On Rediscovering Magazines
Yesterday on a whim, I bought and read a copy of The New Yorker from an airport newsstand. I had one thought as I read page after page on my flight back to Toronto: Gosh, I miss this so much.
I don’t remember the last time I read a magazine or picked up a physical newspaper, but one of my chief joys growing up was reading the daily newspaper, cover to cover. I read about the real estate market, the goings on about town, the hot new vacation spots, which college team would win the season - I devoured it all. I especially looked forward to the Saturday comics and the Sunday extended lifestyle edition.
Upon reflection, I realized that I enjoyed reading the magazine not because I could choose what I read or could reuse the knowledge. I enjoyed it because of the lack of control and utility in reading.
In the digital world, I cull articles, complain about writing styles, or pull out quotes for later use. With The New Yorker, I could choose to skip an essay, but those were the only stories I had available on the flight, take it or leave it.
I secretly enjoyed the fact that I couldn’t highlight or type notes. This week’s issue had stories on nuclear fusion, Geiger counters, and old world Hollywood celebrities. The essays had no connection to my work and in fact, the topics were incredibly random. But as I sat there reading, my understanding of the world grew wider with each page.
Even then, reading a physical magazine felt disconcerting at first. There was no utility in reading it. None of the insights or noteworthy quotes would make it back to my Readwise account. I wouldn’t be able to use quotes from those essays or links to those articles in my own writing.
But maybe that’s what made reading it so valuable: I was reading for the sake of reading. In particular, I couldn’t help myself from reading the magazine with a writer’s eye. The essays sparked ideas for short stories. They sent me down research rabbit holes on Wikipedia. They gave me lessons on how to write 5,000 - 10,000-word essays that keep my reader wondering, “What happens next?”
Don’t get me wrong: I won’t stop reading newsletters. I’m a total second brainer who loves taking notes. But I realize I’d be doing you, my readers, a disservice if I didn’t spend more time reading top-notch, “traditional” publications to improve how I think and write. More importantly, I’d be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t spend more time doing useless things that make me childishly happy.
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