Your Favorite Love Songs + My January Reads

Playlist + Recommendations

Hi! Welcome to The Civilian. Sometimes I talk about politics, sometimes I talk about other things, but it *almost* always falls under the umbrella of treating people well.

Sometimes there are a few things that are better suited for a smaller audience—things that I want to hold a little tighter. These are the topics I reserve for our paid subscribers. Today’s email is one of those. You’ll see a paywall pop up after a bit, and if you’d like to read more…please, join our wonderful and small community of subscribers!

Love it or Hate it…

Valentine’s Day is upon us! Even if we don’t get into the holiday itself, I think loving each other is something that should always be celebrated—romantic or platonic. I’ve been asking folks over the past year what their favorite love songs are and the results have been fascinating… there are a lot of sentiments like this from reader Rick:

One of my favorites is Bruce Springsteen's "If I Fall Behind," which I suppose a lot of people wouldn't consider a love song. When I played it for my wife and explained that hearing it made me think of us, she thought I was nuts. But it speaks to me of the reality of great love. It's often not easy, it sometimes can be inconvenient and even painful. But there is something incredibly reassuring about knowing that no matter how hard a time you are having, no matter how lost you might be, there is someone you love and trust waiting down the road for you to arrive.

I’ve been gathering up all the responses into one playlist for you to enjoy this week (or any week!) My personal contributions are:

• “Is This Love” by Bob Marley & the Wailers : Sometimes the simplest expressions are the most meaningful. Forget the romantic overtures and give me someone who just wants to share a home, a meal, and everyday life with me. That’s love right there.

• “If We Were Vampires” by Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit : A darker take on romantic love, this song highlights how short and precious our time on this earth is. (For those of you into the enneagram, this is perhaps the best example of my 4 wing).

• this one is not available on Spotify, but I know I’m not alone in my revisit of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” after she played at the Grammys last week. For me, it’s the best example of loving ourselves and appreciating everything we’ve been through. “Something’s lost and something’s gained/In living every day…” indeed.

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Book Reviews

I used to share book reviews on Instagram, but I’ve been off of the platform for over a year now… hard to believe. I miss talking to you, though, so I’ve recorded a few voice notes for my January Reads. There are a lot of new subscribers here (thank you!), and I just hope to further connect with you by sharing my voice. I’ll try to do better on the audio quality next time!

I read three books and DNF’d (did not finish) one. I’ll explain why below: