MAGAZINES!
Posted by admin on February 10th, 2010. Filed under: Uncategorized.
Yesterday, I mentioned something in my blog about getting three favorite magazines in the mail. Well, actually, I mentioned a lot of whiney things and you all were sweet enough to indulge me. THANK YOU.
Anyways, Linda asked me what those three magazines were, and it struck me: I have never really shared with you guys that I am an absolute magazine FANATIC. I love them. If I am having a bad day, a quick trip to the grocery store for a new magazine is usually enough to cheer me, especially if it includes a hot bath in which to read said magazine.
Here are a list of the magazines I receive each month:
- Glamour: I know it’s sort of a fashion-y, Cosmo-esque magazine, but I find that some of it’s content is really great. I like it, for the most part and I’ve been reading it for years.
- In Style: Another long-time favorite—I like the outfit inspiration and makeup tutorials, as well as the celebrity home tours. SO FUN!
- Body and Soul: I love this magazine for it’s recipes, articles about health and fitness and meditation and general self-care.
- Martha Stewart Living: Crafts, recipes, and type-A personality stuff ALL IN ONE. It feeds my OCD.
- Real Simple: The organization tips, the budget deals, the recipes, the lovely articles that make me believe maybe I *can* learn to say no while maintaining a perfect stationary drawer. My favorite.
- Lucky: I just like the outfits…and tend to tear them out for my inspiration binder. This magazine has gone a bit downhill in the past few years (my humble opinion only!) but I still enjoy it.
- Women’s Health: I particularly enjoy the recipes from this magazine. I am not as workout-crazed as some of the people the magazine targets (but goodness, I’d like to be!) but I do enjoy reading it and getting inspired.
- Yoga Journal: I do Bikram (well, I attempt to, haha) and this rarely addresses Bikram stuff, but I tend to really enjoy and respect the yoga philosophies and this breaks it down pretty well.
- O: The Oprah Magazine: I don’t subscribe, but I buy it every other month or so…it just…makes me happy. I don’t know.
- Paper Crafts: My inspiration for making cards and other goodies…I love seeing the creative things other people do.
Other magazines I really love: BUST, Nylon, and Paper. All are awesome blends of music, feministy-stuff and fashion.
Before you think I’m a total freak, who lights money on fire for magazines, let me tell you a little about my ”system.” I subscribe to most via Maghound which is a monthly magazine service that I LOVE. Some, I pay for each year, but Maghound is a great way to streamline service AND if a magazine misses a month, you can pick a substitute, so you’re never without reading.
Once I’ve perused an issue, I usually tear out anything of interest, and keep it in my inspiration binder. After that, I do one of several things with my magazines: keep the ones I love (Real Simple, always), bring them to school for use in varied projects, give them to a friend, or recycle them.
Magazines might seem silly or frivolous, but I love them!
Do you read magazines? Which ones?
February 10th, 2010 at 1:11 am
I love magazines. Monthly I really enjoy getting Good Housekeeping and Home Beautiful. When I’m out and see a mag it’s usually US Weekly, People, or a gossip rag. I also like Womans World and First.
February 10th, 2010 at 3:04 am
OMG. I am a total magazine addict. I rip out pages and file them, i cut out cool things and stick them in a notebook, I read them with a notebook beside me to remind me books to read, films to see, handy tips, recipes, things to do, websites etc. LOVE THEM! my boyfriend thinks I am a nut job, and asks me why we have to have piles under the bed in the spare room- cos I haven’t got round to “sorting” them yet. And I love reading a magazine in the bath with chocolate and a cup of tea, though my arms get tired holding it after a while!
I don’t really know the magazines you talk about, except Glamour, we have a UK version of that. I love “reading” japanese magazines too, even though I don’t know what they say, I love the quirky fashion and photo shoots.
and magazines defo have a lot of inspirational stuff- love it, gets me through the day.
YAY to magazines!
February 10th, 2010 at 5:25 am
I’m a huge fan of Better Homes & Gardens. They always have the cutest inexpensive ideas for gifts and home decor. I could spend hours at the magazine racks in stores.
February 10th, 2010 at 5:55 am
My sister got me a subscription to House Beautiful for Christmas, so I am wading into that one. I love Real Simple and Martha. I also will pick up a Better Homes if I see something I like (like a paint color on a dresser, I still have that one) or a Southern Living for a recipe.
February 10th, 2010 at 6:38 am
I have subscriptions to Cosmo and Cooking Light. I know, I know, Cosmo right? But I’ve been getting it for 8 years now and I just cant stop.
February 10th, 2010 at 6:40 am
I am a fan of Oprah. I’ve had a subscription to her for the past several years and I love it.
February 10th, 2010 at 6:52 am
I’m not a huge magazine person but I love the odd Psychology Today (I find it fascinating!) as well as NME whenever I can get my hands on it – a UK music magazine they only seem to stock in airports for $10 a pop lol, but it’s awesome!
February 10th, 2010 at 6:54 am
Wow… that is QUITE a list of rags, honey. I can barely get through my weekly New Yorker and Sports Illustrated and biweekly Rolling Stone. Sheesh! I do want to start getting Real Simple though. That’s a great publication.
February 10th, 2010 at 7:37 am
Living abroad means serious magazine deprivation. Seriously, English language magazines are criminally overpriced in Japan. The plus side is the sheer, unadulterated joy when a magazine-filled care package arrives, heralding a magazine binge (with optional chocolate and other such indulgences). Truly heaven. My current favourites are from the UK, but you might have US versions- Psychologies (lots of Pop psychology), Women’s Running and Zest (both for fitness inspiration). I’ve come across Oprah magazine a few times and usually take a sneaky peak in the book store (no way am I paying those prices, I could buy a nice meal for the prices they charge here). Hmmm, I better start being nice to my family before I hit them with the magazine request! ;P
February 10th, 2010 at 7:44 am
i used to subscribe to as many magazines and then i realized that i never got around to reading any of them so i slowly dropped titles from my subscriptions until i was left with 1 – In Style. LOVE IT!
(even though i dropped it last year and now get old lady homemaker magazines)
February 10th, 2010 at 7:59 am
I don’t know how you read all of those!! I subscribe to Cosmo (because I can’t stop and it’s easy gym reading) and SELF and am a new subscriber to Yoga Journal and Real Simple. I can barely get through them all in a month and typically have them stacked up, waiting!
That being said, I’m so excited to find another YJ subscriber! I found the mag a few years ago during a very unpleasant airport experience, and it fed what I needed it to at that time. Over the years, I’ve occasionally picked it up, and have had mixed emotions — articles are too long, but it is inspiring and thought-provoking! Finally, I decided to subscribe, hoping that even with the long articles it would help me strengthen my sorry yoga practice.
And Real Simple is, well, amazing. I don’t know how I’ve lived without it for so long!
February 10th, 2010 at 8:02 am
Wee!
My thoughts:
Glamour: I love the “It’s Okay” bit they do
O: I love Oprah. The only thing I don’t like about her is her Book Club but I often say (half to annoy my friends and half because I really do admire her) “Oprah says to….”
Real Simple: I LOVE this magazine. it’s very inspirational. I always feel like I can streamline my life better and be more efficient after flipping through Real Simple.
Thanks for such a thorough answer!
February 10th, 2010 at 8:35 am
I adore both Glamour & O – in my opinion, Glamour is WAY less trashy than Cosmo than & should not even be put in the same category! I did a project on it in college, where my major was magazine journalism. At one time I subscribed to no fewer than FIFTEEN MAGAZINES.
February 10th, 2010 at 9:16 am
Wow, 10 magazines… holy moly!
I had subscribed to Glamour for a while, but then my subscription ended and I missed out on renewing it. I really would like to get a magazine in the mail again. There’s nothing better than a Saturday morning with coffee and some reading material
February 10th, 2010 at 9:42 am
Wow that’s a lot of magazines!! I used to subscribe to more, but as of now I get Rachael Ray Magazine, Time Out New York, and Marie Claire (until it runs out cause I didn’t renew). I also expect to get a Better Homes & Gardens subscription, cause it came free with a cookbook I bought!
February 10th, 2010 at 10:50 am
I love, love, love magazines. And even though my original plan of being a columnist for a magazine went a little off track mid-way through college, I’m back on that route. Sort of.
But anyway… I subscribe to Glamour and SELF. My old roommate also subscribed to Everyday Food (which I loved). I also pick up InStyle, Rolling Stone, NYLON, and Real Simple when I remember to. And I read Paste online.
February 10th, 2010 at 11:13 am
I am going to have to show the picture to my husband and sister! It looks like my stack in the living room; which drives the hubby nuts, and causes serious teasing from my sister!
February 10th, 2010 at 11:29 am
The only magazine I subscribe to is Shape, which is one of my favorite magazines. It keeps me on track with healthy living tips, exercises, motivational stories, and also beauty/life types. It’s really an empowering magazine!
This post has REALLY made me want to subscribe to Real Simple. It seems like a really interesting magazine! Thanks for sharing!
February 10th, 2010 at 11:45 am
I subscribe to Heat magazine which is trashy celebrity stuff but also has great book reviews, movie reviews, and trinkets to buy. I also subscribe to The Stage which is a weekly theatre newspaper because… well… I adore the theatre
That’s about it really – when I have a spare bit of cash, I’ll buy Cosmopolitan!
February 10th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Do you have time to read books too, or is that all the reading you can keep up with? Those are a lot of magazines! My grandmother got me gift subscriptions to Better Homes & Gardens, Ladies’ Home Journal, and Taste of Home. (Seems like there’s one other I’m forgetting too.) Then my mom passes on her copies of Country Woman, Guideposts, and Prevention. I flip through them all when my boyfriend’s watching something boring on TV like NASCAR.
February 10th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
I’m working on quitting magazines*. I kid you not. Every time a magazine is less than $10 for a year, I subscribe. To the point where I’m getting 7 different magazines per month and I don’t read any of them because I’m so overwhelmed and I’m busy and I don’t have time and then they make a huge pile on my coffee table and I don’t know what to do so I just shove them UNDER the coffee table which doesn’t really make the problem go away AT ALL because I CAN STILL SEE THEM and I think they talk to me at night.
So I’m quitting.
*Except Real Simple and Women’s Health because, what, do I LOOK crazy!?
February 10th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
I generally only read gossip rags. The UK magazines I read fairly regularly are HEAT, STAR, LOOK, GRAZIA (Look and Grazia integrate fashion and beauty with their gossip but are still essentially celebrity-driven mags) and CLOSER, and as for US mags I am very partial to a nosy through the NATIONAL ENQUIRER.
And, no, I’m not quite sure why I felt like putting all the magazine titles in capitals…
February 10th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Just in the past few years have I succumbed to subscriptions…. Shape, Self, Glamour, and Marie Claire. The one that I wanted to subscribe to for the longest time, but never got around to it because the subscription was slightly more expensive then the rest… Real Simple.
I’ve just gotten my second issue, and I’m so glad I did! I LOVE this magazine, and judging from all the other comments above me, this seems to be the general consensus. There’s something about Real Simple that makes a gorgeously organized, lovely life seem doable without ramming it down my throat or seeming unattainable (and therefore pissing me off).
Yay Real Simple!
February 10th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Wow, how do you keep up with that list? I’m also kind of a magazine junkie, though. I subscribe to Marie Claire, Glamour, Shape, and Self. I love it because they keep me distracted while I’m on the bike or the treadmill! I also occasionally pick up Rolling Stone, and People or another trashy tabloid mag.
February 10th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Wow, how do you keep up with that list? I’m also kind of a magazine junkie, though. I subscribe to Marie Claire, Glamour, Shape, and Self. I love it because they keep me distracted while I’m on the bike or the treadmill! I also occasionally pick up Rolling Stone, and People or another trashy tabloid mag.
February 10th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
I love to cook so my gram got me a subscription to Rachel Ray’s magazine as well as Simple & Delicious (comes out 6 times a year, I think). I will often indulge in the Food Network magazine too. If it’s about cooking/baking, I’m totally there. I used to buy other mags but i don’t always read them. Cooking ones are easy for me since there’s not a lot to read.
February 10th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Since you subscribe to Glamour, does that mean you saw my article that was featured in the September 2009 issue?!?
I actually don’t read magazines – well, unless I have free access to them. I used to read Cosmo religiously, but a lot of stuff is all fluff and junk in there. Plus, I find that those kinds of magazines make me feel crappy about myself and my appearance.
February 10th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
I absolutely love Glamour! It’s the only magazine I really read, I prefer reading books but I find Glamour really fun to read (:
February 10th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
I LOVE magazines! I’m trying to be better about being more of a “read and toss” person, though, because I had a shameful amount of years-old issues of Marie Claire laying around when we moved. Right now, I think I’m subscribed to Real Simple, Better Homes and Gardens, Sunset, Marie Claire, Bon Appetit, Food and Wine, and Cook’s Illustrated. Because of my magazine-reading habits, I once received an unsolicited copy of Working Mother magazine…that was more than a little mortifying.
February 10th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Consider I work in the magazine industry, that would be a big, ol’, loud YES. It’s ridiculous how many I store for research purposes–they’re taking over our apartment!
February 10th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
I was actually going to e-mail you the other day about your magazines because you mentioned Maghound in one of your posts last year and I was trying to remember exactly what the service was called but couldn’t find that post!
My top 2 favorites are Real Simple and InStyle. I used to love Domino but they’re gone now. So sad.
I am also a celebrity gossip addict so I love Us Weekly, InTouch, OK, and all those gossip rags.
And I love my local Seattle magazines!
I used to save every single issue of every magazine I ever received, but now I just rip out the interesting stuff like you, and recycle the rest.
February 10th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
the only magazine i get monthly is Real Simple. everything else i usually just read online or buy an edition in the store if it looks insanely appealing.
February 10th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Love love love Clean Eating Magazine. It’s got GREAT easy recipes. Real Simple and Marie Claire are my next two favorites.
February 10th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Magazines are totally one of my little indulgences – I will never give them up. It is the only fun thing that comes in the mail these days.
My faves?
Vanity Fair
New Yorker
New York Mag
US Weekly (shut-up)
February 10th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
I used to read Cosmo religiously, but now it just seems like a waste of money
February 10th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
I’m a magazine junkie too
February 10th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Thanks for the MagHound subscription, it’s amazing and just what I was looking for!
February 10th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
The only one I read is Real Simple, I gave up on glamour and cosmo years ago.. same with lucky, I can never afford anything!
February 10th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
I subscribe to Real Simple and Self. I have considered adding Body + Soul, but I have a hard time keeping up with the two I already get. How do you keep up with them all?
February 10th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
I looooove Real Simple! I also started to get the Rachel Ray Magazine (thanks grandma?), but haven’t dove into that yet. And, that’s about it. I don’t enjoy any of the glamour type magazine in general (mostly too expensive/not relevant to myself). Sometimes I’ll pick up Martha Stewert or a magazine called Shop Smart.
Oh and I have a few wedding magazines, mostly because I feel like i “had” to go there, hah!
February 10th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Bon Apetite is my one magazine indulgence. I like to read it when I am eating…how bad is that. My daughter buys BRIDE which I pretend to ignore and look at after everyone is in bed.
February 10th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Real Simple and Travel + Leisure are my faves. I can’t commit to them monthly though because in the event I don’t have time, I hate to see them go to waste. I usually grab them last minute while in line at the grocery store because I can’t resist.
February 10th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
I adore reading magazines! I bring them with me when I visit my boyfriend in case I have some downtime. My current favorites are all the family/women’s magazines that have recipes and general organization/beauty/health tips. I subscribe to Real Simple, but my mom also gets Martha Stewart, Good Housekeeping, and a bunch of others.
I also subscribe to Seventeen which I like for the fashion and beauty stuff. Mainly I keep reading it because I don’t know if there’s a magazine with a similar layout and theme that’s for women instead of teens. So I’m sticking with that for now.
February 10th, 2010 at 10:55 pm
I don’t read magazines at all anymore, but I loved them when I was a teenager. I always imagine I’ll pick up the habit later in life with the imaginary free time I picture myself having. I feel like I’m in a weird stage where I don’t care about the teenagery/gossip style magazines, but I’m not at a point where I’m ready for the more mature magazines about design and cooking and stuff. One magazine I read for a long time was Runner’s World. My subscription on that just expired and I don’t think I’ll be renewing–it just makes me feel guilty!
February 11th, 2010 at 9:34 am
My magazine tastes have changed over the years. I used to get In Style, The Economist, Runners World and Real Simple. Now, I get The New Yorker and Atlantic Monthly. Most magazines run their course for me and eventually replay most of their articles. It’s at that point, I realize I’ve gotten all I need to get out of a magazine and deem it time to move on.
February 11th, 2010 at 9:35 am
Before I moved, I always got Allure and Us Weekly (ahem, US Postal Service, ahem…YOU SUCK.)
I suppose I could just re-subscribe; since we’ve been moved for over 5 months now, I’m sure the subscriptions are done anyway (hmm, maybe I’ll do this today?)
Anyway, I do love InStyle, too, thank you for reminding me!
February 11th, 2010 at 10:53 am
I get InStyle and Real Simple because they had $5 subscriptions on Amazon. Otherwise, I’m too cheap to buy magazines, but I really do love them a lot!
February 11th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
I subscribe to Yoga Journal, Flare and Loulou. If I want something in between I will pick up Style at Home, Canadian House & Home or Shape.
February 13th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
I’m a magazine junky myself! But the funny thing is that I haven’t had any subscriptions in ages. I’m thinking that I need to remedy that pretty quick. I’m going to subscribe to Real Simple, Glamour, and In Style…
February 14th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
reading through the comments I find it very interesting how many of us are Cosmo’s target audience but don’t like it. I love their celeb interviews, but the articles that may as well be titled “how to manipulate your man into doing whatever you want” make me sick.
I spent a summer working in a coffee kiosk right outside a gas station and read everything from OK! to Ladies Home Journal (dude. don’t mock. Reba was on the cover.) I stuck with Women’s Health, Redbook (kind of a “mom” mag, but I love it), and Glamour. In fact, my Glam subscription doesn’t run out until like 2013 because one of my colleague’s sons does magazine sales for a football fundraiser every year, so i just renew it for 2 years. In the 6 years I’ve been reading Glam I’ve probably run across 2 or 3 articles I didn’t like.
I also pick up a People mag every Friday either on my way to work or at lunch. It’s my Friday treat. : )
February 15th, 2010 at 2:21 pm
I subscribe to US Weekly (to get my celeb gossip fix), Cosmo, and Maxim. Yes, the men’s magazine. I like to know what they’re thinking and laugh at how ridulous some of the articles are.
I would like to look into Real Simple or O, something different and lighthearted.
February 21st, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Thank you so much for sharing Maghound.. I loveee magazines, too, so me and my boyfriend signed up for it.
For right now I’m going to be getting Real Simple and Nylon, and he’s getting some Xbox magazine, haha.