The new annual gym membership for which I paid in full came with free Men’s Health magazine for 6 months. I haven’t been reading magazines on a regular basis since the termination of the Economist subscription. Anyone who has flipped through Economist knows how dense and demanding that publication is, which is divided into continental sections with a level of writing at least equivalent to college textbooks. It’s not the most interesting reading but at least keeps me abreast with the latest of global economy. I canceled the subscription after about two years because I wanted to get back to my reading–serious reading, instead of trying to catch up with half an issue of the Economist every weekend.
Men’s Health is something I would peruse on a regular basis because it’s not heavy reading. However, magazines like Men’s Health that feature non-time sensitive materials I think are not worthy of a subscription. In pretty much every issue you’ll find two flat abs tips, a lean muscle diet, and secrets to your girlfriend/wife’s big O (which I can skip). Information is often re-phrased and re-packaged to cater to the season like New Year’s resolution and getting the body ready for summer. That said, I do find all these tidbits of information useful and I think it’s very thoughtful of the gym to comp new members a 6-month subscription. Over lunch break I read about a deadlift workout that promotes a V-shaped torso, an article about how being bookish doesn’t mean you’re awkward and weak. The funniest of course is the ask-the-editor question on Fifty Shades of Grey.
What do you read other than books? Is it habitual or just totally random?
Filed under: Personal, Reading Tagged: | Magazine, Men's health, Personal, Reading
Totally random; I do read some political magazines.
I read Time faithfully because my local newspaper is a three-ring horror show.
I liked the bit about “just because you’re bookish doesn’t mean you’re awkward & weak.”
I buy Women’s Health, Shape, Self, and Good Housekeeping, and read a lot of the articles in those. But, I also love Timber Frame Living… mostly for the pictures & floor plans.
Mostly, though, the “other” reading I do is book blogs, and sites like Productive Flourishing.
~MizB