Almost two years ago I asked you to share how many magazines you read and followed up with the questions below:
Ok friends I have a couple of questions for you:
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How many magazines do you subscribe to?
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Do you make time to read them all or do you find yourself facing growing pile of “paper” begging for some attention?
The responses ranged from those who said they never read any, would read them in the aisles but didn’t subscribe to those who said they subscribed to plenty and those who said all of their subscriptions to hard copies had been moved onto electronic devices.
I don’t remember addressing my own habits and preferences so I suppose it is only fair to ask and answer the question.
Do You Still Read Magazines?
If you had asked me the question when the initial post came out I would have said yes and provided you with a list of about four or five that I read, all hard copies, on a regular basis.
A few years later three out of four people in this house have Kindles and one man has a tablet with the Kindle app on it.
As the one man I can tell you that I am subscribed to a couple of electronic editions of magazines but that I do most of my magazine reading via hard copies.
Look at the stack to my left and you’ll find Wired, Entrepreneur, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Sports Illustrated, Fast Company and Car & Driver.
You’ll also find the Wall Street Journal (delivered M-F) and the Sunday LA Times delivered here on a regular basis.
So the answer to the question is yes I do still read magazines and no I haven’t read all that are here but am in the process of doing so.
Why Do I have So Many Subscriptions?
The answer is that I had about 7,000 miles on an airline I rarely fly so instead of letting expire unused I got some subscriptions to publications I enjoy.
I also grabbed a few through some rewards company that asks for some marketing data I don’t mind sharing that I exchange for free subscriptions.
But even if I didn’t get so many for free I would still maintain some basic subscriptions.
There are multiple reasons ranging from the importance of making sure my children see me read t0 my desire to be informed/educated and my belief in the importance of reading as a way to become a better writer.
Not to mention that these magazines often serve as a great way to stimulate ideas for blog posts.
And now my friends I throw the question and a few more back at you again.
Do you still subscribe to magazines/newspapers and if so, what form do you read them in?
I’m the same as @Lardavbern:disqus, Josh. My wife has quite a few subscriptions to magazines but I don’t.
I should read more that doesn’t involve a blog. Like you said, ideas for blog posts can come from newspapers and magazines.
@timbonner:disqus You are a thoughtful man and someone who has an inquisitive nature. I think the right magazine(s) would be of great interest to you.
I read Popular Science and apparently Ebony. I am not a black man but they sent me a subscription and refuse to cancel it. I’m not bothered by it, in fact I read the magazine now but it doesn’t resonant with me very much for obvious reasons. I just thought maybe they made a mistake or were going to charge me after a couple of issues. I do shave my head and there are lots of good product ads for that. I am concerned that one of the cover articles was, “How to negotiate your children and the police.” What is going on in this country?
@underdaddy:disqus A free subscription goes a long way. Some of the stuff I get here probably wouldn’t pass muster with me if I had to pay, but since I don’t…
My wife has a subscription to a couple magazines but I don’t. I’ll pick one up in the library or other places and flip through. We get 2 newspapers (via the same route you do) and I read the WSJ.
@Lardavbern:disqus Sometimes I feel like a dinosaur because I know a ton of people who don’t subscribe to anything any more.