Civil4life Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 I struggle with what romantic feelings and their expression really are. I am pretty sure I am a romantic, but have been exploring this with my therapist. She suggested one possible way for me to better understand romantic feelings would be to read some romantic literature. She recommended The Time Traveler's Wife which I am reading now. Does anyone else have any suggestions? I am not looking for trashy romance novels, but ones that would have characters that have realistic expressions of romantic feelings and actions. Link to post Share on other sites
Moonchaser Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Romance is handled in such a variety of ways in fiction, that maybe the answer is to read a great variety. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is thought to be one of the most romantic stories ever written. I actually think another of hers, Sense and Sensibility, is more romantic. All of her stories are good, though. Then Thomas Hardy wrote some things about romance gone wrong. Far From the Madding Crowd and Tess of the d'Urbervilles are my two favorites. But all those I've mentioned are historical, and it's possible that you need a more modern outlook. I've been caught up in reading older and vintage fiction lately though. I'm sure others will have other suggestions. Edited to add, if you like movies you could also watch some romantic comedies and other romantic films. Link to post Share on other sites
Yep, me Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Different people have different definitions of what romantic actually means to themself, so its not something that has a precise definition necessarily. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 2 hours ago, Civil4life said: I struggle with what romantic feelings and their expression really are. I am pretty sure I am a romantic, but have been exploring this with my therapist. She suggested one possible way for me to better understand romantic feelings would be to read some romantic literature. She recommended The Time Traveler's Wife which I am reading now. Does anyone else have any suggestions? I am not looking for trashy romance novels, but ones that would have characters that have realistic expressions of romantic feelings and actions. It would help if we knew what kind of fiction you'd actually enjoy before recommending a bunch of books. Personally, I can't stand straight up romance, but, if it's couched into another genre - like mystery or fantasy or science fiction or adventure, I find it far more enjoyable to read about. I don't read trashy romance either - most of that is poorly written and more fun to make fun of than to read. Link to post Share on other sites
Civil4life Posted February 3, 2018 Author Share Posted February 3, 2018 Actually I watch a lot of romantic comedies. I guess the problem with tv/movies as it shows mostly behavior/actions. I am trying to better understand the the thoughts and feelings. I know those are a part of tv/movies, but in general I can be a bit dense about social cues. I may not pick up on the more nuanced aspects of romance. In literature there is both the feelings and actions expressed. I typically read action, thrillers, crime drama, and biographies. John Grisham, Jonathan Kellerman, James Patterson, David Baldacci, Lisa Scottiline Some of these authors have romance as a side story. They are usually not very detailed or have a tendency to be complicated relationships. Since I do not typically read romance I am looking for suggestions of books that have more realistic expression of romantic feelings and attraction. Would Nicholas Sparks be a good suggestion? Link to post Share on other sites
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