Valentine's Day isn't just for sweethearts - it's for lonely hearts and broken hearts, too.
Whether this Cupid's Day numbers you among those who have found love, those seeking love or those who never want to see that chubby little winged archer creep again, there's a book that probably reflects your feelings.Looking for love? The place to begin might be "Romance 101: Lessons in Love" (Casablanca). Available in both paperback and hardcover, this volume offers "a little lecture, a little homework, a lot of fun" for those who want to increase their chances for romantic success on Valentine's Day or any day. Author Gregory J.P. Godek, who knows at least 2,002 ways to be romantic (his previous books include "1,001 Ways to Be Romantic" and "1,001 More Ways to Be Romantic"), provides lessons, suggestions and reference sources in chapters that cover a few dozen topics, including affection, growth, mistakes and trust.
If it's gotten to the point where you'll listen to romantic advice even from a cat, you might "paws" to consult "Heavy Petting" (Hyperion), a paperback by Liz Nickles and Tamara Asseyev. Illustrator Bonnie Timmons shows Bumper the cat as he recommends aphrodisiacs such as velvet and tuna, and offers surefire relationship-enhancing advice like "Don't be catty."
Has experience made you think of love as a four-letter word? You'll find comfort in "The Heartbreak Handbook" (Fawcett Columbine). This paperback by Valerie Frankel and Ellen Tien contains strategies from therapists and from the authors' heartbroken friends to help women get over him - and even better, get even with him - when he breaks off the relationship.
Maybe you're familiar with some of the lines in "Tell Me Another One" (Dell). This paperback, compiled by Judith Newman and illustrated by Victoria Roberts, is "A Woman's Guide to Men's Classic Lines" - not the classic lines of men's profiles or torsos, mind you, but such timeless verbalisms as, "Do you come here often?" and "Are you a model?"
Also offered are more creative gems such as, "I love you too much to marry you," uttered by a man who married his next girlfriend; and the one written by the guy who broke off with a woman by sending her a letter that began, "Welcome to Dumpsville. Population: You."
If an ex like him has you thinking that love stinks, you can try to make it smell better with "Aromantics" (Bantam) by Valerie Ann Worwood. This paperback guide to "Enhancing Romance, Love and Sex With Nature's Essential Oils" says that the quickest way to a man's (or woman's) heart is not through the stomach but through the nose. The author emphasizes safety in providing suggestions for scenting the body, the home and some household items.
"The Literary Lover" (Penguin), edited by Larry Dark, is a paperback anthology of 20 short fictional pieces on romance and passion, including works by Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike and Nadine Gordimer. And the paperback "Anatomy of Love" (Fawcett Columbine) by anthropologist Helen Fisher of the American Museum of Natural History delves into the science of human relationships as it probes "the mysteries of mating, marriage and why we stray."
How could Dante Alighieri's "The Inferno," Yoko Ono, Toulouse-Lautrec and the Marx Brothers possibly contribute to the same book? They're among those represented in the poetry, quotations and illustrations contained in Rosemarie Jarski's little hardcover volume, "A Kiss" (Simon & Schuster).
And if just one kiss won't do, how about a year's worth? "365 Ways to Kiss Your Love" (Summit Group) is Tomima Edmark's little white hardcover decorated with a red ribbon bow that calls itself "a daily guide to creative kissing." Some of the props required include a rearview mirror, revolving door and a toll booth.
And more than 900 quotations culled from "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations" give us "Bartlett's Book of Love Quotations" (Little, Brown). This hardcover speaks of love, citing sources ranging from the Bible to Broadway: "It's love, it's love that makes the world go round" (the prolific Anonymous); "Love means not ever having to say you're sorry" (Erich Segal in "Love Story"); and some good advice from Ovid, first-century Roman poet, "To be loved, be lovable."
If none of these books fits your needs, it might be that you share the feelings of Henry King, who in 1657 wrote in "The Exequy":
"Thou art the book, the library whereon I look."