Weekly Geeks 10: Magazines

This week’s Weekly Geeks theme challenges Geeks to write about the magazines we read.

I read a lot of magazines, so I limited myself to just my subscriptions. Fortunately for the challenge (and unfortunately for my wallet), I subscribe to a lot of magazines, so this should be quite the post. (In fact, I recently had to eliminate a few subscriptions, since I really did have too many, and a few weren't even that good.)

For each magazine, I've explained a few things about it, and I've also linked to the site in case you are moved to learn more about it. Hopefully, you can find something new to enjoy!


BOOKMARKS

Hands down, Bookmarks is my favorite magazine, and it's one that should every booklover should subscribe to. I've been subscribing to this magazine for years upon years, and I never question its price or whether or not I should continue to subscribe to this magazine.

In addition to its reviews, Bookmarks offers a variety of features, such as the "Readers Recommend," "Now in Paperback," and "The Year in Books," in which the most notable books of a given year are discussed. Each issue also features an in-depth look at two or three established authors, some literary giants (like Woolf or Hemingway) and some future giants (like LeGuin). The last issue gave an overview on the world of science-fiction, which I found very helpful.

My favorite aspect of Bookmarks is its reviews. The reviews are divided into not just fiction and nonfiction, but into further categories such as "literary fiction," "crime," "science," and so on. Furthermore, the reviews are short and also feature snippets from reviews like those from The New York Times, The Washington Post, and so on. It's always good to read a variety of opinions on a book, instead of just one.


THE SUN

The Sun is one of my favorite magazines, and I've been subscribing to it for almost a decade now. I ended my subscription a few years ago in an effort to save money, and I can honestly say that I missed receiving The Sun every month. I had to return.

The Sun features fiction, personal essays, interviews, poetry, and my favorite section, "Readers Write," in which readers send short pieces in response to a particular prompt. The Sun also features excellent photography, many of which I save for use in the classroom. I like that The Sun tackles a variety of "political, social, and philosophical issues" (to quote their site), so reading The Sun is both enjoyable and enlightening. I don't always agree with the ideas presented in The Sun, but it always makes me think and reconsider my position on a subject.


WRITER'S DIGEST

Writer's Digest is another magazine I've subscribed to for years. Writer's Digest provides a lot of great advice for those wishing to improve their writing, whether that writing is nonfiction, fiction, poetry -- whatever. Writer's Digest also gives practical advice for writing queries, submitting your work, finding an agent, freelancing and so on.

I particularly like Writer's Digest because it will provide me with great articles and activities that I can use in my classroom. Once a year they feature the "101 Best Websites for Writers," which usually gives me a few new sites to add to my favorites. Overall, Writer's Digest is a must-read for anyone involved with writing.


SELF

Next, we have Self. I once subscribed to a variety of fitness magazines (I very assiduously saved exercises -- as if I was actually going to go through the endless pile of scraps later), but soon found that little of the information was new. A lot of the toning exercises began to appear again and again (although one month with a dumbbell, another with a stability ball, etc.) and I have exercise equipment anyway, so I don't really need to do their exercises.

Still, Self is good because it also contains healthy recipes that I will try (every once in awhile), and it also features girly stuff like fashion and makeup. Besides, Self is my only magazine that isn't in some way book-related, so I allow myself this one "superficial" read. The biggest benefit to subscribing to Self is that it keeps me motivated to eat right and exercise daily, and that's something I can always use!


POETS & WRITERS

Poets & Writers is another magazine that I enjoy. The first half of the magazine is devoted to interviews and articles about writers, and the second is devoted to submissions and contests and other important information for writers.

Poets & Writers has helped me discover quite a few new poets and writers; there's a section entitled "Page One" that provides the first line of a novel or of a collection of poetry, and many times I have found the first line so intriguing that I had to read the rest of the work.


POETRY

I can't say enough good things about Poetry, a monthly magazine that features poetry and commentary about poetry. I usually find myself tearing out several poems per issue to save for later.

I like that Poetry features both well-known poets as well as those with whom I'm unfamiliar. Every year they have a translation issue that features both the English translation of the poem as well as its original form. The essays that appears in the second half of the issue features critical commentary about the nature of poetry, and I'll be frank and admit that I usually skip this section. However, for anyone interested in Poetry, this magazine is absolutely necessary.


ONE STORY

One Story is a little treasure that appears once a month in my mailbox. Quite simply, the contents of this magazine are...you guessed it...one story.

According to their site, "One Story is a non-profit literary magazine that features one great short story mailed to subscribers every three weeks. Our mission is to save the short story by publishing in a friendly format that allows readers to experience each story as a stand-alone work of art and a simple form of entertainment. One Story is designed to fit into your purse or pocket, and into your life...Many of the stories we have published have won awards, and many One Story writers have gone on to publish their first (or third, or tenth) books."

To be fair, I'm not wowed by every single story I receive, but the overall quality of the pieces makes my subscription to One Story one that I can't eliminate.


MCSWEENEY'S

My subscription to McSweeney's is a new one, and so far, so good. My first issue gave me this gem by Stephen King, so I immediately considered my money well spent.

I was also happy that my first issue came not only with the magazine but also with two other booklets, one a collection of illustrations and the other of cartoons. The three booklets arrived together in this neat little box, and I enjoyed the original packaging. I still haven't read all of the first issue, but I'm enjoying it so far.


TIN HOUSE

Finally, we have Tin House. Like McSweeney's, Tin House is a literary magazine. Tin House features fiction and poetry, as well as interviews and essays and other odds and ends. I enjoy the fiction and poetry the most, especially since I'm always on the lookout for a good author I haven't read before.

I like that Tin House is STUFFED full of writing -- literally dozens of pieces litter the pages of each issue, and I have yet to finish an issue. This is a new subscription for me, so I suppose this can be forgiven.



Okay -- that's it! (I think.) Hopefully you found a new magazine to enjoy. If you can think of a magazine I might like, leave it in the comments.