The Buzz...About Books

Valentine's Day is a celebration of romantic love.  There are so many ways to celebrate the day with your significant other, such as going out for dinner, giving chocolates or flowers or just spending time together. Here's another idea: how about reading to each other.  Perhaps you could start with a book about a famous historical couple.  

If the idea is intriguing, here are a few to get you started:

An Affair to Remember: The Remarkable Love Story of Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy by Christopher P. Anderson
Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tray mesmerized audiences worldwide with their famous on-screen chemistry.  Yet, their 26 year love affair remained very private and shrouded in secrecy.   Drawing on extensive conversations with Hepburn and others who knew the couple, Anderson tells the poignant love story of these two movie icons. After you have read about them, watch one or more of the movies they made together.
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Cleopatra and Antony: Power, Love and Politics in the Ancient World by Diana Preston
One of the world's first celebrity couples.  Set against the political backdrop of their time, Preston explores  the lives and times of  the Egyptian Queen and Roman general.  Even after two thousand years, their names still invoke thoughts of passion, scandal, and mystery. 

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera by Isabel Alcántara
Mexico's most famous 20th century artists, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, are remembered for their provocative paintings as well as for their deep love for each other. Their marriage was  tumultuous, filled with passion, pain, betrayal, revolution, and, above all, art.

Napoleon and Josephine: An Improbable Marriage by Evangeline Bruce
Napoleon married Josephine, a 32 year-old widow with two children in 1796.  Often away on campaign, Napoleon often sent her love letters (many of which still survive).  However, their 14 year marriage was quite volatile, as neither was faithful.   

Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie, a Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss
In 1891, Marie began working in the laboratory of Pierre Curie.  After they fell in love and were married, they continued to work together.  They discovered two new elements radium and polonium, recognized radioactivity as an atomic property, and won'the Nobel Prize together.  Their love created a  partnership that heralded the dawn of a new scientific era.   

For more books on famous couples, have a look at  5 Books for Kim and Kanye's Wedding.