October 30, 2007
I like reading magazines. Since eBay sells subscriptions for a lot less than the rates advertised by the little postcards that fall out of new magazines, it becomes easy to rationalize a bunch of subscriptions. And you can get free subs with airline miles, too. In short, I get a lot of magazines and paid like, ten bucks for all of them.
When I started b-school I was involuntarily subscribed to BusinessWeek, and I actually enjoy reading it. And I read Time (hey, I didn't claim that any of these magazines I subscribe to are targeted to those above 7th grade reading level). Then there's Bicycling (of course) and Runner's World even though I don't run much, it has a lot of advice that transfers over to cycling. This year I got a free sub to Smart Money and it's really boring. And also to Marie Claire because I bought some make-up at Clinique. Even though I'm not a girly-girl, I think Marie Claire is a fun read and it provides me with an hour of getting in touch with my inner girly-girl each month, which is about all I need.
Last year I received Wall Street Journal for school and it's also delivered to work everyday. I liked it, but don't have time to read it every day and felt overwhelmed by the large quantity of quality news that ended up in the recycling bin.
I get a quarterly publication from Tulane as an alum, the Tulanian, which is always full of beautiful photos and articles on New Orleans culture or something related to New Orleans or Tulane. It's always a great read.
What's next? My grandmother used to read People and Reader's Digest, but I'll pass on those. And I don't want to read PlayBoy for the 'articles'.
I find local magazines like Birmingham and Portico mildly amusing, since 80% of each magazine is plastic surgery ads and the articles are all about fancy expensive real estate in Mountain Brook. (What would this say to an outsider about Birmingham? It's a huge misrepresentation of the majority of residents.) And what happened to Black and White? The people who work there got pissed off at some other people, and the bi-weekly has become a conduit for them to 'get back' at the people who made them mad. So it's now a complete waste of newsprint.
What periodicals do you read and why?
Posted by megabeth at October 30, 2007 09:55 PM
You touched on one of my favorite subjects - reading. I always have at least one book going, sometimes two. Anyway, you asked about magazines. I admit I read too many of them. I read Runner's World because I enjoy the training plans, shoe reviews, and race reports. I also like the running commentary, which, as you know is written by runners. I read Triathlete for similar reasons. I also subscribe to Men's Journal and Outside because they offer general fitness articles, travel writing, both fiction and nonfiction stories, and great photos. I also receive monthly project management magazines because of my membership in a few professional organizations. I know its too many.
Posted by: Cagey at October 30, 2007 09:49 PM
Outside would be a good one to read, although when I have read it in the past, I want to go on a lot of vacations and then feel sad that I have a job.
Posted by: megabeth at October 31, 2007 08:02 AM
Being a cycling geek, I read a lot of cycling mags. Bicycling of course. The materials has improved there in the past couple of years. Road Bike Review is a new one. Only comes out bi monthly but it makes up for in depth of articles what it can't cover in timeliness due to the format. The introductory subscription costs they're offering is a steal.
Velonews, Cycling etc are good but too expensive for me to justify the costs. Needless to say, they do get perused when I wander in to Books Inc.
I'm with you on the local magazines. Birmingham for me is largely waste paper. Portico I followed a couple of times because of some clever writing but as you said, it's become largely an advertising medium.
Other than the Birmingham News, I find myself getting most of my "print" news and opinion from the internet at spots line NR Online and the American Spectator.
Posted by: southtrek at October 31, 2007 11:28 AM
Do you mean "Road Bike Action" magazine? I got a few complimentary issues in the mail this year.
Velonews is pricey so I don't sub, either.
Posted by: megabeth at October 31, 2007 12:09 PM
Outside, Backpacker, and Runner's World for any tips, tricks or gear I might need to want. Wired of course. SWAT and Guns & Ammo. Hmmm, I just realized I need to read a car magazine on 4-wheeling.
Posted by: Outlaw3 at October 31, 2007 02:18 PM
I subscribe to the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times but admittedly don't always have time to do them justice as far as reading them every day. I figure the Financial Times gives me some insight, perhaps, into a UK perspective on world news, and I used airline miles to pay for it. That's pretty much it for my subscriptions.
I do read Black and White occasionally as their reporting on local politics has been pretty interesting this past year.
Posted by: Stan at November 1, 2007 12:58 AM
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