The Best Books for Long Distance Couples to Read Together

Reading together is one of the most underrated things a long distance couple can do. It's cheap, it works across any time zone, and it gives your calls something to chew on besides "how was your day?" — you're building a tiny shared world, one chapter at a time.

But not all books work the same way from two cities. Here's how we'd break it down, having done this ourselves for years.

Books you complete together (not just read)

We'll start with our own shelf, because it's the reason this site exists:

The #LDR Activity Book — this is the book we wished existed when we were long distance, so we wrote it with a Registered Psychologist and a Sexologist. It's not a book you read; it's a book you do: personality tests, crossword puzzles, relationship bucket lists, and conflict-resolution games across eight chapters, designed to be completed together from different cities. The Set of 2 gives you one each, so you compare answers on camera — which is where the magic (and the arguing about crossword clues) happens. There's also a digital version if you want to start tonight.

An activity book earns its place on this list because it solves the hard problem: not what to feel about distance, but what to actually do together during it.

Books about relationships worth reading in parallel

Read a chapter each, then compare notes on your next call. These are the ones we find ourselves recommending:

• "Hold Me Tight" by Dr. Sue Johnson — the classic on attachment and emotionally focused therapy. The conversations it prompts are exactly the ones distance makes easy to avoid.
• "Attached" by Amir Levine & Rachel Heller — attachment styles 101. If one of you is anxious and one avoidant, distance amplifies it; this book gives you shared language for it.
• "The 5 Love Languages" by Gary Chapman — a bit famous at this point, but for LDR couples it's practical: if your partner's language is physical touch, you need a deliberate plan for the months you can't offer it.
• "Mating in Captivity" by Esther Perel — on desire and distance. Perel argues that longing and separateness feed attraction — which is the most encouraging possible framing for an LDR.

Fiction to read out loud

Don't underestimate reading to each other — one chapter a night, alternating who reads. Weirdly intimate, extremely free. Pick anything you both want, but it works best with books that are episodic (short chapters), fun out loud, and not so plot-heavy that missing a night matters. Poetry collections and short stories work beautifully too.

If you need a nudge, our 50 long distance date ideas has a whole low-effort section that pairs well with a read-aloud ritual, and our open-when letters guide is what to do when you want your words to travel by envelope instead.

How to actually make a couples' book club stick

1. Tiny commitments. One chapter a week beats "let's read this whole book" every time.
2. Attach it to a ritual. Same night, same call, maybe the same drink. (This is the entire theory behind our Date Night Connection Rituals.)
3. Alternate who picks. You'll each end up reading something you'd never have chosen. That's a feature.
4. Talk about you, not just the book. The book is the excuse; the conversation it opens is the point. If you want a shortcut to those conversations, our 100 questions for long distance partners exists for exactly that.

However you do it: a couple that's reading something together always has somewhere to start the conversation. From two time zones, that's worth a lot. 📚