Relationships are personal.
You can read 100 books about love and marriage and still be surprised to learn that your spouse never makes the bed, but has a weird thing about organizing the dishwasher.
That said, if you're planning or hoping to get hitched, you should probably be open to all the relationship advice you can get.
Business Insider has rounded up eight books that will help prepare you to tie the knot — books whose authors include a wedding reporter, a researcher who studies shame and vulnerability, and a Harvard negotiation professor.
Even if you pick up one or two, you'll be better equipped to weather the inevitable ups and downs of marriage.
SEE ALSO: 9 books that will give you something to talk about at any party you attend
'Happier at Home' by Gretchen Rubin
This bestselling book, published in 2012, is a follow-up to Rubin's first bestseller, "The Happiness Project."
Where "The Happiness Project" details Rubin's efforts to become generally happier, "Happier at Home" zeroes in on Rubin's attempts to create more fulfilling relationships with her family.
Each month for a year, Rubin took on a different "theme," such as marriage or parenthood, and worked on improving it. She combines scientific research with personal anecdotes about her husband and two daughters.
Some of the changes Rubin made include thanking her husband for doing chores and practicing "warm greetings and farewells" with both her husband and her daughters. It's all stuff you can easily replicate in your own relationships.
Find it here »
'Drop the Ball' by Tiffany Dufu
Tiffany Dufu spent her whole life getting straight As: at school, at home, and at work.
But when she went back to work after the birth of her first child — she was a launch team member to Lean In and is chief leadership officer to professional network Levo — she realized she wasn't going to keep getting top marks across the board without help.
"Drop the Ball" is the story of how Dufu and her husband reshaped the way they tackled the myriad tasks that go with caring for a family and household, starting with conversations and Excel spreadsheets and ending up with a stronger, happier relationship.
Stick around for the story about dry cleaning — it will make you think differently about how you get things done.
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'Negotiating the Nonnegotiable' by Daniel Shapiro
Shapiro is the founder and director of the Harvard International Negotiation Program; he's led conflict-management initiatives in the Middle East and worked with leaders in government and business.
The thrust of "Negotiating the Nonnegotiable," published in 2016, is that appealing to rationality isn't always the best way to mend a rift. Instead, both parties in a negotiation have to be willing to get in touch with the conflict's more emotional underpinnings.
That's especially true when you're dealing with conflict in close personal relationships. One strategy Shapiro recommends in the book is using a metaphor to describe the relationship. That way, it's easier to talk about — and come up with solutions to — a tricky situation.
Find it here »
See the rest of the story at Business Insider