Selections:
- The Soulmate Equation by Christina Laurens (novel)
- “Something Childish but Very Natural” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (poem)
- “Heart to Heart” by Rita Dove (poem)
- “Ode to the Bread Roll” by Rigoberto Gonzalez (poem)
- “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe (poem)
- “A New England Nun” by Mary Wilkins Freeman (short story)
Do you love reading? Do you want to try reading this February? If so, I have an amazing list that I recommend. They’re mostly short, and emotional as I’ll soon describe.
But before we get into that, why should you read any of these selections? Who am I?
Well, I’m Juana –avid reader, passionate writer, and Editor-in-Chief of The Pioneer. I’m an English major who has read more books than I can count, but I have yet to get myself a bookshelf. At PSC, I’ve taken both American Literature courses as well as African American Literature (Dr. Cotch and Dr. Washington are amazing professors!). I plan to publish reading lists for each month of this semester and, at the end of each month, I will publish a recap of each selection. In other words, I will review, with spoilers, my reasons for selecting the specific works.
For this month, I decided to leave my comfort zone to present to you six astonishing reads that are absolutely unmatched! For those of you who believe in Cupid and “love at first sight” or for those who are heartbroken or prefer being solitary, this list is for you.
Please note that these selections are mainly based on my opinion and interpretation of the reading, in which case you may hold a different opinion and may see each of these selections differently.
The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
Triggering content: Some sexual content, some mention of drug and alcohol use
As someone not much adjusted to reading romance novels, this is where I left my comfort zone entirely –but it was worth it.
As the name suggests, this is a romance novel on the implementation of science to romance, love, dating, etc. This novel is by Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings Luhrs, whose pen name combines their names to Christina Lauren.
In this novel, you get to see a reality where people can find matches –or possible soulmates– based on their DNA. While Jessica Davis is all into numbers as a freelance statistician, her friend Felicity Chen encourages her to take a DNADuo test to find her a partner. Nobody ever expects Jess to match with River Peña, the scientist behind the tests, the man behind GeneticAlly. To make things more interesting, Jess is a single mom who lives near her grandparents and who struggles with her emotions.
But the love that spurs and takes shape between the pair isn’t the big reason I’m putting it on this list: but because of the many, many questions the novel poses. Questions which I will reveal in my recap of these novels. I can assure you, though, these questions will make you wonder the way dating and relationships have taken shape in today’s time and how knowing who, exactly, is (or isn’t) compatible with you based on your DNA can affect relationships.
“Something Childish, but Very Natural” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Published in the 1800s, “Something Childish but Very Natural” is a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. As a friend of William Wordsworth, they co-wrote Lyrical Ballads, sometimes considered the collection that started the English Romantic Era. Coleridge is also known for his poems “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (which was included in Lyrical Ballads) and “Kubla Khan”.
However, in this particular poem, it’s so simple: 3 stanzas with 5 lines each (15 lines total). Yet in these 15 lines, Coleridge expresses a feeling so unique, yet so relatable of longing with a clear line between fantasy and reality. Through calling it childish, Coleridge really ties this feeling and moment to an average person –young or old. The title even serves as a reassurance: some people might not believe this feeling is normal or might see it as weird (crazy, even), but calling it “natural” connects people in a way that isn’t really expected. Read the poem and find out what, exactly, is this “something” Coleridge talks about!
“Heart to Heart” by Rita Dove
I decided to present to you the poem “Heart to Heart” by Rita Dove. Dove is the first African American woman to serve as U.S. Poet Laureate for Congress from 1993-1995 and she is also a Pulitzer Prize winner for her poetry collection Thomas and Beulah, according to The Poetry Foundation.
This poem invites readers to really see what goes on within the speaker’s heart. The very short lines invoke certain emotions in readers that allow them to make inferences on what it might mean. The poem also gives a perspective that’s slightly different from the falling “head over heels” over someone or the “she fell [in love] first but he fell harder” tropes that exist very often nowadays. It offers insight on a timid and hesitant heart that responds to the feeling of love.
As Dove puts it in the Academy of American Poets, this poem tries to answer the question: “How to find words for the human heart and all the emotions we ascribe to it?” And in this poem, she does this masterfully and heartwarmingly.
“Ode to the Bread Roll” by Rigoberto Gonzalez (Translated by Mahsa Hojjati)
Triggering content: References to sensual desires
According to the Poetry Foundation, Rigoberto Gonzalez wrote the poem Ode to the Bread Roll as part of the October 2025 folio to win the 2025 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. This poem was written originally in Spanish by Rigoberto Gonzalez, titled Oda al Bolillo. The English version of the poem was by Mahsa Hojjati, who had read Gonzalez’s work for over 25 years, according to his article on his experience translating the ode. However, as I am a Spanish speaker, I would describe this poem from both versions: English and Spanish.
If you’re just reading the title, this would seemingly be a silly little poem about a bread roll. In actuality, upon actually reading each stanza, there’s not only the sense of desire, but the background of culture. It’s much more than a romantic situation with many metaphors, similes, and instances of imagery, but a sincere poem that seems to lead readers in a dream or a wonder-like state until the shift that leaves readers astounded.
“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe, a familiar name among many with his themes of loss and desolation and sometimes madness. However, in this poem, while there is the sentiment of loss, there’s that extra unique perspective on what had been gained before this loss. Not to say that the speaker relishes the loss, but contemplates the all-consuming love that was between them, between the speaker and Annabel Lee.
It might be a little bit of a difficult read, but it’s worth taking a glance over because of the spell-binding imagery and enchanting rhymes that seem to definitely haunt the readers with the love that’s expressed. All of this with the reminder of the heart-breaking loss that occurs. Annabel Lee isn’t the poem that delves into an overused trope within romance, nor does it have a happy ending, but it seems to almost share with you a piece of the speaker’s grieving heart. All the while seeming to lean into obsession for the enchanting woman that was Annabel Lee.
“A New England Nun” by Mary Wilkins Freeman
Set in the late 1800s, Louisa Ellis is unlike any other woman: loyal, patient, and all alone. Some might say that these reasons are exactly what would have made a woman normal, but in the context of Louisa Ellis, it’s not the most normal behavior. Waiting for her fiancé to come back from work, she remains patient in her little home. Waiting for fourteen years. But when he comes back… things aren’t exactly the same as they were before.
This story pulls itself away from the typical traits of womanhood in the 1800s and reimagines a woman. Independent, emotional, and human are the words to describe her, with her own desires and needs that she wishes to have fulfilled. A short story of loyalty, voluntary relinquish, and the peace that can live inside a human. An absolutely amazing read that’ll give people a sense of peace while also revealing that it’s possible to be independent and in love with oneself.
I really hope that you would be willing to read these selections. Whether just one, or all of them, I don’t doubt that at least one would be interesting enough for you to read. I sincerely hope you give yourself the opportunity to read over these selections, and that you’d stick around to read over the recap coming soon!
