A Craftsman Bungalow

A Craftsman Bungalow

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

MAGAZINES
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When I attended undergraduate school my first instructor told me that in order to be a good writer one needed to read good magazines. He cited Harper's and The Atlantic Monthly to name just two. I've been a faithful subscriber to those magazines over the years, and along the way I've added many others that mostly have to do with homemaking; Sunset, Better Homes & Gardens, Women's Day and Family Circle. Last year I decided to subscribe to The Economist because it's really the only way to get decent unbiased world news (in print) in the US. Add to that a new CondeNast magazine called Portfolio. As a charter member I got a 2-year subscription for just $24. Never mind that it weighs about three pounds, contains 90% advertising and has content only slightly above tabloid grade....it was CHEAP. Note that I haven't listed my husband's magazines, which have mostly to do with woodworking.
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Well, the ongoing dilemma in my household is what to do with all of the issues that we "are going to read some day when we have time." The magazines stack up when there's no time to read them (or even look at the fun photos), but we still feel hesitant to recycle them. In past times we've saved up huge stacks, saying to each other "we'll take these to the local hospital, doctor's office, prison" , etc. etc. etc. But we never do. In the end we recycle them when they are too old to be relevant, and feel crummy and wasteful about it.
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This year I've decided not to renew The Atlantic Monthly. I am SICK TO DEATH of seeing the following covers: George Bush's face and/or the Iraq War. Maybe after George is out of office for a few years and the new president brings our troops home the Atlantic Monthly editor will find something different to include in the magazine and I'll reconsider subscribing again.
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We've also decided to let the other subscriptions go, and just buy individual copies at the newsstand if we see a cover that interests us and that we have time to read.
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Here's one magazine that I will NEVER stop reading; The Sun. I've been a subscriber for over ten years. The Sun has no advertisements, and has content that is uplifting, interesting, relevant, and inspiring. My favorite section of the magazine is called Readers Write. The Sun selects monthly topics in advance for anyone to write about. Writers can submit their short articles and if theirs is selected for publication they receive a free one-year subscription. The magazine has a new website and I encourage anyone to check it out. Here's a link.....happy reading!!
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http://www.thesunmagazine.org/

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