By The Way...

Thursday, November 10, 2005
4:53:00 PM EST
Hearing Dreams to Dream -- Linda Ronstadt
After taxing your brains a bit with last week's assignment, I thought we'd do a pretty easy this week, with a subject that came to me as I was sorting out my recycling:

Weekend Assignment #85: What magazines do you subscribe to and why? This assumes you currently subscribe to a magazine or two, of course, but I'm reasonably confident most of us do. If you don't have any current subscriptions, however, you can list some of your most recent subscriptions or magazines you want to subscribe to.

Extra Credit: What was your first magazine subscription?

We actually subscribe to a rather large number of magazines here in the Scalzi household, which I suppose is something of an occupational hazard with being a writer. Here are the ones we subscribe, starting with the ones shown above (which were pulled out of my recycling bin in my office):

Rolling Stone: I think I got this as part of a charity magazine drive. It caters to a musical demographic somewhat old than my own (every time the magazine pull out one its "Top 500" lists to rehash the 60s I roll my eyes), but the reviews are useful from time to time.

Wired: What can I say, I'm a geek. I remember when having a subscription to Wired was actually cool, back around 1997 or so; those days have passed us by, but there are still quite a lot of interesting tech and geek lifestyle stories in there.

Esquire: Another charity magazine drive subscription; you can get a year for $10, so why not. Arguably the only "men's magazine" that's actually readable; I look at some of the others on the racks from time to time and can actually feel myself getting stupider staring at them.

Popular Science: Did I mention that I'm a geek? Be that as it may, this is the magazine that still holds out hope for rocket cars to the moon, and it's hard not to feel affection for it for that reason. I believe I got some sort of deal on this magazine where I paid $40 and am subscribed through 2008 or something like that. Cool.

The Week: This magazine is a digest of stories in other newspapers and magazines; a "we read these papers so you don't have to" thing. Philosophically I find this troubling -- one should read on one's own -- but as a practical matter it's kind of addicting.

PC Magazine: The magazine that features all the things I want to buy right this very minute. I really shouldn't subscribe to it -- all that technology taunts me.

National Parks: My wife gave money to the National Parks Conservation Association, so now we get the magazine. Pretty pictures.

Time: You know, this magazine just started appearing in my mailbox the other week. I don't actually remember subscribing to it. But it comes to me in my name, so I guess I did. Stupid blackouts.

Reason: The magazine of the libertarian movement; it's a gift subscription. I'm not exactly what you would call a libertarian, but it's an interesting read nonetheless.

Discover: Ah, back to the geek thing. I think I've subscribed to this magazine off and on for about 20 years.

Other subscriptions not pictured:

National Geographic: Because, really. How can you not? I can tell I'm getting older because I actually do read the articles now, rather than just staring at the pictures, which are still quite pretty.

Smithsonian: Another "ooooh, pretty" magazine, but also with good Americana writing.

Official US PlayStation Magazine: I get this because I write their DVD reviews. Also, I want the latest tips so I can totally pwnzor others on Soul Calibur III. Due to may association with OPM, I also get several other gaming magazines from the same company, so if I ever revert back to being 15, dude, I'm totally prepared.

Kids' Discovery and Zoobooks: No, they're not for me. They're for Athena. She's pretty jazzed to have her own subscriptions.

So that's, what? 15 magazine subscriptions? Clearly, I'm doing my part to keep print alive.

Extra Credit: My first magazine subscription in my own name was for a magazine called Science '83 (the number changed every year), which was, as you might surmise, a science magazine. Told you I was a geek. It folded a few years later -- I think it was bought out by Discover.

Your turn: Take a look at your own magazine rack and tell me what you've got. Write it up in your own blog or journal, and then come back here to leave a link. As you can tell, I'm always interested in something new to read, so I'm looking forward to discovering your magazine preferences!


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This entry has 46 comments: (Add your own)

• #46 Comment from koolchic8000 
  11/25/05 12:24 AM | Permalink

  Good weekend assignment, and since I'm a book addict, prepare to read about my own little world of mailed-to-me-literature.  Check it out on my blog, Life's Journey Journal @ http://journals.aol.com/koolchic8000/LifesJourneyJournal/.
• #45 Comment from rockmom266 
  11/13/05 11:14 PM | Permalink

  Your magazines say alot about you.  Here's my list.
  
  http://journals.aol.com/rockmom266/Ramblins/
• #44 Comment from nzforme 
  11/13/05 4:07 AM | Permalink

  http://journals.aol.com/nzforme/Sothisisatreadmill/entries/1563
• #43 Comment from leschigurl 
  11/12/05 10:42 PM | Permalink

  here's mine, not that long...
  
  http://journals.aol.com/leschigurl/LeschigurlsBlogJournal/
  
  
  
  
  
• #42 Comment from dbp2000 
  11/12/05 10:22 PM | Permalink

  Oops!  Forgot to come back here and link my entry ....
  
  http://journals.aol.com/dbp2000/DustBunnyProtector/entries/633
  
  Donna

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