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Romance a Reader this February

Literary lovers know that there’s nothing more romantic than a cozy bookstore on a cold winter’s night. Whether you bring your Valentine or your favorite book, P&P has the perfect date night for you this February. Don’t forget to view our full calendar here.

Pack passion into your evening with these upcoming panels… for the open-minded and uninhibited, editor Rachel Kramer Bussel discusses Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 3 (February 13 at The Wharf) with contributors Thien-Kim Lam, Sommer Marsden, and Lynn Townsend. Later in the month Passion and Prose: A Romance Panel (February 27) returns with Lisa Kleypas, Beverly Jenkins, Eloisa James, and Mia Sosa. Not convinced? Let Ron Charles explain why romance should be on your radar following the roaring success of the first panel last summer.

Fall in love with new fiction depicting relationships fiery and flawed… Jamie Quatro’s Fire Sermon (February 11) is a fierce novel about longing in which Maggie and James—both writers, both parents, both married to others—begin a charged affair that forces Maggie to reckon with what she believes and what she needs. In The Great Alone (February 14), Kristen Hannah follows the Allbright family, former POW Ernt, his wife Cora, and their thirteen-year-old daughter Cora, to remote Alaska where they have no on to turn to but each other. Tayari Jones introduces newlyweds Roy and Celestial whose lives are forever changed by a wrongful conviction; separated from her husband, Celestial finds comfort in her childhood friend Andre until Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned in An American Marriage (February 15).

Keep it real with rich, creative nonfiction… Cartoonist Tim Kreider turns to essays to reflect on whether his longest relationship will be with his cat; I Wrote This Book Because I Love You (February 8 at The Wharf) is a witty and profound collection examining Kreider’s difficulty finding love. Laura Smith’s memoir/mystery hybrid, The Art of Vanishing (February 10), reflects on the author’s own conflict about whether she can be both married and free while pursuing the mystery of Barbara Newhall Follett, an adventurous trailblazer who, when she was not much older than Laura, left her marriage and disappeared without a trace. Based in Mumbai for several years, Elizabeth Flock chronicles an arranged marriage that blossoms into true love, a relationship strained by both partners’ independence and ambitions, and an Islamic couple longing to have a child in The Heart is a Shifting Sea (February 17). 

Roses are red, violets are blue, nothing says romance like a poetry rendezvous… Grace Cavalieri discusses Other Lives (February 14 at The Wharf) with E. Ethelbert Miller at The Wharf, then Laura Swearingen-Steadwell, Jodie Hollander, and Joelle Biele visit Connecticut Ave. to share All Blue So Late, My Dark Horses, and Tramp (February 18) respectively.

If you are in the D.C. area, make sure you check out Rachel Kramer Bussel and Best Women’s Erotica, Volume 3 at Politics & Prose in Washington D.C.!

“Let’s get into gender politics” - Oscar Isaac

“The main difference between an experienced and an inexperienced writer, is the ability to work on a bad day.” - Norman Mailer

Kingsman: The Golden Circle dir. Matthew Vaughn