HCM CITY (VNS)— This year, celebrants of Valentine's Day can forgo the chocolates, flowers and jewellery and purchase love stories from the HCM City-based Tre (Youth) Publishing House.

The books include Mark Twain's Eve's Diary and Jojo Moyes's Last Love Letter, which were both translated in Vietnamese by Nguyen Tuan Viet and Duong Thuy Dung.

Eve's Diary was first published in the 1905 Christmas issue of the magazine Harper's Bazaar, and in book format in 1906 by Harper and Brothers publishing house.

The book is written in the style of a diary kept by the first woman in the biblical creation story, Eve, who met Adam and later explored the world around her, Eden.

The story ends with Adam's speaking at Eve's grave, "Wherever she was, there was Eden."

Another choice is the short story collection featuring Vietnamese urban youth and their loves and lives by young writers Lam Moon, Trang Tho, Xuan Oanh and Tham Quynh Tran.

In celebration of Valentine's Day, the HCM City Television's monthly film programme will broadcast Bi Mat Anh Va Em (The Secrets Between You and Me), a TV series depicting women and love. The series will begin on Friday noon and will be broadcast every day.

Veteran actress Minh Trang, who worked for the famous Tuoi Tre Theatre (Youth) in Ha Noi, will perform in a drama written and directed by Viet Linh at HCM City Opera House on Friday.

Director Linh's Thien Thien is about women in love. The play has attracted young faces Quy Binh and Van Trang, who will perform with veteran colleagues Khanh Hoang and Thanh Thuy.

The city will also host Happy Valentine's Day , a music show staged by pop stars Thu Minh and Thanh Bui, including singers like Truc Nhac, who will perform in the nightclub Dong Dao in District 1.

The singers will perform dozens of love songs in Vietnamese, English and French.

Gift and flower shops around the country are filled with cards, balloons, chocolates, teddy bears and souvenirs.

This year, domestic cosmetics and souvenirs at reasonable prices are in great demand. — VNS