About five months ago, I subscribed to two magazines. While I'm not generally a magazine connoisseur (or enthusiast, even), I decided a year of The New Yorker (to prepare me for my re-immersion into the great City) and The Economist (because it's pretty fantastic) couldn't hurt. The only magazine I've consistently subscribed to during my years in LA is Women's Health, and I read each issue cover to cover the moment I receive it each month. I figured adding two more magazines into the mix would not interfere with my lifestyle in any way. I was wrong. The New Yorker and The Economist are both weekly magazines. That means I am bombarded with 200 pages of news, ads, culture, cartoons, and editorials EACH WEEK. Did I mention I'm a law student? Why would I subject myself to even more reading than I already have to do each week for class?
At first, I managed fairly well. I was excited by the newness of it, I guess. I was able to partake in conversations (though I sometimes feel The Economist should spell certain proper nouns phonetically, so people like me don't feel self-conscious raising them in everyday conversation. Though, that might kill the esoteric vibe of the magazine, and SIR's followers wouldn't like that). Those first weeks, I also felt a renewed (and welcome) sense of New York superiorism that had seemed to simmer away these past few years. But then things changed. The social life kicked in again, and free time meant reading for class or discovering the joy of tivo. I started running outside to work on my tan, so I didn't drag the magazines to the gym for an hour of perusing whilst ellipticizing. Basically, my entire point here is to lament the stack of glossy paper collecting dust in the corner of my room. The problem with weekly news-ish magazines is that after a certain amount of time they just become old news. And who wants to read old news? No one, that's who.
To those of you who subscribe to weekly magazines and manage to read them cover to cover each week, I salute you (and seriously question your priorities). To SIR and the editors over at The New Yorker (who are undoubtedly reading this), I apologize for using your issues as coasters for my morning oatmeal bowl and various glasses of water throughout the apartment. I resolve here and now to make a better effort to at least open each issue that comes my way.
I wonder if I'm contributing to the slow death of print media. At least sister will be happy if everything turns electronic. She's into the trees, ya know. Ok, that is all.
This is how I feel about my Newsweek subscription. It was SUCH A GOOD IDEA when I was spending lots of time on planes or in the bathtub. But I have thrown away the past 5(?) issues practically unopened. (And today, with a brand new unopened Newsweek and Monday's issue already on its way, I bought US Weekly. Sometimes a girl just needs to know how Lindsay Lohan is handling the break up, you know?)
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm guessing that SIR doesn't care what you do with the magazine, as long as he gets your $$$. He's a complete jackass anyway.