Books About Love to Add to Your Reading List
Read these books about love. You’ll be a better match or partner for it.
Many say experience is the best teacher when it comes to love. But at the same time, some advice from literature wouldn’t hurt. Often, they can even be life-changing.
What should you read, you might ask?
We’ve compiled some great books about love that will help you become better matches and partners (and by extension, better people).
Our recommendations consist of nonfiction selections. They’re books with quotes about love taken from real-life accounts and research that you can apply to your love life.
Reading Is Fundamental
Before we list relationship and dating books, we’d like to emphasize the benefits of reading, regardless of genre and format.
Reading is a way to kill time. It transports you to places you’d never imagine being in without worrying about the logistics of actual travel.
It’s also a great de-stressor. Everand conducted a 2025 State of Reading report, interviewing U.S. consumers aged 18 to 64 who purchased an audiobook or ebook subscription in the past two years. Through their interview process, they’ve found that 85% of participants read because it’s a relaxing habit.
Aside from their entertainment value, reading is insightful and educational. It adds knowledge, sharpens critical thinking skills, and improves creativity. All these abilities can help one better their life.
But since books are categorized as either fiction or nonfiction, which one should you read?
If you want to improve your dating game or relationship, try reading nonfiction.
Realistic accounts present realistic challenges and ways to overcome them. Detailed explanations and insights can broaden your knowledge and make you more well-rounded on the subject.
It also opens you up to different viewpoints. Some authors use their lives as examples. Their actions and reflections allow you to see your situation from a different angle and inspire you to persevere. You can improve your odds, paving the way for personal growth.
Nonfiction books about love can also sharpen your reasoning, making you more skilled at forming and defending your opinions.
You might think they're boring despite being educational and informative. But authors can write and share tips and tricks without sounding like professors.
6 Dating and Relationship Books Everyone Should Read
Whether you’re single or taken, these recommendations will help you look at love through a better lens.
#1: The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts by Gary Chapman (1992)
It’s been over 30 years since this book first hit the press. However, it’s a frequent entry on the New York Times bestseller list. It’s safe to say it’s among the most enduring relationship books.
Why, you ask? Chapman’s bestseller strikes readers’ chords with its straightforward premise.
The 5 Love Languages paints a picture of how and why people fall in love. It helps couples understand their relationship needs and how to reciprocate those of their partners.
Go for relationship books with practical and meaningful insights.
#2: Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love by Dr. Amir Levine and Rachel Heller (2012)
Perhaps you’ve heard of attachment styles. It’s a trending topic on social media, with the hashtags #attachmentstyles and #attachmenttheory having 91 million and 142 million views at the time of writing.
This book gets into the nitty-gritty details of adult attachment—a field that has existed since the 50s. It discusses the styles and their influence on people and their relationships.
Both authors employ their expertise in neuroscience, social-organizational psychology, and psychiatry in the book.
According to Levine, the world is seemingly scarier than it was 10 years ago, so he hopes that people will find the book a helpful read.
Attached is a self-help and science book rolled into one. It will make you feel like you’re looking in a mirror and seeing your entire dating history, leading to a reflective journey.
#3: Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by Sue Johnson (2008)
Sometimes, even the healthiest couples have trouble with their connections. Clinical psychologist and Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) founder Sue Johnson acknowledges this, leading her to write this particular book.
Hold Me Tight doesn’t play the blame game. Instead, it identifies patterns in relationship conflicts and encourages couples to have difficult but necessary conversations for long-term resolutions.
Johnson delivers her points with humor and relatability, making readers feel they’re not alone. It’s a short read that doesn’t require you to be a scientific genius to understand. It’s one of the better books for couples to read together because it empathetically helps address pain points.
#4: The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country’s Foremost Relationship Expert by John Gottman and Nan Silver (1999)
John Gottman has written numerous helpful books about relationships. Of these, many consider The Seven Principles to be his most accessible and popular.
Marriage is a complex commitment. This book emphasizes that through extensive research.
But instead of solely taking the scientific route, Gottman and Silver offer actionable insights. They also mention the Four Horsemen that couples should avoid to protect their relationships.
#5: Tell Me the Truth About Love: 13 Tales from Couple Therapy by Susanna Abse (2022)
So far, our list of books about love focuses on couples’ perspectives. This one, however, is a therapist’s account.
Don’t worry; the book doesn’t violate doctor-patient confidentiality clauses. Abse drew from her experiences instead of taking her patients’ stories.
Tell Me The Truth About Love is a 13-part collection of relationship problems and behavioral patterns she observed throughout her career.
According to a review by Liz Dexter, Abse tells these tales realistically and with very little jargon. She is also honest about her experiences, including the mistakes and frustrations she had in her career.
It highlights themes and dilemmas that can hit too close to home, including misunderstandings, affairs, and lost love. But instead of pushing you to alter your behavior, Abse gives you a choice.
The book promotes awareness and encourages change only if you have to or want to.
#6: The Science of Happily Ever After: What Really Matters in the Quest for Enduring Love by Ty Tashiro (2014)
We’ve all heard our share of bedtime stories ending in “happily ever after.” But nowadays, that conclusion doesn’t seem to exist. Many modern dating horror stories can’t help but rub salt in the wound.
This dating book explains that those endings still exist, but it doesn’t make any promises.
Instead, it uses research-based methods to evaluate relevant traits when choosing partners. Ultimately, it teaches you to make better dating and relationship choices for long-term happiness.
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These books about love deserve a spot on your reading list. While you get the final say in your relationship, you can always get a little help from experts.
All our recommended entries have meaningful takeaways. They deliver their points directly, making them easily understandable.
If you’re looking for juicy quotes from a book about love, you’ll also find them in these reads.
References
Everand. 2025. “2025 State of Reading Report.” Everand. https://www.everand.com/blog/2025-everand-state-of-reading-report.
Shrikant, Aditi. 2022. “Attachment theory is trending on TikTok. Here’s why, according to the Columbia professor who wrote the book on it.” CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/20/why-attachment-theory-is-trending-according-to-dr-amir-levine.html.
Dexter, Liz. 2022. “Book review – Susanna Abse – “Tell me the Truth about Love.”” Adventures in reading, running and working from home. https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2022/05/23/book-review-susanna-abse-tell-me-the-truth-about-love/.