BY: CHARLOTTE JONES / STAFF REPORTER
Valentine’s day is the holiday for lovebirds, romantics, star-crossed lovers, and soulmates. For those celebrating their relationships and how much they love their partner—a day to give their partner a little reminder of what their relationship means to them. Or is it?
While Valentine's day may have passed, why no celebrate love all month long? And instead of celebrating only our relationships and our partners, why don’t we celebrate ourselves? Celebrate the growth you have achieved, the friendships you have formulated, and the journey you are on.
Reading books that you are interested in is a way to ground yourself and also remind yourself of the journey you are on. This month, explore some books that aren’t solely based on romantic relationships.
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton was first published in 2018. It is a 368-page memoir from cover to cover, and is “about growing up, growing older, and learning to navigate friendships, jobs, loss, and love along the ride.”
Dolly Alderton is a journalist for Sunday Times, where she has seen almost everything imaginable. Alderton recounts her memories of falling in love, getting her dream job, getting drunk, going through a breakup, and realizing how much her girl best friends mean to her.
She highlights how the most important and stable people in her life were not her partners, but those who she surrounded herself with. A feel-good, witty memoir, Alderton captures exactly what we should be celebrating this Valentine’s Day.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This book was first published in 2017. It is 389 pages from front to back, and it follows the story of Monique Grant as she gets the opportunity to interview the famous actress Evelyn Hugo.
This interview is the break that Monique has been looking for: an exclusive interview with the most controversial, daring, and renowned actress of their time. Monique’s husband has left her, she is struggling with who she is as a writer, and her professional life is not taking off in the way she imagined.
Evelyn Hugo has decided it’s time to tell her side of the story, the truth behind her many relationships and who she is as a human being behind the scenes. She “unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love.”
Monique quickly realizes that their lives may have a deeper connection than she realized as takes in the lifetime of Ms. Hugo. She finds lessons in heartbreak, love, and grief.
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
This book was first published in 2017. It is 304 pages from front to back, and it follows the story of two college students and the unexpected friendship they form with a married couple.
Frances and Bobbi are best friends and lovers at their university. Frances is an aspiring writer, and is currently performing spoken word poetry with Bobbi. Melissa, a well-established journalist, spots their talents at a poetry reading. Melissa brings Frances into her inner circle, where she gains new knowledge and new outtakes on life.
Frances experiences trials and tribulations that test all aspects of her life. From her unhappy father, to her flirtatious relationship with Nick, to even issues with Bobbi, Frances struggles to keep her life in check.
A story about living from day to day, and controlling what you can, this novel highlights the importance of taking things one step at a time.
Rather you’re spending this Valentine’s day alone or with a significant other,
as a reader, there are a plethora of life lessons for us all to take in this Valentine’s Day and for the rest of this month.