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A Valentine's Day Gift Guide for Book Lovers

Words can mean much more than a heart-shaped box of chocolates.

 

Does your significant other love to read? A thoughtfully chosen book can be far more intimate than flowers, candy or jewelry, and it can change the recipient's perspective on life in ways that those more traditional gifts can't.

With Valentine's Day just a week away, it's time to start thinking about how to impress the ones you love with a gift that shows just how well you know them.

Here are a few suggestions for the special person in your life:

The Novel Reader: "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern, a tale of two magicians who must compete in a life-or-death contest even as they fall desperately in love with each other.

The Non-Fiction Enthusiast: "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption" by Laura Hillenbrand. "Unbroken" is the harrowing account of a bombadier who survives a plane crash during the war and tests the limits of endurance on the open ocean.

The Sports Fan: "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game" by Michael Lewis. Get even more details about the inside workings of the underdog 2002 Oakland A's than in the Oscar-nominated movie starring Brad Pitt.

The Historian: "Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman," by Robert K. Massie, described by its publisher as "the extraordinary story of an obscure young German princess who traveled to Russia at 14 and rose to become one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history."

The Kid at Heart: "The Hunger Games," by Suzanne Collins. The movie is due out soon, so give the gift of the gripping tale of a stark future world and the resilient Katniss Everdeen before it hits the big screen.

The Aspiring Writer: "On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft" by Stephen King. The master of the horror genre — one of the bestselling authors ever — offers his personal insights on the craft and the profession.

The Book Clubber: "The Sense of an Ending" by Julian Barnes, a short but powerful novel that describes how an Englishman's life is upended in old age by repercussions from a long-ago relationship.

The Poetry Lover: "The 100 Best Love Poems of All Time" edited by Leslie Pockell. Shakespeare, Burns, Byron, Yeats and Dickinson, among the many greats.

The Self Helper: "The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts," by Gary D. Chapman, described by the publisher as a guide for "couples in identifying, understanding, and speaking their spouse’s primary love language — quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, or physical touch."

Related Topics: Books, Gift Guide, Valentine 2012, and Valentine's Day 2012
What books do you recommend for Valentine's Day? Tell us in the comments.

John T. Alexander

9:51 am on Monday, February 6, 2012

Don't swallow
random Houses'; blviating about Massie's
catherine the
great! It's awful!! He does not read
russian and has lost it at 82! He was terrible o9n
charlie

rose a few wks ago

Reply

John T. Alexander

9:54 am on Monday, February 6, 2012

Massie's bk is truly terrible!! Miseraly written and researched; makes every error known to man!!~ He should hang his head in shame. Pathetic that he tinks he['s saving people from the salaciousd stories about her sex life, a0arently unaware that they have been all over the Internet f0r tw0 decades!!!
don't waste yr mney on this atr9c8ty!

Reply

Cornelius (Neil) Lynch

7:10 pm on Monday, February 6, 2012

Mr. Alexander, You sound off about the book but you cite no evidence to back your somewhat out-of-control comments. I have not read the biography but was tremendously impressed with his "Nicholas and Alexandra" when I read it some years ago.

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