Jane Austen on Love and Romance by Jane Austen and edited by Constance Moore (Skyhorse Publishing, $12.95)
Jane Austen, born in 1775 in Steventon, Hampshire, was the daughter of a village rector. She began her literary career writing stories and novels for her family as entertainment. It was her keen observations into ordinary human behavior that makes so much of her work relevant today despite the fact that it has been almost two centuries since her death. Several of her novels — including “Price and Prejudice,” “Mansfield Park,” and “Emma” — are, indeed, timeless.
In this compilation drawn from her work, Austen’s insight into love is pitch perfect and certainly timely as we ease our way into yet another Valentine’s Day. Consider these gems:
“The first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrevocably gone.” (Love and Friendship)
“A woman in love with one man cannot flirt with another.” (Northanger Abbey)
“If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.” (Emma)
“If I could but know his heart, everything would become easy.” (Sense and Sensibility)
“Do anything rather than marry without affection.” (Pride and Prejudice)
Literary buffs and hopeless romantics alike will delight in this the quotes and clever anecdotes in this remarkable little book.

Lost on Treasure Island: A Memoir of Longing, Love, and Lousy Choices in New York City by Steve Friedman (Arcade, $24.95)
Love is never really all that easy, especially for a Midwesterner who finds himself in the wilds of Manhattan.
After Friedman lands a dream job at GQ, he sets out to find love in the mean streets of the big city. With sharp humor and startling candor, this book documents the highs and lows of his search including his adventures in Internet dating, one-night-stands, dodgy encounters in attempts to find companionship and purpose. Instead of finding that perfect person, what Friedman discovers is sheer hell.
This highly readable account is basically about one man’s being thrown into the real world and learning to survive. It isn’t always a pretty picture. Anyone who has ever tried to make it in the big city will identify with this memoir. It is witty, boisterous, insightful, and entertaining.

Love Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Many Ways We Celebrate Romance and Passion by Deborah A. Levine (Skyhorse Publishing, $14.95)
This wonderfully collection of letters, quotations, and fun facts reveal a fascinating history of romance as it addresses such questions as where the heart symbol originated, which aphrodisiacs really work, why chocolates and roses are the gifts of love, and why diaper-clad Cupid carries two kinds of arrows in his quiver.
According to American Greetings, Valentine’s Day is the most popular e-card-sending holiday of the year. Last year, approximately 15 million e-valentines were dispatched. Deborah A. Levine, a network TV producer and author based in Brooklyn, notes that fact and others in her breezy little literary tour through the history and traditions surrounding the many ways people celebrate love. Her richly illustrated book is a delight.
About Cupid and his arrows, the golden ones are to inspire true love, and the leaden, to arouse lust. According to some tales, Cupid also carries a torch to inflame passions but what’s with the diaper? That and many other questions are answered in this superbly crafted volume.

The Single Girl’s Survival Guide: Secrets for Today’s Savvy, Sexy, and Independent Woman by Imogen Lloyd Webber (Skyhorse Publications, $17.95)
This is a funny, smart, sassy survivor’s guide to work, home, friends, and, of course, dating and sex. Imogen Lloyd Webber, who was educated at Cambridge University, is a writer, producer, broadcaster and on-air contributor for MSNBC.
In her new book, Webber reveals all of the ins-and-outs of making the most of single life such as following the “Girl Code” (what you absolutely can NOT do to your girl friends), knowing the values and shortcomings of platonic boy-friends and straight-male friends, and dealing with double standards.
Webber emphasizes that her book is not about how to find a man but rather how to steer safe passage through the stormy waters of the single girl’s world, limit the seasickness, and enjoy the trip.
Single women of the world, Ahoy!

The 6 Husbands Every Wife Should Have by Dr. Steven Craig (Simon & Schuster, $24.99)
The Mental, physical, and emotional rewards of marriage are stronger than ever for men and women willing to make the effort required to grow and adapt together. Dr. Steven Craig, clinical psychologist and contributor to both ABC World News Tonight and The New York Times, draws on a lifetime of study and experience understanding marriages and counseling couples to present a concept as straightforward as it is original. He is convinced that marriages don’t fail when people change but rather they fail when the people don’t change. He adds that the key to a long and happy marriage is for both partners to recognize the different stages most marriage have, and to adjust values and behaviors for each.
Basically, Dr. Craig’s stages include Getting Started; The Young Married Couple; Then Comes Baby; Family Ties; Empty Nesting; and The Golden Years. With each stage comes dramatic changes and if we can learn to be flexible and accommodate the changes, the result can be an even stronger relationship.