Greening of Magazines - The Mags I Love

I’ve always loved magazines.

When I was in college studying design and photography, I fully expected to continue-on into editorial design and eventually create my own magazine. I was going to call it “Talisman” and it was going to change the world, one loyal reader at a time.

Unfortunately, college (and some very real-world freelancing) undermined what little confidence I had and I abandoned that dream. Still, magazines remained magnetic to me; my drug of choice quenching an unknown thirst.

I used to think the attraction was about speed – fast, information paired with exciting images; easy to consume eye-candy. In retrospect, I think what really appealed to me was the excitement of not knowing what was on the next page, perhaps in sharp contrast to my somewhat plodding, premeditated life.

And when my life finally accelerated, magazines ensured some down time; my coffee break and my time to think. Unlike a well-written novel which can carry you away, I expect a really good magazine to ground me, to focus and challenge me.

An unfortunate downside of magazines is that they are basically a one-use item. As apposed to books, magazines are rarely re-sold and most end-up being read once or twice, then recycled or trashed. Though many of mine get shared at least once, they still end up somewhere in a blue bin, and recycling is the last, least desirable “R” (refuse, re-use, recycle). Luckily, I’ve discovered a creative way to “refuse”; as my subscriptions come to an end, instead of renewing, I’m planning to gift my subscriptions to our local library which has an “Adopt a Magazine” program (actually, my first adoption will be from Santa, in my name).
I can sign them out whenever I desire, photocopy the pages I want to keep for reference and can begin to undo my many years of waste.

I’m also subscribing to more electronic newsletters and reading more blogs which, in many respects, are the greenest magazines. Roughly half of my favourite magazines have either blogs or e-newsletters which, I suppose, adds even more to their appeal for me.

I'm curious now to take a critical look at my favs, to discover why I like them and explore what they give me.

Plenty
Spacing
Nutrition Action Healthletter / Prevention
Our Canada
Ready Made
Scottish National Trust
O Magazine
Harrowsmith Country Life