Open Books Chicago discussion

So I am that weird person who actually LOVES Valentine's Day. There's just something about it that captivates my imagination and transports me to other worlds in my head. I spend the month leading up to everyone else's least-favorite holiday with half-formed visions of romantic cafes in the snow and dark chocolate decadences and lovely, tattered pink peonies. And usually during these visions, I am strolling the streets of Paris. So I thought I'd mention a few of my favorite books to read around this time of year, in case you're in need of some Valentine's Day inspiration:

* A Transatlantic Love Affair: Letters to Nelson Algren, by Simone de Beauvoir. They met in Chicago when she was 39, fell instantly in love, and began a long-distance relationship that lasted over two decades. These letters are beautiful, charming, melancholy, witty and intimate, and give you hope that love really can be found at any time in life, in any place.

* Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris, by Sarah Turnbull. Turnbull was an Australian journalist who was just traveling around Europe to get it out of her system when she suddenly found herself in love and not wanting to leave. So she makes the somewhat rash decision to move in with her paramour, and chronicles the experience of adjusting to a new life in Paris and a brand-new love at the same time. Her voice is irresistible.

*The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain. A fictionalized-but-based-in-fact memoir of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley Richardson. This book is beautifully melancholy throughout. McLain is a poet by training, and the writing is absolutely gorgeous, evoking 1920s Paris with such spare, beautiful images you never want the book to end.

*Five Quarters of the Orange, by Joanne Harris. Set in a small, French village partially during the time of German occupation in WWII, this book is a stunning combination of historical fiction, romance, mystery and food writing that is perfectly suited to this time of year (she is, after all, the author of Chocolat.)

*Possession, by AS Byatt. This is one of the few books I've read that I would describe as a page-turning historical romance. Set in England, it tells the story of a love affair between two Victorian poets and the modern scholars who are attempting to piece their story together.

Thanks, Anne! These are great!

And I have to heartily second your recommendation of A Transatlantic Love Affair: Letters to Nelson Algren. Two very different and occasionally difficult people who found love. I... well... love it!

Anne already knows I tend to think of Valentine's day as a Hallmark money-grab, but I'd love to hear more recommendations from everyone related to the 14th... no matter your level of excitement for the actual day!