Reading with Style discussion

This started out as a task suggestion. As it is not currently supported by our platform, we thought it might make an interesting discussion topic. I know I have a backlog of several magazines that I try to downsize each month before replenishing with current titles. And at least one other member also has a backlog, as they suggested this task:

Read at least 75% of a magazine with substance… (Even the best magazines have articles that can be skipped.) .Think something like the New Yorker, National Geographic, Audubon or The Atlantic….not People or US. (No celebrity or fashion magazines or magazines that rely mostly on photo-journalism) In one or two sentences tell us about the best article you read and/or something that you learned. When posting give the name and date of the magazine issue you read.

After some discussion, we thought we would open up a new thread to allow other magazine readers a place to share what they have read and what they learned/thought/whatever about their read.

Enjoy!

Thanks Kate. Yes...this was my task idea....and I think having this thread will give me a little more inspiration to read through my piles of magazines. I used to have a real addiction and had many many subscriptions.... now, I'm down to just a few. Just my copies of New Yorkers and National Geographics alone go back decades.
BTW, I still have all the unread magazines I collected.

Well, this is kind of timely! As one of my shelter in place projects I intended to read + recycle (most of) my pile of magazines. I managed to organize them and make a dent, but am now stalled. The majority that are left now are birding or conservation magazines. This might be the impetus to read them - to share some nuggets of wisdom! ;)

My husband's father collected National Geographics and placed them in the special leather cases. When my father-in-law died we inherited the collection we have all the magazines from 1971 - 1994. I have flipped through a few and even read a few articles, but that is only a small fraction of what we have.

This is a great task. I love subscribing to magazines but never seem to read them all the way through. So the pile keeps growing! Maybe I will be able to actually chip away at some with a little incentive.

Wow! I opened this after just finishing the most recent issue of High Country News June 2020 and thinking that it was full of interesting insightful articles that I would love to share with others. I will mention two. “Digital Shadows How a Trove of Electronic Evidence Brought Down A Gang of Poachers” the title says it all. And “Widespread Suppression A comprehensive report shows how Indigenous voters are disenfranchised”.
They also publish online. I am not sure how much is behind a fire wall. hcn.org

I would take part in this sometimes. I read articles in the Oprah magazine and I want to start reading The Believer Magazine again which is a book/culture type publication. I also get McSweeney's literary journal.

I finished the February 2012 issue of Americas magazine. This is a magazine I read cover-to-cover. This magazine was discontinued a few years ago....and after reading this issue I can see why. The content must have made their hosts very uncomfortable.
The magazine was the official magazine of the Organization of American States. Well this issue has several articles concerning the then recent report on Human Rights in the Americas. Well, almost every article calls out several nations for performing badly...even abysmally. Some of the articles are eery in the way they reverberate with our current atmosphere in the USA...such as politicians calling journalists the enemies of the state. The magazine exposes that the mafia is heavily involved with the killing and muzzling of journalists (and others) in Latin America, Another article outlines the minor improvements made in the area of women's rights. Another articles discusses the widespread "disappearances" of political opponents. Another article discusses how even when individuals are found guilty of human right violations.... the powers that be declare general amnesties that let the guilty off the hook.
One positive article discusses how people in Bahia, Brazil have essentially combined their worship of Catholic saints and Candombile gods. Candombile is the spirit religion that the slaves from West Africa brought with them.

High Country News, May 2020. A lot of focus on the pandemic including a cute article on how some creatures communicate at a distance including fireflies and polar bears. How oil state economies are being impacted. An article on a doctor in rural Gunnison, CO one of the areas in Colorado impacted early. The article talks about the covid challenges in rural areas of the west. The doctor and his wife were expecting a baby in June. I hope everything went well. A book review for Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country. It didn’t inspire me to look for the book.

High Country News, March 2020
A number of articles about Native Americans from Native zines to federal recognition of the Little Shell Tribe to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe reintroducing bighorn sheep on their land to the Indian Health Service failing to provide adequate reproductive health care for indigenous women. Articles on two books, Vantage and Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy and the Remaking of the American West both look worth a scan.

High Country News, April 2020
The cover story is Land-Grab Universities. I dove into this as soon as it arrived but it takes concentration to get through the article. I was glad to have the time and attention to read it now. Many of us in my family have attended land grant universities, mainly Oregon State. I remember being told that the Federal Government gave the institutions land to help fund them. I, as a westerner, did not think through that this would have been land hat had been taken from the Native Americans. The research that went into this article is a amazing. They have tracked down most of the land that was given to these schools and determined how the land was taken and from what peoples, what the schools did with the land and how the land is currently used. They have made their database available publically but I am not adept enough to use it.
There is also an interview of Louise Erdrich by Tommy Orange that is interesting.

Archaeology March/April 2010

Even in archaeology.disputes get highly heated. One article here is about artifacts found in Pakistan with markings that appear to be in an unknown language. Indian archaeologists argue that these and other artifacts demonstrate that the sub-continent was first populated by Hindus...and you can just imagine what Pakistanis think of that conclusion.

I found an article questioning whether we should clone Neanderthals disturbing. The science does or will allow it...but I was surprised that the notion of actually doing so wasn't rejected on all sides.

Another article about a dig in my home state of New Jersey at the site of a burned mansion once occupied by Napoleon's brother Joseph- who had once been himself the King of Naples and Spain...but lived in exile in rural New Jersey. Nothing found remarkable to a layman such as myself... but the history lesson was interesting.

Archaeology July/August 2001

Stories include the find of a 3.5 million year-old cranium in Kenya which seems to make the split between apes and humans much earlier than previously thought.
A dig in Turkey had many artifacts which very well may have been King Midas' tomb.
A story about the widespread and numerous examples of petroglyphs throughout Africa....who knew?...not me.
A story about how the Irish emigrated to Scotland around 1,700 years ago...bringing Christianity.
A dig in Abydos, Egypt--- a mortuary temple to Pharaoh Senworset
(c. 1841 BC)
A story about the recovery of ancient Daoist texts written on bamboo...after theives were caught in the act in 1991 of raiding the tomb of a Daoist master who died in 289 BC.

Yesterday I went to a webinar about the Tulsa Race Massacre and ended up with a subscription to a literary magazine, World Literature Today. It includes articles, poetry, and essays and though this issue focuses on the US, there is also a focus on works in translation worldwide in other issues. I am so happy to have found this journal to support and wanted to suggest it here.

Thanks, Karen. It looks like you can get a digital subscription. I'm not a big magazine reader, but this one looks like one I'd read and enjoy.

Most of my magazines are speciality but the one I really read the most of is one this group will appreciate .
https://www.bookmarksmagazine.com/
Reviews of new and upcoming books, author profiles and lists of favorite books by other subscribers, often have a theme such as favorite coming of age books or books with surprise endings. I enjoy that as well as the featured book club. A subscriber sends applies and then the club is interviewed as to how the started, who are the members, any special activities they do, how they pick the books to read, what a meeting is like, their favorites and their least liked books. With the reviews, the lists and upcoming books as well as new movies coming out based on a book it is quick to get through. I read in sections to spread out the enjoyment until I receive the next issue in two months. The book club and author profiles are usually just 1-2 pages. Great so I can do a quick look before I go on to completing the books for this group’s challenges! ( smile)
Speaking of groups, they also have a Goodreads group. I’m pretty much a lurker rather than a poster but like to keep up.

Other subscriptions

https://www.dar.org/national-society/... ( I have to get this and renew it every time I pay my membership dues. If chapters have 100% subscribers, then they get credit for it. I was getting four issues for my two daughters and my mother as well, but since Skyla and I lived in same house, I’d take her issue to the Middle/ High School. After Mom died I donated her subscription to another local high school)

https://www.familytreemagazine.com/

https://blueridgecountry.com/

https://texashighways.com/

https://www.audubon.org/audubonmagazine ( I get this with my membership and usually a neat tote bag with pretty bird on it.

These magazines I subscribe to intermittently when anyone needs to sell magazines for fund raising.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/

https://order.birdsandblooms.com/

https://www.travelandleisure.com/

https://www.rd.com/

And I used to be a devoted subscriber to Family Fun and Parents magazine but since last year, no more kids. (Sad face AND happy face)

Occasionally buy copies if I see them

https://time.com/

https://time.com/tag/india/

https://www.theatlantic.com/

https://www.texasmonthly.com/ (Kinky Friedman is a frequent contributor)

https://www.smliv.com/

https://appjournal.appstate.edu/curre...

https://www.quiltingdaily.com/about-u... ( and others)

https://www.hortmag.com/

https://www.motherjones.com

http://www.newagemag.com/ecology ( I used to get Dell Astrology but they quit publishing)

https://history-magazine.com/

https://www.writersdigest.com/

https://www.elleryqueenmysterymagazin... And https://www.alfredhitchcockmysterymag...

Does anyone else end up with a bunch of subscriptions they can’t read because of fundraisers or because of their children?

Rebekah wrote: "Does anyone else end up with a bunch of subscriptions they can’t read because of fundraisers or because of their children?"

I used to. My local library provides Flipster so I use that to avoid piles of magazines.

I used to have over 35 subscriptions! I've been purging most of the saved copies since I never had the time to read them. It was going to be a retirement project. Well since I retired, I don't read many magazines either. So, it broke my heart, but the last of the New Yorkers went into the recycling bin this week, I think the National Geographics will have to wait much longer.

Flipster! for the win!

AramcoWorld January 2017 Issue

This is/(was?) a beautiful magazine compiled by the Petroleum Industry...and I was gifted a free subscription... and despite my qualms about the publishers... the content is always excellent... arts, history, culture...which usually touches on the Arab world in some way.

In this issue, one article focuses on people in Canada's Nunavut Province- some of whom are immigrants from the Middle East.
Another article informs the reader about how the town of Elkader, Iowa happens to be named after an Algerian Prince (Abd-el-Kader) who was a hero who fought off Algeria's colonists.
A third article relates how the French philosopher Jean-Jaques Rousseau was influenced, no doubt, by his father who had worked as a watchmaker in Istanbul.
A fourth article focuses on the history of coconuts. Arab traders are credited with bringing the coconut from India to East Africa. A bit of trivia- Marco Polo encountered a coconut in Egypt in the 13th century... it was called the "Pharoah's nut". Recipes are included.
The last article highlights Sayyida Al-Hurra...a woman who is often referred to as a pirate in western sources...but in the Arab world she is viewed as a defender. She had been driven out of Spain in the 15th century as that Kingdom rid itself of non-Christians. Sayyida settled in Morocco where she worked to defend other immigrants who were often the targets of Spanish and Portuguese privateers.

Sounds fascinating, Ed.

Destination Vietnam Magazine July/August 1997 issue

I have no idea why I have a copy of this magazine on my shelf!

First article concerned an American tourist visiting Vietnam during TropicalStorm Ernie. As the river rises, he asked what happens if the river floods his 1st floor room (as it seriously threatened to do)? The staff replied…Not to worry…we’ll move you to a higher room. His quirky Vietnamese guide was constantly singing Beatles tunes…and was a master at different English accents…including a Texas twang.
Second article is about an American’s journey into Vietnam’s hill country…to visit the rarely seen Palace of the last Hmong King. The Hmong helped to defeat the French…but also had resisted Ho Chi Minh until 1960 when they surrendered their weapons in exchange for salt. The King then became an ally of Ho Chi Minh…and his Kingdom essentially ended even though the area is still very independent.
Third Article about Vietnam’s ceramics- followed by book reviews and a story about a modern Vietnamese artist.

Ed wrote: "Destination Vietnam Magazine July/August 1997 issue

I have no idea why I have a copy of this magazine on my shelf!

First article concerned an American tourist visiting Vietnam during TropicalStor..."

What an interesting magazine!

Got through another old one...Islands Nov./Dec. 1987!!!!!

Articles concerning:
1) the problems with Nauru...once wealthy and now poor due to the end of the phosphate industry there and poor investing.
2) Iceland's new (then) woman President...the first woman in the world to be a national President,
3) Pandanus palms,
4) beachcombers (my dream job)
5) Life and diving in Palau...and some history about how the US forced the tiny nation to allow nuclear arms there,
6) Rio Camuy caves in Puerto Rico,
7) a Carnival-like celebration "Jonkonnu" (aka "John Canoe") which originated in Jamaica. Drums are the only instruments... and the carnival has a stock list of characters that are played out... and also like Mardi Gras and Carnival... competitions between teams have emerged. Never heard of this...but apparently occurs around Christmas week in Jamaica, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands and other Caribbean islands.

National Geographic April 2014

Most important articles include:
1) An examination of whether the use of coal can ever be clean? Answer- clean- no, cleaner- yes- but costs are currently prohibitive.
2) Photo essay on coal mining in India- pretty awful conditions.
3) Two tiny atolls I never heard of- Bassas da India and Ile Europa which are in the Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar. They belong to the French Southern and Antarctic Lands and have competing claims from other surrounding nations. They serve as wildlife refuges.
4) Placement of the giant ALMA telescope in Chile's remote Atacama Desert.
5) The continuing tradition in Brittany of the making of elaborate lace headdresses.
6) A mostly dismaying examination of people who keep wild animals as pets.... often ending in tragedy for the animals and humans.
7) The finding, extracting, preserving and curating of a 1st century Roman barge (and other items) found in the Rhone River near Arles, France.

Interesting, Ed. I am not a magazine reader, but I do enjoy your updates.

AramcoWorld May/June 2023

This issue focuses mostly on music and instruments:

1) An article discussing the traditional musicians in India called "Manganiyars" and the recent revival of their art and the efforts to continue the dying tradition.
2) The craft-making tradition in Oman of handmaking the men's hat known as a "kummah".
3) An article about the Eland Publishing house which focuses on travel writing. Got some good tips here.
4) An article on how the Nile River inspired so much music in America...especially jazz and especially in the 1930s. Surprisingly...no mention of Steve Martin's classic "King Tut". LOL
5) A history of lyres and lutes. The earliest evidence of stringed instruments come from cave paintings dated to 13,000 BCE!
6) Book reviews including Ammu: Indian Home Cooking to Nourish Your Soul by Asma Khan- a cookbook by a London restaurant owner specializing in South Asian dishes.

Mercator's World- The Magazine of Maps, Geography, and Discovery

I love this magazine (now discontinued) ...but this was a less interesting issue than most others.
Primary articles included:
1) Excerpts from the 1907 journal of Sven Hedin as he searched for the source of the holy river Brahmaputra in Tibet.
2) An exploration of the Oregon Trail. Apparently, the State of Oregon owes its name to fish concoction called "ooligan" by the local Chinooks. This "grease" was widely valued and used for many purposes...and far-reaching trading routes were established.
3) The rediscovery of a 1542 Portuguese map that seems to suggest that the Portuguese already knew about the Pacific Ocean....before Magellan's passage in 1544...but they kept it as a strategic secret.
4. An article discussing Jacques Cartier's French explorations for a Northwest Passage.
5. An article about William H. Emory who mapped much of the Southwest U.S. for the military in the 1840s.
6. An article about how the boundaries of France and Spain were established in the Pyrenees.
7, Another article that went mostly over my head about the relative values of different mapmaking projections.

The magazine also has extensive reports of antique maps that have recently sold. Some old and seemingly important maps sell for hundreds or a few thousands ....while others go for exorbitant amounts.

Ed wrote: "Mercator's World- The Magazine of Maps, Geography, and Discovery

I love this magazine (now discontinued) ...but this was a less interesting issue than most others.
Primary articles included:
1) Ex..."

So is are the retired issues in digital form or do you try to find hardcopies at auctions, libraries, etc…? This would be a great issue to consult for genealogy

I didn’t think about revealing the contents of issues, great idea!
The magazines I have subscriptions to are Bookmarks, Family Tree, American Spirit, Blue Ridge Magazine, Texas Highways, PI Magazine (joke gift for my Nancy Drew tendencies)
Others I enjoy but buy on Newsstand if interesting articles are Quiltmaker, (and other Quilt/craft magazines) New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, Birds and Blooms, Family Chronicle, Texas Monthly, Smoky Mountain Living, Mother Jones, India Times, Country Living, National Geographic, O, various Homemaking, gardening and fashion magazines, Time, Travel and Leisure, and anything else that captures my imagination from Astrology to Zoology. Lol
I’ll have to say, I rarely get to read them cover to cover but when I do, it is usually Bookmarks or Blue Ridge Magazine.

Rebekah wrote: "Ed wrote: "Mercator's World- The Magazine of Maps, Geography, and Discovery

I love this magazine (now discontinued) ...but this was a less interesting issue than most others.
Primary articles incl..."

I had a subscription addiction....and still have many many old magazines I hope to get to eventually... Just finished a July 2001 American Prospect.