA selections sound incredibly empowering, offering young readers important messages about acceptance and embracing oneself.
The exploration of platonic love and friendships is equally heartening. These stories remind us of the beauty of human connection beyond romantic relationships, highlighting the power of compassion and camaraderie.
And who can forget the love within families? Whether it’s the bonds between siblings or the unconditional love for our pets, these tales capture the essence of what it means to care deeply for one another.
I’m also drawn to the stories of patriotism and valor, honoring those who serve with courage and dedication. These narratives serve as powerful reminders of the sacrifices made for the greater good.
Lastly, the inclusion of books celebrating the love of reading itself is a lovely touch. There’s something truly magical about losing oneself in the pages of a book, and these recommendations promise to inspire and uplift.
Overall, this collection speaks to the universal nature of love and its ability to transcend boundaries. Thank you for sharing these wonderful recommendations—I can’t wait to dive into these stories and explore the many facets of love they offer.
April 3, 2024 @ 9:57 pm
A fantastic list! Very intrigued by many of the titles you mention.