Thursday 10 September 2009

Magazine Frenzy

Recently Natalie over at Book,Line and Sinker wrote a post about the newspapers that enter her house each week. I felt pretty good after reading that, as I don't buy any newspapers at all anymore. I have always found the news to be far too depressing and so now I very rarely read a paper or even watch the news.

I felt good about the fact I no longer buy the gossip magazines which I used to love to look through. I stopped buying them, when I realised that all I ever actually did was look at the pictures. I never actually sat down and read them. I used to waste quite a bit of money on them. Another reason I stopped looking at them was the fact that half the time the front cover would have a spoof story on it, just to sell the magazine.

So I thought, I can justify what I spend on books because I very rarely buy any magazines.

As I sat and pondered my good habits, my right eye started to twitch and swerve to an ominous pile on the right hand side of my desk. I stared at this pile and my eyes widened to a look of shock and horror. There in front on me, were lots of magazines unaccounted for that had conveniently slipped my mind.

With that pile in mind, I thought it was time to 'fess' up and lay out on the table the magazines that enter my house on a regular basis.

Firstly, we have my two scrapbook magazines. An essential part of my scrapbooking hobby, that is my story and I am sticking to it. I cannot scrap without a constant stream of wonderful new ideas for my layouts. My layouts would become really boring and dated if I didn't have lots of ideas flowing into my brain. I could look up scrap pages online, but that would take far too long. I need ideas instantly and these are the magazines that make scrapbooking easier.
I just have to have the Weight Watchers magazine, to help me stay the same weight. I get it at a cheaper rate by buying it in class and it is full of fabulous recipes, to help me come to terms with the fact that I can't freely eat sausages rolls, cupcakes and fish and chips. So this magazine is essential too.

Now I don't even have to pay for this one, so it doesn't cost a penny for it to come into my house. (Apart from the petrol, to go into town to get it!). This is like my book bible. Waterstones release this magazine quarterly and it tells me all the books I will want to buy. Isn't that jolly nice of Waterstones to give me a list of the books they know I will want.

Last but not least, these are relatively new magazines to my household. They are both magazines for aspiring writers and I couldn't tell you if they are any good or not, as they are still sitting on my desk waiting to be read. How bad is that! I aim to devour them soon, now that I have more time with the kids back at school.
OK, so confession time over, I admit I do buy some magazines and I also admit that they often sit on my desk unread until the next edition comes out. I promise to do better and to read them. I refuse to reduce my magazine intake as I feel they are all essential for a happy girlie who finally has a proper waist after all these years.
Come on now, I have owned up to my magazines, now let me know what magazines enter your house.

22 comments:

  1. I buy the occasional Scrapbook Inspirations or other crafty mag. I don't buy them as regularly as I used to, I'm finding I get just as fab inspiration for free on all these fabby blogs I visit. I occasionally buy Classic Rock espescially if a certain scrumptious person is featured.

    Craig used to get Cage & Aviary Birds and some pigeon mag but he feels it's all the same stuff rejigged each week so has swapped to the Angling Times which he reckons is much better. I've even dibbed into that one and it has changed my view of fishing a bit. Terrible story about a huuuuuge carp left butchered in the last issue :( But has made me realise Craig is not the only 'good' fisherman out there. He comes home with a black sack of rubbish everytime he goes that the 'bad' fisherman have just dumped :(

    I keep wondering about the WW mag - I'm loosely following the diet but not going to meetings. I'll have to pick up a copy and have a gander.
    Get reading those writer mags missus. We all want to read your book!

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  2. No need to feel guilty about buying magazines. There are some really good ones out there, with photographs that are works of art and text that is close to high literature! It's all about weeding out the bad ones, I guess :)

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  3. No guilt in those mags, Vivienne. All are essential for your mental, emotional, physical health. Books are hobbies are like therapy for the soul and you need the accompanying tools. So just enjoy. At least you kicked the gossip rag habit!

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  4. Books Quarterly sounds so good! And there's nothing to feel guilty about! To be honest I miss reading magazines. They're fun, so shoo that guilt away :P

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  5. ooooh, books quarterly?!? and it's free? sign me up, please. :)

    i love magazines but all of my subscriptions have expired in the last year or so.

    most recently, i was getting coastal living, vanity fair, cottage living (now defunct, boo!), and paula deen (the lady from 'lady and sons' restaurant in savannah, ga who has a cooking show).

    let me just say for the record that paula deen has a butter addiction. she FRIES everything.

    thanks for the mention, you're too sweet.

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  6. I'm actually not a magazine person at all. I've always struggled to read any sort of magazine. For some reason, I just don't like them. Years ago, we used to get the New Yorker (for one year) and the only thing I ever managed to read in there was the short story, and even that was a struggle. In doctors' offices, I prefer to sit quietly with nothing to do than pick up a magazine. Right now, the only one coming into my house is Fitness which I only ordered because it was a fundraiser for my son's school. I've recycled each issue without looking at it. Oh yeah, there's a librarian one coming to me now too since I went to ALA and I haven't looked at that one either.

    I don't know what it is about magazines but I just can't look at them! I prefer literary journals that come in book or booklet form - then I can read them.

    You know, I've just realized how weird my aversion is. Maybe I'll have to write a post up, too.

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  7. Hehe, I was the same until I thought about it properly.

    When I was in college, every week I'd buy "Heat" magazine, "Closer" magazine, "Now" magazine, "OK" magazine, and sometimes "Hello". That's so sick. :P I don't buy any of them now and don't read celebrity gossip - I just don't care.

    I read the news online because you definitely get the information faster.

    Magazines I *do* still buy but take forever to read (until the new issue comes out) are: "Inside Out" (a creative arts magazine); "The Big Issue" (I think I'm entitled considering I'm donating to the homeless by buying that ;-) ); "The New Humanist" (sometimes); and there's quite a few Sudoko books. :-S

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  8. I too used to buy (and not read) a lot of these magazines until I realised the money could be better spent buying books - after all I could buy several ex-stock books from the library for the same price as a magazine.

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  9. Oh, I love magazines! You have lots of good ones, and I have to say... I completely buy into your justification for each of them! :) Scrapbookers definitely need inspirational material, if my mom and sister are to be believed, so I have no qualms with that!

    The only mag I regularly subscribe to is, sadly, the most expensive of them all -- People. I share it with my family and then pass it along to coworkers when I'm done, and I'm not sure I could live without it! Even visiting the website isn't the same as holding that gorgeous, glossy paper in my hands... ahh... haha :)

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  10. We quit buying magazines when we realized we weren't reading them, but we do subscribe to our daily paper.

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  11. I'm with you...I can't give up my scrapbooking mags! Though I am proud of myself for cutting down from five scrapbook magazine subscriptions to two. :)

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  12. I was looking at the weight watchers magazine the other day, thinking about picking up an issue sometime.

    I played along on my blog. :)

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  13. I have subscriptions for two large daily papers and for a weekly paper coming each Friday. I actually manage to read them every day/weekend, but I rarely watch the news on tv and I never buy a gossip mag. I used to buy fashion mags, and may do that from time to time still. Then I also used to buy a digital photogrpahy mag, but after about 2 years (and tons of money) I realized that even though they claimed it was aimed at amateurs, I really didn't get it. Now I have a subscription for a History mag and that is the only one. I wish there was a Danish book mag, but there isn't. Or I wish that I could subscribe to one of the English ones. May have to look into that....

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  14. I would love to read something like Books Quarterly but don't know how much I'd be willing to shell out for a subscription. I'll have to remember to look around online for good book/lit magazines. (As if I don't already have too much bookish info to read!)

    I subscribe to The Smithsonian and National Geographic, and I save them strictly for reading during bubble baths. :) About once a week I make time to kick up my feet and read magazines in the bath for about an hour. It's heavenly and it's a complete change of focus from everything else in my life.

    We stopped subscribing to the paper last year when we realized we don't have time for it any more - it was just wasting paper. So now we will buy a paper occasionally from the grocery store when we are in the mood. It's just so much easier to get news online.

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  15. Carmen - my hubby buys The Angling Times too.

    Nikola - I really don't feel that bad about buying them, more about not actually reading them.

    Kaye - I so agree, you are on my wave length.

    Nymeth - I thought you would get Books Quarterly too, I don't know why. You only need a Waterstones points card in order to get one and you get free books with the card as your points add up.

    Bookline and sinker ( Natalie) - I think you need to be in England to be able to get the mag, as you need a Waterstone points card. You can get into Waterstones online to see.

    Amanda - can't wait to read your post on your aversion to magazines.

    Ceri - I used to buy all the same magazines. How bad are we. I am impressed you manage to do Sudoku, I just can't get into them.

    Melissa - ta very much.

    Petty Witter - I get a lot of books from the library as ex stock. They are so much cheaper than the charity shops.

    Writemeg - I am curiouse about People magazine now. I am not familiar with it.

    Passionatebook lover - I used to buy Elle in my twenties. It seems so long ago now.

    Bermudaonion - pleased to hear you get the paper. I shall come to you when I haven't a clue what is going on in the world.

    Debi - you are so lucky you can get 5 different scrap mags over there. We only have three available and one of them is quite expensive.

    Mommablogsalot - I can highly recommend the WW mag. Some fabulous recipes and it helps you work out your points. I can email you the chart to work out how many points you should be on if you want it.

    Louise - those digital photography magazines always scare me. They seem a little too technical for me.

    Alyce - I don't know if you can subscribe to Books Quarterly or not. It would cost £2.95 to buy or free with your Waterstones points card. I have never heard of the Smithsonian and will have to look it up.

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  16. I loved this post! I used to buy so many magazines...but now only have Entertainment coming regularly. (I can't help it: movies, tv, books..what's not to love?)

    'Course there's a school fundraiser for magazine sales beginning next month. I imagine my pocketbook will be touched. For the school, of course. :P

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  17. Oh, I want Books Quarterly! Sooo jealous.

    I will make a list of my mags this weekend. *Gulp*

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  18. LOL loved your confession. Well I used to get Scrapbook Memories and Scrapbook Creations & a recipe mag but I ditched the lot about 6 months ago and the money I save I pay someone to do my ironing because I hate ironing with a passion and this gives me more money for books and more time for reading (I can see the logic LOL)

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  19. Great mags! I have stacks of magazines waiting to be read too. They're mostly female lifestyle mags I buy off the newsstand and Yoga Journal I subscribed.

    I'm going to see if I could get the Weight Watchers mag. I'm really, really interested in it!

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  20. I hardly ever pick up a newspaper anymore either. I agree, too depressing! I used to get a subscription to several magazines but I realized I wasn't reading them so I cancelled them all.

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