Books for Your Valentine - February 11, 2010

With this stunning gift edition of 250 of Hafiz's most intimate poems, Ladinsky has succeeded brilliantly in translating the essence of one of Islam's greatest poetic voices.

Love, in its many forms and complexities, weaves through this collection by Amy Bloom, the New York Times bestselling author of Away. Bloom's astonishing and astute new work of interconnected stories illuminates the mysteries of passion, family, and friendship. Propelled by Bloom's dazzling prose, unmistakable voice, and generous wit, Where the God of Love Hangs Out takes us to the margins and the centers of real people's lives, exploring the changes that love and loss create. A young woman is haunted by her roommate's murder; a man and his daughter-in-law confess their sins in the unlikeliest of places. In one quartet of interlocking stories, two middle-aged friends, married to others, find themselves surprisingly drawn to each other, risking all while never underestimating the cost. In another linked set of stories, we follow mother and son for thirty years as their small and uncertain family becomes an irresistible tribe. Insightful, sensuous, and heartbreaking, these stories of passion and disappointment, life and death, capture deep human truths. As The New Yorker has said, "Amy Bloom gets more meaning into individual sentences than most authors manage in whole books."

One of the world's best-loved picture books, now with an elegant new cover, is the perfect way to share your affection with a loved one - of any age. Since GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU was first published in 1995, this tale of two Nutbrown Hares who love each other to the moon and back has enchanted more than 13 million readers around the world. What may be a little-kept secret, however, is that many of those readers aren't so little! With endearing simplicity, Sam McBratney's beguiling text and Anita Jeram's expressive illustrations have struck a universal chord. After all, who doesn't like to be reminded that they're loved, unconditionally and boundlessly? Now spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, grown children and grandchildren, sisters, brothers, fond friends, and anyone else who would like to offer this book to their grown-up loved ones have a special edition just for them, complete with a bookplate that lets them fill in the fortunate recipient's name. This beautiful cloth bound edition is a must-have for anyone who loves someone more than they can measure.