Now that the Great Remodeling Project from Hell is almost over and I might actually be living in my own home again (after a year!), I am wanting to get some advice on which magazines ya'll can't live without. Which are worth ordering? Which are better left to gather dust on the local library's shelves? I have already gone ahead and fallen for the Martha magazine. Whether I'll get my money's worth remains to be seen, but Martha has me under her spell....but so does Pottery Barn, so what do I know? Suggest away!

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

Answers

I live in North Texas but I love me some New Yorker. I read it as a teenager (shut up) when we lived up North. I start seriously jonesing if my subscription lapses. The articles are like 20 pages long so I can really get into them. It's not fast food writing like most magazines are. Sunday morning: me, treadmill, New Yorker mag.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

The Oxford American. Al turned me on to this fine publication. There is no better magazine on the Southern arts, mostly literary and musical, around. Not to mention the fact that they put out a music issue once a year that comes with a kick ass CD.

And they are in financial trouble, so they could use as many subscriptions as possible.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

I don't care if it's fluff, but I love InStyle. I don't buy it often because it's more expensive than say, Glamour, so when I do get it, it's like a treat.

I love InStyle.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

We subscribe to Southern Living (I can't think of a more definite must-have), Cooking Light, Gourmet, Cook's Illustrated, The New Republic, and the New Yorker.

Magazines we usually buy include The Oxford American, InStyle, Martha Stewart Weddings (but I'm going to subscribe - I have four more sisters, so why not?), Outdoors, and Fine Cooking.

But if I had to choose one? Southern Living, hands-down, with the New Yorker running a strong second.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

All great suggestions so far, and I would like to add Texas Monthly, which is a must-have for me -- but obviously only worth it if you are a resident or a Texpat...

also, while I've lapsed at the moment, I will be taking Vanity Fair again soon, have for years. I love Dominick Dunne and Fran Liebowitz and the great political and Hollywood history stuff too.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

Cooking Light, definately. I wouldn't know what to make for dinner if it wasn't for Cooking Light.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

Well, the one I work for, but the subscription's a bit pricey.

I disagree with PG: Texas Monthly is worth it for non-Texans. When I was working at Local Monthly, we got TM for free (both Local Monthly and TM are owned by the same company) and I read it cover to cover.

The New Yorker varies; sometimes it's excellent and sometimes less so. The Atlantic has been pretty strong of late. I usually read TNR online.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

Elle Decor is the only magazine I ever get around to opening, and it's full of lots of pictures, which is what I'm looking for in a decorating magazine.

Other than that, I really count on my catalogs to keep me going. But I'm guessing that's a whole nother thread...

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

Cook's Illustrated is a must have for every home.

Real Simple. Ignore the "quit your stockbroker job and live a simple life off all your riches" articles which don't apply to most of us and just reveal in the slap-on-the-forehead, why didn't I think of that articles on organization. Good cooking stuff too.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

I get The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, Smithsonian Magazine and Readers Digest (my grandfather gets it for me every year as a gift). I really like The New Yorker ... it's excellent, excellent writing.

Oh, and College Park Magazine, but unless you're a Maryland grad I wouldn't recommend it.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

Town and Country.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

See, Kristin, that's why I love you.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

I'm a big fan of The Annals of Improbable Research. Good dumb intelligensia humor.

For more Geek stuff, I like me some Wired. The subscription is cheap, and there's lots of gadgets to drool over. I've let my subscription lapse, however.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

I only get a couple of magazines I actually pay for, but they're all really good. Cooking light (an essential), Yahoo! (I love the old way/net way section), The Atlantic Monthly, and Saveur (which is the prettiest cooking mag ever.)

I get all these stupid magazines like The Student Lawyer for free.

And for the record, we should all boycott The New Yorker until they send my story back. Four months they've had it. FOUR MONTHS! My computer crashed, I lost the story, and I really want it back.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

Jessa, just for you I will boycott the New Yorker. I'm always up for a good boycott anyway. Henceforth, the reason I do not read the New Yorker is because I am boycotting it in protest of the thievery and not just because I would rather read Harry Potter than anything else right now.

We do have a subscription to Newsweek (all the news that's fit to print one week after it happens). It's not bad, really, but I would never pay for it. It's a yearly gift from a dear family friend. We also get a couple of forestry magazines, a fabulous woodworkers magazine, and Road and Track. I love all decorating magazines, even Victoria, but I have big issues with inviting magazines into my house. They never go away, like newspapers and cheap paperbacks.

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2002

Lord, I used to get a million magazines when I was not trying to live on a decent budget and before my attention span was killed from so much Internet use.

I took Vanity Fair for years and loved it. Also, Texas Monthly, The Atlantic Monthly, and all things Martha.

The only one I can't live without in print is The Oxford American. I love it. I read the Atlantic Monthly online version now, and find it brilliant.

I've been buying Martha Weddings at the store for years - way before there was even a chance I would ever get married. I can't help it. The pictures.

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2002

I went nuts about 3 weeks ago and ordered Martha Stewart Weddings and Brides Magazine. I'm waiting rather impatiently for my first issue of both of them.

Other than that, I love People magazine. Lots of gossip, some heart wrenching stories about semi-normal people, and the crossword puzzle that I can actually complete!

-- Anonymous, January 18, 2002

Entertainment Weekly. And yes, I read it cover to cover.

And Premiere, but only because long ago I made a vow of committment to always read Libby Gelman-Waxner.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002

I am embarrassed to divulge my magazine subscriptions because they are all so fluffy. I, too, love People magazine...read it cover to cover almost immediately. I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly but am usually at least 6 issues behind in my reading. I also love Jane Magazine...very girl power"y" (I can't believe the phrase "girl power'y'" just came off my fingers) and laugh out loud funny. I do subscribe to InStyle because I got a sweet deal when it 1st started because I am a People Magazine subscriber. My neighbor gives me her old issues of Oprah and Rosie, which I have got to admit are in a huge pile in a box in our spare bedroom because I have been waiting for forever to go on vacation so that I can get a chance to read them on the beach. All in all, a pretty embarrasing list, I must say.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2002

I'm just glad none of y'all mentioned the Utne Reader. I was flipping through it at someone's house this weekend- they had an article on how to turn your ideas into social action.

Step one is to brainstorm and think crazy. Like, if you're worried about the homeless in your area, think of what could help them, and let your imagination go. A homeless circus, perhaps?

Step two is to scale it down. A homeless circus is crazy talk, but what about a homeless parade? Or a variety show?

I didn't read on, but unless step three is hahaha, that's stupid, the homeless need food and shelter and not to be used for your bored entertainment, there's no excuse for something like that.

-- Anonymous, March 05, 2002