Valentine’s Day 2023: All time favourite romantic novels you must read

Ask bibliophiles why they turn to romantic novels, some times re-read them over and over again and they’ll instantly vouch for how reading these romances are relaxing after a stressful day while offering the best way to escape into a world of two characters with plenty of passion.

Undoubtedly, reading is a better habit than watching TV soaps, improves one’s vocabulary and stimulates one’s imagination but the real reason is that the romantic novels are a way of switching off from the real world with favourite fictional characters when the workload gets too much, a way of coping with stress and running away from reality or filling up a lacuna in life.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

A list of romantic books or fictions on love can never start without starting with the mention of the most popular novel ever written about love and marriage – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Characters Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy must overcome a series of misunderstandings, matchmaking mothers and aunts, handsome rakes and their own biases and pig-headedness to realise they are perfect for each other. An excellent book to re-read or read for the first time (if you’ve been living under a rock) on the day designated for love.

2. How to Love by Thich Nhat Hanh

Can love be taught? Is there a wrong or right way of loving someone? How do you build trust? Can you love another without loving yourself first? Buddhist teacher and human rights activist Thich Nhat Hanh explores different kinds of love and the habits that make it stronger in this pocket-sized guide, part of a how-to series where he explains how to practice mindfulness in everyday life. An ideal gift if your date is a cynic or emotionally constipated. Just ask him/her to approach it with an open mind.

3. Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating by Moira Weigel

Courtship may be as old as time but the institution of dating is a rather recent invention. A romantic disappointment forces scholar Moira Weigel to think hard about what she wants from a relationship and how it can be different from what popular culture has conditioned her to expect and so begins her research into the history and evolution of dating from the 1900s to the present-day Tinder version.

4. This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz

In these nine interlinked stories, Junot Diaz takes a long, hard look at the infidelities and complexities of being in love through his protagonist Yunior. In an interview, Diaz described the book as being “a tale about a young man’s struggle to overcome his cultural training and inner habits in order to create lasting relationships.”