I love love. I love reading about love and reading about how people get together. I'm a huge fan of romantic comedies and dramas about love and I just love love.
But lately, I've been coming across more and more books not about love, but the struggle being in love brings. What's the worst thing that can happen to love? It can die and you get a divorce.
The other day, I was having a conversation with a bookish friend and we were discussing how so many novels these days are like little time bombs of tragic romances. "I have to be careful with what I read because I don't think I can read another sad love story."
Being a newlywed, it's not that inspiring to read so many books about failed love. And you know what it is that they all failed at? Communicating with each other.
Books after book, tome after tome, of sad love stories where people used to love each other and become exceptional at hating each other until eventually some tragedy breaks them apart. There's also the topic of bored love; people who are together but you just ask yourself "why?" the entire time you're reading.
It's almost every single literary fiction novel I pick up that starts off with a cute couple trying to make it and ends up with breaking up. Is that what I should look forward to? Is that what happens with love?
Of course, I'm being completely joking about my dislike for these books, but I will say this. Authors, you need to get it together.
Here's my top five list of recently published books to make you wonder where all of this is going:
- Fates and Furiesby Lauren Groff
- Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
- Next Year, For Sure by Zoey Leigh Peterson
- Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
- Modern Lovers by Emma Straub
Simone and Her Books 