A few days ago I was complaining about not receiving my Bookmarks magazine but it turns out I forgot to renew my subscription. Well today I get a notice from Glamour magazine and “I’m about to Lose My Glamour” if I don’t renew!! Quick, call the fashion police.
I guess they are too late because they haven’t seen me after a serious crafty and/or bookbinding session. Heh. Actually, I have enjoyed Glamour magazine on and off over the years. What can I say, I do like cute dresses and heels.
But, it’s time to reconsider subscriptions. We get a lot of magazines at home and they are cutting into book reading time. What’s worse is that sometimes they’ll stay unread for months. So this means I really need to think about the magazines I read and not just sign up for them because they are offering a special $1 an issue with a 12-month subscription. I know that’s how I fell for several subscriptions. So Glamour and I are parting ways.
Have you recently let go of any magazine subscriptions?
I had a relook at magazines last year, and decided to go for Astronomy Now and Explore. I haven’t read magazines for years, always been books for me.
I’ve let the AN lapse, even though I love astronomy. It just doesn’t hold my interest these days (the mag).
The Explore I’ve resubbed for 3 years – I love it.
I used to get Self magazine my last year in college. But when I moved to Italy I just let my roommates keep getting them. I don’t even know if they still get them or not acutally. lol, maybe I should look into that.
i used to get a lot of magazines, but then realized that i they were adding to the clutter in my house and weren’t really necessary. so, in a fit of cost-cutting measures, i canceled all of my subscriptions.
on my weak days, however, i pine for paste magazine, bust and real simple.
i know i’m late, but i like the new look!
Hmmm. I guess I do get quite a few magazines. I let my subscription to Locus lapse when I moved in September, so I’ll be rectifying that soon. The others I get are National Geographic, Dogs Today, PCGamer and BBC Wildlife. Tough call letting any of them go…although I probably should.
I canceled a political magazine (American Enterprise) because it went from offering a completely different – and challenging – viewpoint to being about business. That leaves me with Real Simple and The Atlantic. I think I can handle those.
I used to read 2 mags back-2-back when they arrived, Cosmo and Smithsonian. I let both of them go a couple of years ago and I’m not sure which one my husband misses more! 🙂
Yep, I gave up on Bon Appetit (after almost ten years of subscribing). Before my daughter was born I had more time to make elaborate meals. Now, I’m looking for quick and easy, and this magazine doesn’t have it!
I understand your issue here. I don’t have subscriptions to very many magazines but I do find it a pleasure to go into a large bookstore and look over their magazine section. Although that then cuts into my book browsing time…maybe we could start a rumour about there being more hours added onto the day and then it would get passed around so much that people would believe it and then we would actually have more hours in the day…
I guess that’s impossible though isn’t it? sigh
I have 2 magazines sitting here at work that I don’t know if I’ll ever get around to reading. I wont be renewing my Home subscription.
And I subscribe to too many comics. I’m only renewing my absolute favorites.
Andrew – I feel the same way about some craft magazines I read. I still enjoy crafting but some of the magazines just don’t hold my interest any more. I’m being a bit more selective of those as well.
Nik – Do you get any magazines from the States now? How are the International rates?
Maryann – Great to hear from you again! Ohh I love Paste magazine but I let that subscription go a couple of years ago.
Quixotic – It is tough to let any go isn’t it?
Lazygal – You’ve reminded me that I haven’t read the Atlantic in a long time.
Maggie – ha,ha.. That’s too funny. I haven’t read Cosmo in such a long time.
Stephanie – Wow, 10 years of Bon Appetit. Did you keep all the magazines?
Heather T. – I do that all the time! And, hey, I’m willing to get that rumor started 🙂
SciFiChick – I can relate. I have two magazines from Nov. & Dec. still in their plastic wraps! Terrible.
I’ve fallen for many subscriptions the same way and then been suckered into paying a higher price for renewal. This is something I am cutting back on this year. I figure if I’m not reading it right away it must not be important enough to spend money on.
I was on a tear there for awhile, trying out new magazines to fit all my different interests. Then I wouldn’t read them and they’d pile up (I was more interested in reading books). Now I understand the up side to my husband’s magazine buying method. While I like to subscribe, he buys off the rack. It may be slightly more expensive that way for an individual magazine, but he saves by not getting magazines he rarely has time to read. I subscribe to three magazines at the moment (Pages, Mystery Scene, and Bark). Those three are my must have magazines (and they still sometimes pile up). Everything else I finally just let go.
I have actually tried to lose a few subscriptions, but they keep sending you issues (especially weeklies) and then I feel sufficiently guilty to give in and re-subscribe. Annoyingly Time has my credit card number and just automatically renews, and they don’t ask first. Sneaky.
I have been up against the same issue myself. I signed up for some deal and have been receiving some magazines for a year now and then they automatically renewed them on me! I really like National Geographic Traveller and Travel and Leisure….it allows me to armchair travel until my next trip. My other subsciptions have been to Wallpaper (a gift), Photoshop User and Layers Magazine and now they just told me that I will be receiving Photoshop Lightroom. I don’t see myself giving any of those up as well but have promised myself to take some time out each week to catch up on them so they don’t pile up! Ugh, I have a mag addiction!
I’m wearing my magazine publishing hat here: please don’t throw your subscription away!! They keep people like me in jobs! It’s a tough market out there and we need all the readers we can get!
Carl V. – Yep, that always seems to happen doesn’t it?
Literary Feline – You know I should try that method too. And, do you like Mystery Scene? That’s one I’ve thought about subscribing to.
Danielle – Oh those sneaky Time people!
Christine – I love National Geo Traveller. Such good articles. Yes, I understand it’s too hard to give up some magazines.
Kimbofo – Oh dear didn’t mean to come down on the magazine industry. It is a tough one I’m sure. I love magazines and believe me I still subscribe to a lot. I’ll have to post my list so you’ll know I’m doing my part 🙂
I really do enjoy Mystery Scene. It’s a little on the expensive side, but the articles are meaty and I’ve heard of authors I never would have learned about otherwise.
I’m a huge sucker for magazines. Since we’re expecting a baby in March, we had to clean out her closet and I found two huge piles of Martha Stewart Living, Oprah, Rachael Ray, and Cooking Light, and, a huge beach bag that was my mom’s and that I inherited in her move to a new house that was full of Bon Appetit, Cottage Living, Southern Living, Gourmet, and some of my dad’s Wooden Boats. I have them all in a plastic bin now and I’m going through them and cutting out the recipes I want to keep and recycling the rest. Other than that backup, I still get American Cake Decorating, Mailbox News (a cake magazine), Poets and Writers, Think Spanish, Family Fun, and Parents. Plus my husband gets Money and American Woodworking. Four of these subscriptions were for my niece and nephew’s fundraiser at school, but still. It’s a lot. Too much.
I got a subscription to UK Glamour for Christmas! And very happy I was too – sometimes I just need some girly junk-type stuff to lose myself in.
Okay, I feel the need to comment on this topic. What can I say, I have a husband that loves magazines. Let me see if I can recall from memory what all we currently get (now a more reduced list), Motorcyclist, NRA, QST, Consumer Reports, and Gun Tests. Oh and last year as one of my Christmas presents I got a two year subscription to Cook’s Illustrated! It’s just that my husband has so many hobbies (Motorcycles, Bicycling, Photography, Backpacking/Mountain Climbing, Music/plays the Guitar, Amature Radio/W5WAB is his call sign, Guns/Target shooting, Electronics/Computers, Quality watches, Home Remodeling/knows how to fix stuff around the house, Electrical stuff/He is a Master Electrician, and the list goes one) that he could retire tomorrow and not have enough time to do all of them. So there is NO WAY I can keep the magazine clutter under control in my house! Oh, and don’t get me started on how many catalogs a day/week we get!
Literary Feline – Thanks for the heads up. I really am thinking of subscribing to that one.
Camille – I try to cut out the “important” articles too but half of the time I end up so overwhelmed that I just chuck them all out.
Max – I agree, some fashion mags are just fun.
Shadan – Oh girl, totally cracking up because I have seen some of those piles you guys have 🙂
I can’t believe I did it but I got rid of my Martha Stewart Living. As much as I completely adore Martha Stewart, her magazine has bored me these last couple of months- well about 5 months. It seems she is having a little bit of a hard time coming up with new things. I did subscribe to Nylon and I love Country Living!
Rachel – Oh you just reminded me of Nylon. I haven’t read that one in a while. I may have to check it out again 🙂
Oh, I lost you for a while (Bloglines dropped you for some reason).
I loved Glamour for years. Unfortunately in Australia magazines are just too expensive ($1 per issue of ANYTHING is just a pipe dream) so I just borrow them from the library – mainly food ones like Delicious, Australian Gourmet Traveller, etc. I HATE fashion mags now.