52 Titles – June & July Fly By

52 Titles Challenge Weeks 24, 25 & 26th – June 20-July 11   Magazines by Assorted

In my attempt to read 52 books this year, I failed to take into account one thing: my other reading. I.e. The dozens of magazines, journals, newspapers and assorted ephemera that I receive on a daily basis.

I knew I was in trouble when I couldn’t open my ancient file cabinet drawers without serious lifting due to the two foot tall stack of other reading I had set aside.

I come from a family prone to hoarding…not “Hoarders” necessarily but in a few cases they are scarily close. As I have discussed with one of my similarly minded brothers, “hoarding is a slippery slope. It starts out innocent with conjectures about ‘needing this some day’ or ‘some day I will get around to it’ and the fact is you rarely do. Yes, there are some great steampunk guys and gals out there who are creating some amazing art out of little things they have set aside but for those people collecting is like gathering your instruments or art supplies, it is part of a process not an overwhelming need to own.

So I decided to read it or recycle it….man, some of it was born recycle-worthy.

Some of what I plowed through:

• 4 issues of Country, my uncle sends me a subscription every Christmas. – I glance at the pretty pictures but only really read the stories related to the old pictures, recipes (mmm, corn casserole), and the section where people ask others for seeds, recipes and guesses as to what some piece of rusty metal or broken wood is. I have never, ever, found the damn needle; to be honest, I never try that hard.
• Catalogs – I like to read the descriptions, particularly for one seed and herbal catalog that somehow manages to sneak in an occasional double entendre. I often wonder if the writer is gleefully happy that the editors and owners don’t catch them or don’t mind.
• 3 Neighborhood Newspapers. –  I missed some good events and am sad for all the people who worked so hard to try to keep the EPA from covering our local water holding stations. I will miss seeing the sunset play out on the water and hope that the reservoir pee-er gets his karmic reward. The citizens might have won if you hadn’t felt the need to pee in the city’s water supply instead of one of the hundreds of bleeping trees in the park.
• 8 issues of Poets and Writers. – Obviously, these went pretty fast since most of the contests etc. were over. I liked the new poets issue a lot though because they highlighted some older new poets and that gives all of us hope doesn’t it? Also, there was Michael Klein’s essay on being a working writer which was very timely.
• 3 issues of Better Homes and Gardens – a gift from my mother-in-law who obviously doesn’t pay attention to what I read. I like the glossy pictures of home decor items I couldn’t afford in a million years and some of the recipes are really easy and tasty. I rarely read the tragedy stories and I skim most of the interviews, except Michael J. Fox. I liked what he had to say about Parkinson’s disease and how people treat him and his wife.
• 3 issues of Mother Earth News – Some days I love this magazine and don’t know how I would garden without it and other times it feels like I am reading the same issue over and over again in some weird parallel universe. I love the no knead bread recipes…that alone might justify my continued subscription.
• Assorted environmental magazines – degradation, panic, blarg…it’s summer, these editors should save the doom and gloom for fall. I know, I know but I meant it in the nicest, earth friendliest way.
• 7 issues of Smithsonian – I love, love this magazine. It is one of the few magazines I read cover to cover with rare exceptions, namely the Civil War. I don’t know why the Civil War bores me but it does, to no end. Luckily, or unluckily for me, there were very few Civil War articles (last year it seemed like there was one in every issue). Instead I read about new temples being uncovered, UAV’s, earthquakes, amazing pictures and an essay on Richard Dawkins and the birth and evolution of memes which is a must read. “All life evolves by the differential survival of replicating entities.” ~ If you’ve never read Smithsonian do. It is well written, gorgeous and it supports one of the most amazing institutions in America, the Smithsonian.

Whew and that wasn’t all. No, the aforementioned doesn’t necessarily meet my book criteria but it does constitute as a great deal of reading which supported a great deal of working writers who practice their craft every day and so I don’t feel guilty in the least. In fact, I feel great and I have unshackled myself from my stack.

Here’s to all the readers who read!

Until next time, Happy Reading!

~Editor