Glossy Paper

I enjoy reading books, I really do. However, I don't always read as many books as I would like. (Yes, even me!) That's because, sometimes, I just want a quick read. I have a little bit of time to while away and I don't want to get sucked in to an excellent book with a thrilling plot and come to several hours later still in my PJs with the kitchen uncleaned! So, I turn to magazines.

I like magazines a lot. You get new ones monthly or weekly, and you can always find interesting ones at the supermarket checkout line to browse through. You don't have to devote a lot of attention to the magazine, and quite often they have nice pictures. Right now, I subscribe to 4 magazines: InStyle, Glamour, SELF, and Entertainment Weekly. (Although I am getting rid of my InStyle subscription.) That seems like a lot of magazines, but I come by it honestly - my parents subscribed to lots of magazines when I was growing up (and still do): Time, Macleans, National Geographic, Canadian Geographic, Nature, and various cooking, gardening, and weaving magazines. When I was little, I had subscriptions to Ranger Rick, Chickadee, OWL, and Cricket. As I got older I had a subscription to Seventeen, and bought a lot of other popular magazines, such as YM. Even now I pick up magazines such as The Hockey News, The Economist, People, and Papercrafts.

Of the magazines I currently receive, I think I enjoy Entertainment Weekly the most. It generally arrives once a week (although it doesn't seem to arrive on any set schedule - I often call it Entertainment Occasionally due to the vagaries of its arrival) and is an entertaining and informative read. After only a few hours of my time, I am up to date with all of the latest pop culture news and entertainment. I know what movies are playing, who's in them, and if they're any good. I know what albums are being released and what books are being sold. I know what's on TV (American TV, anyway). I'm in the loop without having to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get in the loop.

Further, the articles are entertaining! I enjoy reading about pop culture and the writers at Entertainment Weekly certainly are experts. Over the past few months, they've had articles on: Kelly Rowland's career after Destiny's Child; Bill Murray's varied career; the problems with the summer's movies; an exclusive book excerpt from a Star Wars making-of book; a list of the 100 greatest characters of all time; and a preview of all the movies coming out this summer. Plus, they have excellent columnists such as Mark Harris and Stephen King. (yes, that Stephen King. I won't read his horror novels but will read his column!).

Finally, I also like Entertainment Weekly's website. No, you don't have to subscribe to the magazine to surf their site, but it's kind of tied in to their magazine. I especially like the morning-after recaps. This is where a snide and snarky Entertainment Weekly writer will recap a show that happened the night before, with their own opinions and wit added in. Sometimes, I enjoy reading the recap as much as I enjoy watching the show! In fact, as I'm watching the show, I often wonder what the recapper will say. However, it's not just for shows you watch. I often read the recaps of shows I don't watch, like Grey's Anatomy. I am kind of interested in that show, but I don't want to take the time to watch it. Voila - the recap! I read the recap and then I'm up-to-date on what happened and can discuss plot points with all my friends that do watch the show. Really, it's a time saver. It takes me maybe a few minutes to read a recap as opposed to taking a good hour to watch the show. Time saved! Now more time to read those books....and magazines!