ALBUMS

THEN:
Gold – Patsy Cline

Loss, sadness and loneliness don’t sound romantic on paper, but with Patsy Cline singing, there are few songs as equally sad and romantic as “Walking After Midnight,” “Crazy,” and the beautiful, “I Fall To Pieces.” In or out of love, young or old, done wrong or done right, and even if we’ve not been where Patsy’s gone, her voice takes us right there. Nazareth may have sung it in the ‘70s, but Patsy was there first. Love hurts.

NOW:
The Sea – Corinne Bailey Rae

Corinne Bailey Rae, the 2006 darling of Starbucks coffeehouses, returns with her second album. Following the tragic loss of her husband, Rae mines her loss and her surroundings and brings a thoughtful, hopeful, hauntingly beautiful new release. That may not sound much like Valentine’s fare...but what’s more romantic than hope and renewal?

—Sharon Penny

BOOKS

THEN:
Traveling With Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd & Ann Kidd Taylor

Author of the bestselling The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd brings to life a very personal journey – that of her and her 22-year old daughter as they travel together through Greece, Turkey and France. Kidd facing the looming prospect of menopause, and her daughter facing a recent college rejection, the two find similarities in their journeys and new ways to rediscover and learn from each other.

NOW:
Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert

The acclaimed author of Eat Pray Love, returns with a new memoir that explores the institution of marriage. Having sworn never to marry, the long arm of the law intervenes in Gilbert’s fate: She has to marry her new Brazilian/Australian love Felipe in order to keep him in the U.S. Gilbert uses her memoir to tackle her fear of marriage with the expected level of intelligence, humor and compassion.

—Sharon Penny

FILMS

THEN:
The English Patient

Winner of “Best Picture” in 1996, The English Patient is a beautifully photographed World War II-era epic that chronicles the story of a mysterious Hungarian pilot burned in a plane crash, and the lonely nurse who tends to him. Both sweeping and grand, this is doomed cinematic romance at its finest.

NOW:
Amelia

While not on par with Monsoon Wedding, director Mira Nair’s Amelia is a solid biopic of the ambitious aviatrix Amelia Earhart, portrayed by an effervescent Hillary Swank. While the script is thin at times, the love story at the film’s center makes for compelling Valentine’s Day viewing. Richard Gere and Ewan McGregor co-star.

—Jenn Thornton