Hi there, and a big happy Valentine’s Day to you!

Because today is Valentine’s Day, I'm going to talk to you about the things I love. Of course it won’t be everything I love, but this is a simple compilation of the publications I love. Here goes:

The Chicago Tribune – I probably love it just because I’ve grown up with it, but it still rules. They’ve started doing this new thing where they have different illustrations in their masthead every day. Sometimes it’s just of Tribune Tower (the Tribune’s office building), sometimes it’s an outline of the city. Sometimes it’s of something particularly newsworthy, but I so love that they spend time on those little details.

Spin – Junior year of high school I was helping with a book drive and stumbled upon a tattered copy of the October 2008 edition of Spin magazine which we couldn’t send in, so I took it and read it - cover to cover. It became my instant favorite magazine and still is. I have often dreamed of working for Spin someday because I love music, and Spin is the world’s greatest alternative rock magazine. Whenever they mention a band I know, I get super-excited because it means I’m up-to-date on music.

Gourmet – Every time I found an issue of Gourmet sitting on the kitchen table on a Sunday morning, I pored over it for hours while eating lunch and snacks- Gourmet makes me hungry. The photos of food make your mouth water, the design is super-sleek, and it’s just an all-around amazing publication. Unfortunately, some silly geese got together a couple of years ago and said, “We’re going to forgo this whole Gourmet thing.” I was disappointed that nobody brought up the fact that it has been in publication since 1941 and has so many very devoted followers like Mary Kate Brogan and her mom. That would’ve kept it in circulation. I’m sure of it.

Anyway, there’s one more thing that I love, and that’s anybody willing to read this all the way through.