TOP TEN TUESDAY | LOVE FREEBIE

I’m doing a bit of a twist on love. I’ve never been hugely into Valentine’s Day, and I don’t read books about romance very often. But that doesn’t mean I don’t value a story that has love at its heart. I just value all different kinds of love. So here are a few kinds that have stood out to me and some books that I either loved or want to check out!

Books about parental love:

           

           

I haven’t read all of these, but these are all ones I either loved for the parental relationships or want to read because of them. As a mom myself, I now know what it means to love another person so ferociously that you almost can’t stand it. So often in life the love between parents and their kids is taken for granted to the point of being ignored or overlooked. But it’s one of the most vital kinds of love any of us will ever experience, and I think it’s the most beautiful.

Books about unconventional love:

       

Normal People is about a relationship that at times is romantic, but not sustainably so. Marianne and Connell are young, and their lives diverge and converge repeatedly throughout the book. But despite this, there is always a connection between them. There is love, even if it’s not a tidy, happily ever after kind of love. Silver Linings Playbook is one I enjoyed because it features two people who are struggling with their mental health and the trauma they’ve experienced. They end up finding support in one another and the relationship that forms is one I liked particularly because it doesn’t require perfection. They are messy, but so is life. And Rebecca. Phew. What a crazy thrupple – Mr. De Winter, his new wife and his dead wife. That’s complicated and confusing for everyone involved. But in the end, it turns out there is some love in there, and it shines through.

Books with great non-romantic love:

       

Though Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda has a great core love story, one of the things I loved most about the book is all the other relationships. The friends and family who surrounded Simon, and how important those connections were to him. Though I had my issues with Eleanor Oliphant, I did like the friendship that develops between her and her colleague. It was probably the most realistic part of the book. And finally, The Drop. I mean, come on. A tough guy who ends up risking everything for the love of a stray dog? That’s gotta pull on your heart strings.

So that’s it for my love-adjacent post! Which books made your love-themed posts this week? Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think?

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.