Who doesn’t like a good magazine? A proper, hold-in-your-hand glossy or newsprint publication that arrives in your mailbox every so often? It’s exciting when a new issue arrives! The photos - the articles - even the advertising can be something to look forward to.
Print magazines have been declining over the years as the internet has become so ubiquitous, but they’re not dead yet! In fact, print subscriptions are often quite affordable. WIRED Magazine can be had for just $5 a year right now! Twelve issues of Harpers can be had for just $21.97. National Geographic - $12 per year. Such bargains!
My question for you today - do you have particular favorites? Is there a magazine that covers a niche topic of interest to you? Are there magazines you read in the past that bring fond memories?
When I was a kid, I had a subscription to National Geographic World, and before that National Geographic School Bulletin. I still remember one issue about volcanoes in Iceland, with dramatic photos of houses covered in ash.
When I got older, I loved Cricket, a literary magazine for children age 9-14. My favorite feature was the cast of characters found throughout each issue - line drawings of several insects including a cricket and a ladybug.
These days I subscribe to Maggot Brain, a new music focused magazine published by Third Man Records. Lots of art and literature in there too. https://thirdmanstore.com/maggot-brain
I also subscribe to UPPERCASE, a publication that features artists and craftspeople from around the world. https://uppercasemagazine.com
I'm considering adding either Harpers or The Atlantic to the mix, but haven't decided which yet.
I grew up with 24-hour newstands, and at the music shops there was always a great supply of obscure journals and art magazines. At one point I subscribed to Art/Bookforum, New Yorker, Harper's, and The Atlantic. I don't think I went out very much at the time.
I'll be singing the praises of the London Review of Books for forever, it's got everything. But thanks for reminding me to FINALLY subscribe to Jacobin--it's a good time to do so. https://www.jacobinmag.com/
For fans of Harper's, Lapham's Quarterly is really good stuff. I'm surprised to see some magazines I used to subscribe to are still kicking--Wallpaper* and Bust, for example.
We're also contributing to The Stranger's fund--it's a free paper, one of the last--but at some point I'd like to still have a print copy in hand: thestranger.com/
The Rocket was a great free music paper in the Seattle area. I loved picking those up, and got my first taste of comics by Lynda Barry and Matt Groening there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocket_(newspaper)
I must've seen the Portland version when visiting my relatives, I had totally forgotten about it!
This is so sad yet so familiar: "BAM utilized the profitable Rocket “to float its other papers” for years, which slowly drained The Rocket of its money while the other papers never managed to find their footing."
I once had a Time magazine subscription. Oh, boy, they piled up unread after a while. However, for a few years in my tweens, I had subscriptions to the various Spiderman comic titles. The Amazing Spiderman, The Incredible Spiderman, and so forth. I relished getting those in the mail. And I still have them in a shoebox or two! The nostalgia of them was too much for me to be able to discard during my Marie Kondo phase.
Ah! Such nostalgia. Just out of college we used to subscribe to UTNE Reader, Harper's, Atlantic Monthly, New Republic, Mother Jones, and a few more I don't remember now. Feels like a long time ago now. BUT we do still subscribe to Harper's which is still very good. I should really look around and see what else is available. I do love to flip through and see the layouts and glossy text. When I was in high school I had a subscription to JANE magazine which was outstanding for it's short life. I bought the book MAUS because they covered it in the book rec section and I still have my copy today.
Another favorite was Countryside magazine - both checked out from the library and a subscription for a while. I had a grand idea of someday living off the grid. Not so interested in that anymore, not in the extreme anyhow. The "personal" ads in that one were always interesting.
When I was a kid, I had a subscription to National Geographic World, and before that National Geographic School Bulletin. I still remember one issue about volcanoes in Iceland, with dramatic photos of houses covered in ash.
When I got older, I loved Cricket, a literary magazine for children age 9-14. My favorite feature was the cast of characters found throughout each issue - line drawings of several insects including a cricket and a ladybug.
These days I subscribe to Maggot Brain, a new music focused magazine published by Third Man Records. Lots of art and literature in there too. https://thirdmanstore.com/maggot-brain
I also subscribe to UPPERCASE, a publication that features artists and craftspeople from around the world. https://uppercasemagazine.com
I'm considering adding either Harpers or The Atlantic to the mix, but haven't decided which yet.
I grew up with 24-hour newstands, and at the music shops there was always a great supply of obscure journals and art magazines. At one point I subscribed to Art/Bookforum, New Yorker, Harper's, and The Atlantic. I don't think I went out very much at the time.
I'll be singing the praises of the London Review of Books for forever, it's got everything. But thanks for reminding me to FINALLY subscribe to Jacobin--it's a good time to do so. https://www.jacobinmag.com/
For fans of Harper's, Lapham's Quarterly is really good stuff. I'm surprised to see some magazines I used to subscribe to are still kicking--Wallpaper* and Bust, for example.
We're also contributing to The Stranger's fund--it's a free paper, one of the last--but at some point I'd like to still have a print copy in hand: thestranger.com/
S/O for all the dead free papers out there.
The Rocket was a great free music paper in the Seattle area. I loved picking those up, and got my first taste of comics by Lynda Barry and Matt Groening there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocket_(newspaper)
I must've seen the Portland version when visiting my relatives, I had totally forgotten about it!
This is so sad yet so familiar: "BAM utilized the profitable Rocket “to float its other papers” for years, which slowly drained The Rocket of its money while the other papers never managed to find their footing."
Time to start that zine, I guess?
I once had a Time magazine subscription. Oh, boy, they piled up unread after a while. However, for a few years in my tweens, I had subscriptions to the various Spiderman comic titles. The Amazing Spiderman, The Incredible Spiderman, and so forth. I relished getting those in the mail. And I still have them in a shoebox or two! The nostalgia of them was too much for me to be able to discard during my Marie Kondo phase.
I'm glad you kept those! Nostalgia can be very comforting, and boy do we need it now!
Ah! Such nostalgia. Just out of college we used to subscribe to UTNE Reader, Harper's, Atlantic Monthly, New Republic, Mother Jones, and a few more I don't remember now. Feels like a long time ago now. BUT we do still subscribe to Harper's which is still very good. I should really look around and see what else is available. I do love to flip through and see the layouts and glossy text. When I was in high school I had a subscription to JANE magazine which was outstanding for it's short life. I bought the book MAUS because they covered it in the book rec section and I still have my copy today.
UTNE Reader! I got that one for a while too.
Another favorite was Countryside magazine - both checked out from the library and a subscription for a while. I had a grand idea of someday living off the grid. Not so interested in that anymore, not in the extreme anyhow. The "personal" ads in that one were always interesting.