Books to Read Aloud with Your Sweetheart

Home, by Bill Bryson
We tend to read nonfiction that will give us lots to talk about and isn’t in danger of being forgotten if we drift off to sleep in the middle every so often. It took us more than a year to make our way through this one, and it was worth it. Bryson packs his books with so many tidbits it’s impossible not to trade them with your fellow reader long after the book is done. In Home, he examines the history of his own home and how it reflects larger moments in history, from Victorian times to today. Room by room, Bryson analyzes how the meaning of home has changed and makes you look at your surroundings with new eyes.

Orion and the Dark, by Emma Yarlett
Picture books aren’t just for kids. Short and soothing, they can be the perfect bedtime reading for adults. Yarlett’s new book about a boy who discovers the dark isn’t as scary as he feared is already a favorite. The pages are rich with infographic goodness, and the characters are deeply lovable. When Dark extends his hand to Orion, the reader is invited into the story with a diecut, three-dimensional hand in the book. The effect is pure magic.

Drop Dead Healthy, by A.J. Jacobs
If, when reading a book, you find yourself calling out to your husband every few pages to read him something funny or absurd, that’s a good sign you might want to read that book together. Jacobs’ humorous yet erudite books always give us lots to talk about. This one details his efforts to test all the latest (and craziest) health advice and maximize his body’s potential. When he starts the project, his body is as feeble as any yuppie writer’s, but by the end, he’s obsessed with everything from standing desks to finger fitness.

Marriage and Other Acts of Charity, by Kate Braestrup
You know how when you come home from a dinner party, you spend the whole car ride talking about the other couples that were there? I’m a strong believer that’s not nasty gossip, it’s healthy couple time, because it helps you and your partner work out your own perspective on relationships. Reading about other couples’ marriages or philosophical musings on relationships is a great way to start a conversation with your significant other. Kate Braestrup’s book is so lovely we give it to friends when they get married. The author draws from her experience as a minister and wife to offer sage bits of advice on how two people can build a life together.

American Primitive, by Mary Oliver
My husband isn’t a huge poetry fan. Shocker, I know. But he loves Mary Oliver’s poems. Partly because who doesn’t? She describes our connection to the natural world in a beautiful and wise way. But he also loves these poems because they’re the perfect way to end a day and start a dream. Reading them aloud honors Oliver’s work and lets us share the experience of “Tasting the Wild Grapes” and celebrating the “First Snow.”