When it comes to Valentine’s Day, many write it off as just a celebration of romantic love.
Whilst this certainly is part of it, at Luath we see Valentine’s Day as a celebration of all forms of love!
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Platonic Love – Sometimes your soulmate is your best friend
At times we get swept up in romantic relationships. When we hear of ‘love’ and ‘valentine’s’ it is only natural to assume that these things are barricaded into romance.
However, platonic relationships are just as meaningful. Your friends have stood by your side throughout your dealings with romantic love.
This Valentine’s Day, why not celebrate the love you have for your friends?
Sometimes, platonic love can come in ways you do not expect, like in Catriona Child’s Swim Until You Can’t See Land. Your friends may pull you through your darker days. Their love may be the thing that has been by your side, no matter what.
In Swim Until You Can’t See Land, we meet Mariele who may now be frail and old, but as her exploits during WW2 unfold, she is revealed as a woman of extraordinary spirit, unbroken by capture and interrogation as an agent in occupied France. Meanwhile, Hannah’s delight in the medium of water and the rhythms of swimming are set in dramatic counterpoint to Mariele’s torture by water, an ordeal that puts her in touch with her core strength – something Hannah starts to discover in herself.
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Family Love – Love starts at home
Love may be seen as something you discover as a child in your mum, your dad, your sister, and so on.
As you grow up, no matter the bumps and hurdles, you know that the love you have for your family will be there for you to fall back on.
Surprise your family members this day as you celebrate the love you have for them. They expect birthdays, mother’s day, and father’s day, but never Valentine’s Day.
Celebrate love together!
If you’re looking for something insightful and personal, Laura Bissell’s Bubbles considers womanhood and motherhood and reflects on what it means to become a mother.
Or, if you're looking for something a little different this Valentine’s Day, Catriona Child’s Us Vs the World sees something unusual happening in an Edinburgh bungalow, and at the heart of it are Jude and Sam Redpath, a mother and son forced to confront both their grief and their darkest secrets…
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Self-Love – Putting yourself first
Sometimes, in the heat of it all, we miss the most important recipient of love.
Ourselves.
Take today as a ‘treat yourself day’!
Enjoy what you love most. Go out for food by yourself. Meditate on your health and happiness.
Anne Pia’s Keeping Away the Spiders shows how positive energy can be drawn from life’s most challenging experiences. Anne asks the central question: ‘Who am I and who do I want to be?’ and invites the reader to do the same.
Or, for our younger readers, Ann Kelley’s The Bower Bird explores the story of Gussie, a precocious young girl diagnosed with a rare heart condition. She is determined to live life to the fullest, experiencing typical adolescent woes such as love and strained relations with her parents. Never complaining, she offers a direct and honest insight about herself and the world around her, bringing this poignant, charming and oddly optimistic tale to life.
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Romantic Love – Keep it straightforward
Or, maybe you wish to celebrate your other half.
Whilst we celebrate these other loves this Valentine’s Day don’t forget your partner.
Perhaps you could serenade them with 100 Favourite Scottish Love Poems, edited by Stewart Conn. There are poems for every lover and loved one to savour and share, and to touch the heart - but leaving plenty of room for humour and a whiff of sour grapes.
Maybe the big question has already been asked and you have no idea where to begin! We Do! by Tim Mcguire will be the best wedding companion for you.
Or, are you looking to connect to those ever-complicated love stories that spread across lifetimes? In that case, pre-order Catriona Child’s Fade Into You, a snapshot of the nineties/noughties spirit and a poignant exploration of how childhood friendships and first loves echo through the years, Fade Into You presents a tale of mixtapes, the millennium and the impossibility of moving on.