By Samantha Oliver & Alexander Kelly
READ
The Course of Love, Alain de Botton
Read it: ...just read it. One of the best books written on love in the 21st Century.
Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
Read it: if you simultaneously want to believe in the power of love and lose all hope in everything
Normal People, Sally Rooney
Read it: if you’re looking for a quick page turner with high relatability (note: some mental health triggers)
So Bright and Delicate, Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne
Read it: because it’s one of our worlds most beloved love stories, recorded intimately and artfully; inspired the film Bright Star
Sonnets from the Portuguese, Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Read it: then share with your lover, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…”
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Patrick Süskind
Read it: if you’re interested in the dark side of desire
Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
Read it: because it’s one of the most approachable classic’s on love and desire
The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion
Read it: if you’re interested in a tender and honest account of loss and love. It will make you breathe deep, and weep.
The Time Traveller’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
Read it: a love story, plain and simple
The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis
Read it: to explore the nature of love as it exists within and around us
Metamorphoses, Ovid
Read it: as a foundational text on the transformative power of desire
Sonnet 18, William Shakespeare
Read it: because reciting “Shall I compare thee to a summers day?” could be one of the most romantic acts you’ll ever perform
The Art of Loving, Erich Fromm
Read it: for a case for love as a skill to be honed, by a modern master
Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence, Esther Perel
Read it: to explore love’s necessary paradoxes: closeness and distance, security and freedom, surrender and autonomy - a powerful manual for love
WATCH
Stealing Beauty
Watch it: Because young Liv Tyler, sexual discovery and Italy in the Summer
I Am Love
Call Me By Your Name
A Bigger Splash
Watch (them): As an incredible trilogy on desire by Luca Guadagnino ft. Tilda Swinton (everything), Ralph Fiennes, Timothy Chalamet, Armie Hammer
Beginners
Watch it: for an unconventional love story of the sweetest nature
Before Sunrise
Watch it: and then continue with the full trilogy in Before Sunset and Before Midnight
When Harry Met Sally
Watch it: a classic and a must-see
Master of None S2
Watch it: for the black and white Italian opening and Aziz Ansari’s dance scene alone
Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet
Watch it: Desire desire desire (+ Danes and DiCaprio)
Love (Netflix)
Watch it: as a great exploration of the relationship between love and addiction
Modern Love (Netflix)
Watch it: because it’s simply and surprisingly beautiful. Based on a New York Times column by the same name
Annie Hall
Watch it: Because it’s funny and witty and endearing and pleasant and honest and Diane Keaton rules
This is 40
Watch it: Judd Apatow’s best film don’t @ me
HER
Watch it: as it asks new questions about love in a deeply compelling way
Mustang
Watch it: for a brilliant film on female sexual agency
Paper Heart
Watch it: as an earnest and heartfelt investigation into whether love exists, is possible to achieve, how one finds it and what one does with it
Twilight, the series
Watch it: Because we just had to
In The Mood For Love
Watch it: Big big Mood. No puns.
Blue Valentine
Watch it: Heart-wrenching, but worth it (plus… Gosling)
Crazy Stupid Love
Watch it: a Modern classic (+ we repeat… Gosling)
The Big Sick
Watch it: for modern day (and true story) romance that we can all relate to
About Time
Watch it: and if you’re not weeping at some point you’re not doing it right