What I'm Reading: Special Interest Magazines, Part Two

Back to the march through my magazine subscriptions. I think after this installment there is just one more category go to -- food magazines. But first, the last of my "special interest" magazines -- Philadelphia Magazine and The New Yorker. I think both of these titles could be considered regional magazines, though The New Yorker has a wider appeal than Philadelphia Magazine given the majority of its content is less local in nature.

I signed us up for a subscription to Philadelphia Magazine shortly after we moved here in January. I had heard good things about this magazine from friends who live here and figured it would be a great way to acquaint ourselves with the city's people, places, and events. As someone interested in food and fitness, the stories that have most piqued my interest so far this year include The 50 Best Places to Eat Right Now (January), Welcome to Fitadelphia (February), The Di Brunos' Growing Empire (April), and this month's The Great Philadelphia Pizza Quest.

I ended up with a subscription to The New Yorker when a friend of mine offered up a free gift subscription on Facebook. I've enjoyed reading this magazine for a long time; back in the day it was the "smart" magazine I'd pick up at the airport bookshop along with a less-erudite title. What The New Yorker excels at is informative, in-depth articles and interesting fiction pieces. And of course, you can't mention The New Yorker without giving a nod to the cartoons! I am still way behind in reading all of The New Yorkers that have piled up on our side table (though I often actually do flip through and check out all the cartoons); this magazine is definitely not one to just flip through, you've really got to find the time to sit down and read it.

What I'm Reading: Special Interest Magazines, Part One

It's currently 80+ degrees in our apartment, and having learned my lesson on Monday night, last night I let the oven be and we headed out for dinner. Thus, no new recipes to report today. So let's instead continue our exploration of the many magazines that are stuffed into my mailbox on a monthly basis. Since the majority of the magazines I read fit into the "special-interest" category, I'll split them into two posts.

First up, in the women's magazine category, Glamour. I first started subscribing to this magazine a couple of years ago when they had a ridiculous $1.50-for-a-year subscription special. I of course couldn't resist, and even though the subscription price has risen back to its normal price since then, I am still a subscriber. Interestingly, even though I would consider this to be a "teen" magazine, the median reader age is 35. Guess that means I've got a couple more years as a reader before I really need to start feeling embarrassed about this magazine's presence in my mailbox. This magazine covers the standard women's fare -- fashion, women's health, beauty, celebrity interviews, plus at least one more serious article per issue.

From Glamour to National Geographic -- yeah, that's a bit of a 180! Though this yellow-bordered magazine was a common sight on our coffee table during my childhood, I didn't start subscribing to this magazine until my friends bought me a year's subscription when I was in grad school. Nowadays the magazine arrives in my mailbox courtesy of my parents. I've always enjoyed this magazine for its thorough articles and breathtaking photographs -- growing up, I thought it would be cool to someday be a photographer for the magazine. Though I don't think that's quite in the cards, I still find the photographers' lives intriguing, and have attended several lectures given by current National Geographic photographers as part of the National Geographic Live lecture series.

Technically, this is D's magazine, as I gave him a subscription to Urban Farm for his birthday, but I like to page through it as well. As residents of Wyoming, we received Hobby Farms magazine, but now that we live in the Big City, that title just didn't seem quite so practical (not that we were by any means farmers while living in WY). Urban Farm covers topics such as raising and caring for urban livestock (we'd love to have a flock of laying hens some day), sustainable living, and gardening (so far we've harvested string beans, several Roma tomatoes, and one pickling cucumber from our backyard container garden).