Happy Valentine’s Day! Most of us view Valentine’s Day as being about romantic love. At the same time, it’s an opportunity to celebrate the many forms of love in our lives – family, friends, society, and God. Below are a few books that explore the centrality of love in our lives. Check out the library for many more
The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis summarizes four kinds of human love – affection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God. Its reflections on the virtues and dangers of love draw on sources from Jane Austen to St. Augustine. Many readers consider the chapter on charity (love of God) the best thing Lewis ever wrote about Christianity.
Helen Simonson’s novel Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand deals with both romantic and societal love. It explores the issues of finding love late in life, as well as standing firm in your choice of a loved one when society finds the relationship inappropriate.
Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli, is a now-classic Young Adult novel about the thrill of first love, while learning to love one’s own non-conformity.
Mark your calendar for our next Book Club meeting: April 18 at 7:00 pm. We will discuss America’s First Daughter, by Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie. Based on thousands of letters and original sources, this novel tells the fascinating story of Thomas Jefferson’s eldest daughter, Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Randolph–a woman who kept the secrets of our most enigmatic founding father and shaped an American legacy. If you’d like to plan ahead, the books and meeting dates for the rest of the year are as follows:
July 17-A Promise of Ruin, by Cuyler Overholt
October 16-News of the World, by Paulette Jiles