Monday, March 15, 2021

SOL March 15: Magazine Exchange

 

I subscribe to too many magazines. For years, I’ve gotten “The New Yorker,” “The New York Review of Books,” and “The Nation.” A few years ago, I added “Poets & Writers” and “Milk Street” (food, if you don’t know it) to the mix. Then last year I  used points I’d accumulated to also get “The Atlantic,” “Wired,” “Vanity Fair,” and “Consumer Reports.”

            Yikes! Who has time to read all those magazines? For years, I’ve used the following system: as the magazines arrive, they go into a basket in the living room. After four or five months, I move them to a basket in the bathroom and discard whatever magazines are still in the bathroom basket. Then I read through whatever looks interesting while I’m in the bathroom, so I’m reading most issues months late. If there’s something particularly urgent, I may read it when it first arrives.

            The other day the “Consumer Reports” that arrived was its annual auto issue. I’m not buying a car, so there was no need to even think about moving that issue into my recycling system. Instead, I sent an e-mail to my apartment building’s e-mail list asking if anyone wanted it. Within a few hours, I got a bite, and this evening I took the issue up to his apartment. Back home, there was e-mail interest from another resident, so I put the two of them together. Now I feel virtuous about not throwing away that magazine.

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I’m participating in the 14th annual Slice of Life Challenge over at Two Writing Teachers. This is day 15 of the 31-day challenge.  It’s not too late to make space for daily writing in a community that is encouraging, enthusiastic, and eager to read what you have to slice about.  Join in!

 

 

4 comments:

  1. Reading magazines is one of my favorite ways to relax. My sister saves hers for me and I'll read them even if they're a few years old. It's good to hear you've found a way to share them with others.

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  2. This is a very clever way to handle the magazine flood. I love getting magazines, but I also find that I often have more magazines than minutes to read and get to them months after publication.

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  3. I love magazines but never seem to have time to read them anymore and then I forget about them. I need a system! I love that you were able to make a match with other residents in your building.

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  4. I've had to pare down on all of my subscriptions since I just don't have the time to read it all. Nowadays, I pay for The Washington Post and my local paper. I've cut out every magazine. Maybe I'll have more time to read them all again... someday!

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