Whether it’s a relationship or situationship, every new, weird or wonderful romance is an undisputed learning curve. Thankfully, books have long been a source of knowledge and information, giving us eye-opening insight into the world of dating and love.
From whip-smart observations on 21st-century online dating and honest examinations of desire to heartrending memoirs exploring how breakups can set you free, here are the best 2022 books shaping how we view love…
Female literary favourites including Lisa Taddeo, Dolly Alderton, Candice Carty-Williams and Roxane Gay have come together for this uplifting collection of essays exploring all forms of love. With topics ranging from vulnerability to the science of sex and falling in love slowly, you’ll laugh, cry and recommend it to your friends.
Penguin Conversations on Love, $, available at Blackwells
New York writer Lutkin had been single for six years when she decided to throw herself back into dating. Documenting her experiences – from awkward Tinder hookups to looking at the rise of singledom and the way the self-care industry capitalises on our fear of being alone – this fearless book tells a wider story of how we love now.
Scribe Publications The Lonely Hunter: How Our Search For Love Is Broken, $, available at A Great Read
A devastating breakup is the starting point in this book. From there we work backwards, revisiting the painful erosion of a five-year relationship – from the irreparable cracks near the end all the way to the moment the writer first fell in love. In the book we go on a journey of pain and mending, from disastrous rebound sex to stalking your ex’s new girlfriend on Instagram. We’ve all been there.
Trapeze Notes on Heartbreak, $, available at Amazon
Sadia is a loud and proud comedian who loves sex. She’s also a hijab-wearing Muslim woman. In her raunchy, hilarious and eye-opening memoir, she tackles living at the intersection of both, from rejecting arranged marriage to her experiences dating white and Asian men, to discovering her sexual identity after seeing a copy of smutty mag Asian Babes in a corner shop. If it sounds brilliant it’s because it is.
Headline Publishing Group Sex Bomb: The Life and Loves of an Asian Babe, $, available at Waterstones
In her wickedly funny and heartstoppingly vulnerable book of essays, Gutowitz explores how pop culture has shaped society’s perception of queer culture and lesbianism, as well as how it impacted her own life, relationships and the way she dares to love. From remembering the pivotal day when Orange Is the New Black aired and helped Gutowitz realise her own sexuality to revisiting her personal traumas and the time the FBI showed up at her door because of something she tweeted about Game of Thrones – every page twinkles with brilliance.
Atria Books Girls Can Kiss Now: Essays, $, available at Amazon
The first novel in a decade from the bestselling author of Brick Lane follows Yasmin Ghorami and her charming, handsome fiancé, fellow doctor Joe Sangster – a young couple about to wed as their families from two different cultures struggle to understand each other. A perfect snapshot of how we love in today’s multicultural Britain, with all the added complications of life, desire and family.
Little Brown Book Group Love Marriage, $, available at Waterstones
Have you ever accepted the bare minimum just to be loved? Or not had life turn out the way you thought it would? This one is for you. Just 10 days after calling off her wedding, CJ Hauser embarked on an expedition to study the whooping crane. Following that, she went on an unexpected journey of exploration, kissing dating app strangers, officiating a wedding, even visiting a fertility clinic – coming out on the other side after realising she’d almost signed up to live someone else’s life. Frank, funny and intimate.
Viking The Crane Wife: A Memoir in Essays, $, available at A Great Read
From virginity to pleasure, virility and consent, this urgent, myth-busting book looks into widespread sex misinformation and how it has impacted the way we view life, love and dating. Galer draws upon her own relatable experiences as well as the expertise of a new generation of sex educators while reimagining what sexual freedom looks like in the future.
Harper Collins Publishers Losing It: Sex Education for the 21st Century, $, available at Harper Collins
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