Petra X wrote: "I think most of my favourites have been covered (Wuthering Heights, Dr. Zhivago, Love in the Time of Cholera, Jane Eyre etc.) already, but these extras would figure in at least the top ten.

1. A..."

I had thought about Anna Karenina -glad you included it. Loved the movie Bonnie and Clyde too.

I think most of my favourites have been covered (Wuthering Heights, Dr. Zhivago, Love in the Time of Cholera, Jane Eyre etc.) already, but these extras would figure in at least the top ten.

1. Anna Karenina
2. Death in Venice (ok, not at all traditional, but one of the few books where the film was as good as the book)
3. Story of O (again, not traditional, but the sex is the illustration of the love)
4. Bonnie and Clyde (again a brilliant film and book)
5. Phantom of the Opera (the play is better than the book)

Some repeats, but one I don't think anyone mentioned:
1. Atonement (not mentioned?)
2. Wuthering Heights
3. Love in the Time of Cholera
4. Bridges of Madison County

Can't come up with a fifth right now anyway.

Definite repeats but here are mine :)

1. Pride and Prejudice sighings :)
2. Much Ado About Nothing (Benedict and Beatrice! Hero and Claudio just make me angry.)
3. A Little Princess (A father, daughter love but I'm emotional everytime they're reunited)
4. A Town Like Alice
5. Sunshine- I love the ambiguous ending!

This is a great question! Some of the posts here certainly made me say, "Ooh, yeah -- I forgot how great that book was."

Here's my contribution to the discussion:

1. A Knight in Shining Armor (I RARELY read books twice, but this one I've read about 3 times)
2. Outlander
3. The Far Pavilions
4. A Thousand Days in Venice
5. Anne of the Island (I just love the Anne of Green Gable series.)

Some repeats...but here are my choices...
Much Ado about Nothing
Beauty and the Beast
The Great Gatsby
The Valley of Decision
Jane Eyre

GG Husak
author: Passeggiata: Strolling through Italy
www.passeggiataitalia.com

Brenda wrote: "One that nobody's mentioned - Mrs. Mike by Benedict Freedman. My favourite romance ever. I highly recommend this book written in the 1940's (I think). A whirlwind romance - Mike's eyes were so blu..."

This was always one of my favorites, too. I think I've read it three times but at different times in my life so always had a new experience.
GG Husak
Author: Passeggiata: Strolling Through Italy
www.passeggiataitalia.com

Mel wrote: "Most of mine have been said before but I managed to sneak in MM.Kaye which is one of my all time favourites so yea for me.

The Time Traveler's Wife
Gone With The Wind
..."
I loved The Far Pavillions, too. Good choice.

GG Husak
author: Passeggiata: Strolling Through Italy
www.passeggiataitalia.com

One that nobody's mentioned - Mrs. Mike by Benedict Freedman. My favourite romance ever. I highly recommend this book written in the 1940's (I think). A whirlwind romance - Mike's eyes were so blue she could swim in them.......

Morgan wrote: "I think most the books by Nicholas Sparks are great love stories. "

Funny. A friend and I had a conversation about this over dinner. She imagined that it would be wonderful to have Nicholas Sparks as a husband...so romantic. I said really? really? Cause I couldn't disagree more. The man is a sadist, no one ever gets to be happy and it always ends tragically and horribly. Enough already. This was of course just before we were going to see Nights at Rodanthe and sure enough I saw the writing on the wall fairly early on and was swearing at NS under my breath while tears streamed down my face. Hate that guy.

Okay, rant over :) I apologize to anyone who has never read Nicholas Sparks before and didn't know his books need to come with an extra large kleenex box.

Li wrote: "I don't normally read strictly romance novels, but I do love a good love story. Here's my five (mostly from 19c literature!):

1. ...
2. A Room With a View by E.M. Forster
3. ..."

OOoh good one.

I don't normally read strictly romance novels, but I do love a good love story. Here's my five (mostly from 19c literature!):

1. Persuasion by Jane Austen
2. A Room With a View by E.M. Forster
3. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
4. Atonement by Ian McEwan
4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

=D

I think most the books by Nicholas Sparks are great love stories.

in no particular order:
Pride and Prejudice
The Notebook
Wuthering Heights
The Wedding
Twilight

El wrote: "Mel wrote: "Most of mine have been said before but I managed to sneak in MM.Kaye which is one of my all time favourites so yea for me.

The Time Traveler's Wife
[book:Gone With The ..."

It really is one of those epic love stories with lots of adventure thrown in.

Mel

Mel wrote: "Most of mine have been said before but I managed to sneak in MM.Kaye which is one of my all time favourites so yea for me.

The Time Traveler's Wife
Gone With The Wind
..."

Ooh, I haven't read The Far Pavilions yet, but I enjoyed Kaye's Death in Kenya and Death in Zanzibar so I should bump Pavilions up on my list.

Most of mine have been said before but I managed to sneak in MM.Kaye which is one of my all time favourites so yea for me.

The Time Traveler's Wife
Gone With The Wind
Pride and Prejudice
The Far Pavilions
Love Story

I love a good love story. Here are my favs.

1. Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

2. The Notebook by Nicolas Sparks

3. The Wedding by Nicolas Sparks

4. The Camerons Saga (a civil war trilogy) One wore Blue, One Wore Grey and One Rode West by Heather Graham

5.A Walk to Remeber by Nicolas Sparks

(as you can tell... I really love Nicolas Sparks' novels)

Top 5 Love Stories

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
3. Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke
4. Fancy Pants/Bittersweet by Cathy Marie Hake
5. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Wurthering Heights for sure.

Mine in no particular order

1. Time Traveler's Wife
2. Twilight
3. Outlander
4. Thorn Birds
5. Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas (actually made me cry!)

I'm going to have to amend my list to include Outlander with Jamie and Claire as a red hot love. I, also, forgot one of my old favorites, Doctor Zhivago with the doc and Lara.

You guys have really added to my TBR list with your posts! As for me:

Jane Eyre
Gone With The Wind
Losing Julia - I agree with Dorie about this one - it's one of my favorite books and favorite romances
Devil's Cub - 'cause there has to be at least one book by Georgette Heyer on my list
Possession: A Romance

And from my secret stash of what I consider "pure" romance novels: Devil in Winter and Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas

1. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
2. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
3. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
4. Anne of Green Gables-Anne of the Island
5. Tie between Irish & Three Sisters Island trilogies by Nora Roberts

I am repeating, but here goes

1.The Time Traveler's Wife
2. Outlander
3. Blue Castle
4. Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess' Stardust Being a Romance Within the Realms of Faerie (the Neil Gaiman/Charles Vess collaboration really helped, the illustrations were stunning!)
5.Pride and Prejudice (and, alternately, Bridget Jones's DiaryNot the same caliber, perhaps, but a Darcy is a Darcy.)

1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Jane Eyre
3. The Thornbirds
4. The Time Traveler's Wife
5. Twilight

I considered including The Eyre Affair but the romance was not the most important aspect for me and it was the only part of the book I didn't agree with - I wouldn't have forgiven him.

I'm not really into love stories and romance in books, love it on film, so I rarely read a romance on purpose. However I have received some pleasant surprises.

1. Pride Prejudice
2. The Time Traveller's Wife
3. The Shadow of the Wind
4. I Capture the Castle
5. The Gadfly

Others I enjoyed that were movingly about love but not necessarily love stories:
The History of Love
The Lovely Bones


edited: because The History of Love hot links to Wuthering Heights!! Freudian slip?

Endless Love
The Thorn Birds
Shogun
Ride the Wind

Okay, I have only 4.

Top 5 favourite love stories..good one!

1) Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte

2) Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte.

3) Romeo and Juliet- William Shakespeare.

4)The Shawshank Redemption- Stephen King

5) The Amber Spyglass- Philip Pullman. Not technically a love story, but a story with a love story in it.

I found Wuthering Heights to be extremely depressing. Heathcliff and Catherine's romance was built up in my mind before I read it by friends and teachers...and then I was disappointed. The book is fantastic, but I can't call it a romance. Not that romances can't be depressing lol. Maybe the book just suffered b/c my expectations were too high.

Okay all over the place with this one:

1. Persuasion by Jane Austen ~ This is her most heart-wrenching romance. It is so much darker and sophisticated than the others. This is tied with P&P for me.

2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ~ Tied with Persuasion for my fav Austen novel, I just can't choose

3. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier ~ A beautiful love story, but at the same time historical fiction/fantasy. I can't praise this book enough.

4. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare ~ The BEST romance that Shakespeare ever wrote. Benedick and Beatrice's relationship is so funny and tender. If you love P&P, read this play b/c sometimes it feels like she modeled Lizzy and Darcy on these two characters.

5. A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers ~ First book in The Mark of the Lion trilogy. It was the first Christian romance/Christian historical fiction I ever read and it got me hooked.

Platonic, 'agape' type love stories:
1. The Little Prince
2. The Velveteen Rabbit
3. A Prayer for Owen Meany
4. The Lovely Bones
5. The Giving Tree

Romantic love:
1. Time Traveller's Wife
2. Stardust
3. Mistress of the Art of Death
4. The Outcast
5. Beach Music

Self love:
1. Black Swan Green
2. Eat, Pray, Love
3. Izzy Willy-Nilly
4. A Solitary Blue
5. Poisonwood Bible

I think I see a pattern here. LOL


Ofmatt wrote: "Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights

(lolz)"

no order...

A Walk to Remember
P.S. I Love You
Just Listen
The Princess Bride
Sweethearts

Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights

(lolz)

1-Till Dawn Tames the Night by Meagan McKinney

2-A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux

3-A Kiss in the Night by Jennifer Horsman

4-Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

5-Helen of Troy by Margaret George

North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
The Bronze Horseman - Paulina Simons
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Howls Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones

I absolutely love Knight in Shining Armor. Have read it several times

Patty wrote: "In no particular order:

Outlander series by Gabaldon
Cry Wolf by Linda Howard
Paradise by Judith McNaught
Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss
Knight in Shining Armor by Judith Deveraux"

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
The Princess - Lori Wick
A Walk to Remember - Nicholas Sparks
Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks

I must say my all-time fav is Lady Chatterley's Lover. It's the first aand only love story that comes to mind. and I am a bit surprise that it did not rank top five with anyone else(although the other picks are great too).
If you have not read it, stop what you are doing. get to the nearest library or bookstore, find a copy and READ IT!


Side note: The Notebook was a much more heart-gripping movie than it was a book. just my opinion, though!

Liesel and Linda-Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom...I don't know that I would consider it a love story, but it is definitly touching.

Mandy Sue- Romeo and Juielt definitly up there. I'm surprised more people didn't put it up there.

Now, for Mine, I only have star, not much of a love story kind of person, but I do have 4.
1. Romeo and Juliet...Shakesphere...needs no explination
2. Mid-Summer Nights Dream...Shakesphere...I loved this book. I thought that it was an unconventional love story, but still a favorite.
3. Flowers For Algernon...Daniel Keyes...A great love story, although not so typical.
4. Star Girl....Jerry Spinelli....A young Adult Love story, but a book I kept after I read it.

Vanessa,

Love your choices, esp. THE ROAD. The love story in that book is what makes it worth getting through.

As for my personal favorite, there is ROMEO AND JULIET. And then there are the rest.

I am a sucker for a really good love story as long as it is nestled in a book that also contains good literature.....

These are my top five:
1)The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
2)Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
3)Romeo and Juliet
4)Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
(In this book she did find love, but mostly she learned to love herself, and I love that.)
5)......

ok I will have to think about number 5.....

Persuasion
Pride and Prejudice
Twilight
Northanger Abbey
Bridget Jones's Diary (I'm a sucker for the Pride and Prejudice storyline, I guess)

Re. Romantic love stories, I'm not sure that I saw this one on anyone's list, but I thought Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy had a wonderful love story that just doesn't look like it is going to resolve happily - until the sweet end.

Great non-romantic love stories:
The Road (the pure and powerful "I will go through hell for you" love of a parent for a child)
The Velveteen Rabbit (the transforming power of loving and being loved)
The Snow Queen (love as a powerful force that can overcome evil)

I loved the movie
Somewhere in Time...I wonder if it is the same.

You guys have certainly named some great books. Here are my five:

Romeo and Juliet
Outlander
A Knight in Shining Armour
The Jane Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Somewhere in Time

That was fun.

Pride and Prejudice


But right now, I'm hooked on the Twilight series

In no particular order:

Outlander series by Gabaldon
Cry Wolf by Linda Howard
Paradise by Judith McNaught
Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss
Knight in Shining Armor by Judith Deveraux

Gone with the Wind
Dear John - has nobody read this book!?
The Guardian
Love in the Time of Cholera
That Camden Summer