As the shortest month of the year, February beseeches readers to start today on this month’s book! With Saint Valentine’s Day a highlight for many, it seems only natural to recommend a few love stories that have captured readers’ hearts. Pick one for yourself or give one as a gift to a special someone on the 14th. Better yet, do both. Then swap books once finished. Whatever you do, just read. In no particular order, and with a little help from my friends, below are a few favorite love stories, complete with synopsis and comments.

You can hear their words. You can see their faces. Yet, you have no comprehension of what they’re saying. Their customs are foreign. Their mannerisms are unfamiliar. Yet, their home is now supposed to be your home. You are a girl in transition.

As you make your list and check it twice, recall favorite reads that continue to inspire and encourage long after the final chapter. Consider the gift that everyone would enjoy (except maybe Scrooge). There’s no size involved, no need to worry about color or comfort. Just browse your favorite bookstore and give the gift of reading.
In the most unofficial of polls, I solicited top titles of books from family and friends. In no particular order, here are a handful of them. Hopefully, this will make your shopping a bit sweeter.

‘The Christmas Tree’

When the story ended, I nearly cried. I missed the characters. I wanted to know more about them. I found myself on the internet searching for them, scouring websites and family photos. A connection had developed over a couple of weeks and a few hundred pages. I felt as if I were living alongside American writer Ernest Hemingway and his insatiable thirst for all that was roaring in Paris in the 1920’s. Author Paula McLain brilliantly writes her novel, “The Paris Wife,” from the perspective of Hemingway’s
first bride, Hadley.

Told from the points of view of two resilient
women, “Little Bee” is a captivating,
heartbreaking piece of prose. It is wartorn
reality witnessed firsthand by a posh
English couple on holiday to salvage their shattered
marriage. From horror to humor, the story whizzes
along as the life of a teenaged African refugee abruptly
intersects with the English couple, both of whom
work as journalists. Yet the story screaming to be told
from an African jungle is kept secret until it nearly
kills all of them.
As the story opens, the main character, Little Bee, is

Imagine a weekday morning for a preschooler in the 1970s, 80s, or even 90s. The routine is fairly simple: wake up, play, eat breakfast,
brush teeth, and eagerly await a trip to Mister Rogers’s neighborhood.
Thus begins a powerfully soothing story told by author Amy Hollingsworth,
as she recounts her relationship
with the world’s most beloved neighbor.
After interviewing Fred Rogers for a professional television piece, Hollingsworth
formed a friendship with the gentle man. In this book, she shares spiritual insights from the ordained Presbyterian minister who used puppets

“It lacks literary style and will be void of winning major accolades but it is a good story. It’s well told and mostly believable. It is what it is.” Thus begins the evening discussion as women share their thoughts on Terry Kay’s Taking Lottie Home. It really is a good story!

It was July, 1942, almost 70 years ago to this day, when a little Jewish girl intended to save her brother’s life, by encouraging him to hide in a bedroom cupboard. He would be safe from the French police, who were rounding up Jewish families one by one, in the middle of the night. Safety in the cupboard would be a life saver. “Father will have this confusion straightened out in no time,” thought Sarah. Her hope waivered, however, as she grimly watched her father’s robust protective persona cave under the orders of the cruel police.

Tornadoes. Floods. Disasters. In the midst of trouble, tragedy, and turmoil, what good is God? This is the sole question author Philip Yancey poses to readers as he recounts ten major events which he has either witnessed firsthand, had arrived on the scene shortly afterward, or had an otherwise up close and personal relationship. In search of a faith that shows up and stands up, Yancey offers refreshing and revitalizing advice with the thread of grace woven seamlessly throughout each account.

Medical ethics. Family dysfunction. Laboratory research. Informed consent. Imagine a discussion encompassing grave subjects such as these and then read “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” to experience history firsthand.