8 books to warm one’s heart
Valentine’s Day can be the most polarizing holiday—cringey to some, heartwarming to others—depending on your relationship status or how you interpret the holiday.
If there’s something we can agree on, it’s that we all have a soft spot for love stories. Not just romantic ones, but stories that celebrate life, spark joy, and inspire us to find beauty, love, and meaning in the everyday. In honor of Valentine’s Day, why not dive into books that fill our hearts for a change? Here are eight heartwarming books to fall in love with.
‘The Midnight Library’ by Matt Haig
We all have our what-ifs and what-could-have-beens, moments when we feel lost or wonder if we are living the lives we are meant to live. “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig thinks about these ideas deeply through a library filled with collections of lives the main character, Nora Seed, could have lived. But would any of them truly be better? Can she possibly live them all? Most importantly, what makes a life worth living?
‘Into the Uncut Grass’ by Trevor Noah
In this modern fable by comedian and former “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah, a petulant little boy runs away and ventures beyond the garden gate together with his waffle-loving teddy bear. Along the way, they meet a pair of snails, a garden gnome, and a gang of animated coins, who teach them valuable life lessons. Filled with gorgeous illustrations, “Into the Uncut Grass” offers sprinkles of wisdom about the unexpected things we can learn when we see the world from another point of view.
‘All Along You Were Blooming’ by Morgan Harper Nichols
For days when your spark gets a little dim, “All Along You Were Blooming” is the perfect read to pick up. Feel the love and beauty pour forth every page filled with Nichols’ vibrant illustrations and words that wrap you in kindness and understanding. Even on your busiest, most stressful days, invite the universe’s message to embrace you by simply opening a page.
‘Tiny Beautiful Things’ by Cheryl Strayed
Prepare your highlighter and sticky notes—you’ll need them for this book brimming with quotes that strike a deep chord. “Tiny Beautiful Things” is a collection of The Rumpus’ Dear Sugar advice columns. Anonymous letters reveal the writers’ deepest pains, and Sugar (later revealed as Cheryl Strayed) offers raw, unfiltered advice.
But this isn’t your typical advice column. Strayed pours herself into each letter with fierce empathy, as though “pulling out her heart with her bare hands.” She approaches each problem from every angle, pulling out truths from deep within her soul to offer wisdom that is at once devastating, moving, powerful, and brutally honest—a book you’ll return to time and time again.
‘Everything I Know About Love’ by Dolly Alderton
This is a witty, laugh-out-loud, and profoundly relatable memoir that captures the messy yet magical journey of adulthood. With sparkling humor and heartfelt wisdom, Alderton shares candid stories about falling in love, navigating the job market, battling self-sabotage, surviving heartbreak, and hosting chaotic house parties. Beneath the self-deprecating charm lies an empowering message young adults need to hear: You are, and always will be, enough.
‘This Dog Will Change Your Life’ by Elias Weiss Friedman
Author Elias Weiss Friedman explores the ways dogs generate boundless love and teach us to be better versions of ourselves. In the years he has documented dogs and talked to dog parents, Friedman has seen firsthand how dogs improve us, save us, and give our lives greater fulfillment and meaning. Watch out for this heartwarming book coming in June 2025 as it just might change your life.
‘The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse’ by Charlie Mackesy
Both adults and children will find warmth and comfort in this elegant picture book by Charlie Mackesy. Filled with heartfelt truths, it reminds us that suffering, loneliness, struggles and uncertainty are part of life. Even when you feel lost and hurt, there’s always a way back to love.
‘Everything Beautiful’ by Ella Frances Sanders
If you’ve been straining to find beauty in the every day, you are not alone. It has become increasingly harder to do so in a world full of filters, follows, pings and likes. But there is a way out of this. Sanders’ beautifully illustrated nonfiction book explores everyday beauty, teaching us to remember how and where to look.
