What your magazine reading habits say about you

Before my mother in law selfishly retired, she used to work for South Africa’s major magazine publisher. It was a complete win as I would get a free (LOVE that “free” thing) copy of just about local every magazine to devour at my leisure (i.e. the five minutes I get on the toilet.) But since she now spends her days inconsiderately enjoying the fruits of her hard labour, I am forced to PAY for magazines. Horror!

Being the tight-fisted bastard that I am, I hardly ever buy magazines any more. But every now and then Marko will buy a magazine for me, as a treat. Coincidentally, it is usually at the same time as he spends 400,000 million bucks on the latest Car magazine. Funny, that.

Recently, after exhausting all the interesting bits (more on that later), I found myself reading through the only remaining unread bits of the mag, the recipe section. Fascinating stuff. I can’t believe there are people out there who WILLINGLY subject themselves to this stuff! The ingredient list reads like a foreign telephone directly and the instructions are more complicated than a Korean DIY instruction manual. Why on earth would you CHOOSE to make this shit yourself? Why not just BUY the stuff ready made??? I don’t think I will ever get that cooking thing. (Please people: This is not a cry for help or an open invitation for you to send me your fail proof recipe. There is no recipe on this earth  that is immune to my innate ability to Fuck Things Up.)

Anyway, it got me thinking about how other people read magazines*. I mean, they wouldn’t put that recipe shit in the magazine if some people didn’t enjoy that sort of thing. It’s like the fashion pages (my second to last bit of the magazine that I read): is there anyone out there who actually looks at those pages and says “OMG! Those lime green plastic pants and that maroon and pumpkin crouched blouse are TO DIE FOR! Quick! Let’s go buy it NOW” 

So, how do you read your (general / common or garden variety) magazine? Which bits do you read first? Which bits are your favourite?

This is how I read mine: I first flip through the magazine briefly so that I have an executive summary of what is contained inside, and also to create that delicious feeling of anticipation of what is to come. Then I read the ‘readers letters’ section. Then I read the editors letter. I then read any personal or real life stories / first person accounts. I then read any tips / advice / consumer tests / product service reviews.  Then any investigative journalism. Then the health / body section. After that, the back page, the book reviews, ‘dear mary’ stuff. The magazine usually gets tossed after that. But if times are tough and magazines are few, I will haul out the old mags and read the beauty section. If I am bored, I might give the fashion pages a once over. Only if I am really constipated, there are no other magazines around and the kids are watching Cartoon Network will I finish up with the food / cooking section. 

It is actually quite interesting, I think, and it is the same reason I have taken blogs and blogging in such a big way, because things like letters (comments), real life stories (blogs), editorials (posts) etc are the things I really enjoy.

So what do my magazine habits say about me?  That I enjoy the people stories, that I have a strong connection with other people.  And that clearly fashion, cooking and beauty do NOT feature big in my life. 

So how do you devour your magazine? 

* Am I the only one who always thinks “I wonder what other people think / do when it comes to ____________” That is why I love my blog. It is ‘I wonder if it is just me?’ benchmark.

Comments

[Yvette]

Ditto, Esoecially with YOU magazine!

[Katherine]

I don't often read the recipes in magazines either, but I do cook. Why? Mostly because I'd go broke if I had to buy everything ready made. Right now, I'm making my DH do lots of grilling outside because our summer has come on hot, hot, hot.

For reading magazines, I usually either go front to back or I just randomly flip it open.

[kellygreent]

I read the cover and then flip to the article I'm most interested in reading. Once I've read that, I'll go back to the cover to find something else that peaks my curiosity. Once I finished all the cover articles, I flip through the magazine from back to front to find something else that peaks my interest. I rarely read an entire magazine.

[Bugged]

I've fallen slave to reading recipies, in fact I now prefer reading Food & Home above the Cosmo! Shock horror! It is so bad that not even the mags can satisfy my lust after these things, I've just bought 1001 Foods and 101 Fantastic Sauces.

Still failing miserably in the kitchen, sucker for punishment...I get obsessed with things I fail at, one day my dear friends I will conquer and you will all be knocking down my door, 'cause what is born from suck toil cannot be bought*!

*Apart from some very exquisite restaurants

So, apart from that little obsession, my reading follows pretty much the same course than yours...

[Em]

Wow. You are organized? I just go front to back but I stick bookmarks in if something looks too long to read at that time then I go back when kids aren't nipping at my heels.

[Alicia]

I cook almost everyday (from scratch). Not because I'm a sucker for punishment but I seriously believe that pre-packed foods contain too many preservatives and sodium and I'm phobic about heating up food in plastic containers in the microwave. Only when absolutely necessary will I do it. I really don't want to be the one responsible for giving my kids cancer from the carcinogens. see -> http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=286529

[Anna]

I do like the recipes, but I like to cook, it's relaxing to me. hey, some people blog, some cook, some neither or both. I like to read local news, gossip, architecture and a little bit of politics. But who has time to read any more? if a rare miracle occurs and my children are both sleeping at the same time, I head straight for bed.

[Anna]

ah, I forgot, I used to love movie reviews, but since my time for movies is now zero, it makes me to longing, and I quit reading those.

[kristylynne]

I start on page one and flip my way through the entire magazine, reading whatever interests me. When I reach the end, I throw the magazine away. It can take days to get thru a whole magazine, so I'll fold it over so I'll know where I left off. I mainly read news magazines and mostly read at least a little of every story, if not the entire story.

[Marcia, Organising Queen]

Hmmm, I mostly like House and Leisure, and Ideas. I only buy when I am "inspired" by beautiful pictures at the Pick and Pay tills.

First off, I take forever to actually read the stuff but the same day I buy them, I do go through and look at all the aforementioned beautiful pictures. *sigh*

Then months later (because weekends are for FICTION!) I actually sit down and READ. I start at the front and read them all the way through like a book. Of course I page straight over the fashion pages and beauty pages, drool over the recipes and if they look doable (if I actually have the ingredients and they're not too complicated), I tear them out and stick on the fridge. There they stay until I try them or for 2 months, whichever comes first.

I also tear out some of the beautiful spaces that inspire me and pop them into a plastic display folder (flipfile) - I have one that I call Gorgeous Houses. I have flipfiles for Organising Ideas and one for gift ideas (I know you're not into gift wrap but I LOVE making presents look beautiful).

Can't wait to read the rest of the comments :)

[Liz]

I go through the magazine and read whatever interests me as I go along. If something interests me more, eg recipe, an interesting article, I will bookmark it, as in fold the corner and go back to it later. But most of the time I don't. :)
Why does it take 20 pages of advertisings to actually get to the index? Very annoying.

[Shandra]

I can't comment really 'cause I make them (not by myself) and so I read them to size up the competition.

But Liz the answer to your question is "because advertisers pay most of the cost of your magazine." :-) Subscription revenue varies of course but hovers around 10% of revenue - in other words, about the profin margin.

[kirstyphysio]

The order in which I read magazines has changed as I have grown older (I can't say grown up, 'cos I really haven't grown up in some aspects!)
When I was at school and university, I used to buy cosmo, and I would flip straight to the page with "position of the month" and have a good giggle! I then used to read all the "agony aunt" letters and see if any of my burning questions were answered via someone else's problem!
Nowadays, because I'm mature, - and only when I ever get time to actually buy, let alone read a mag, I read the articles of most interest from the cover first.
And again - because I'm mature, I may well glance at the recipes to see if there is something quick and exciting to rustle up for dinner...
OMG - I am old and boring!

[Anna (another one)]

The weekly mag: I look at the cover, but usually start backwards and read the funny jokes first. Then I pick out the cover stories that interest me, the ones scientifically oriented first.
The mag that comes with the newspaper: I start at the cover and flip my way through, looking at pictures and reading the gadget pages.
The occasional lifestyle mag: I flip through, look at design, travel and gadget pages, and I read recipes although it's my husband that cooks. He likes me to propose dishes :).

[Kimberly]

Firstly, I tear out every subscription card and insert in the magazine. I hates them. Next, I begin from the BACK of the magazine and work my way forward. I have no idea why I do this, but I've always done it.

If it's a beading magazine, I do the same thing, but if I like the pattern/technique, I rip the article out and put it in a 3-ring binder. Although I used to pride myself on my full 4-year collection of Martha Stewart Living Magazines, I no longer keep magazines for longer than a month.

[Dani]

I have OCD tendencies and read from front to back including the table of contents. No skipping. Dare I admit that I also don't sniff the perfume sample until I get to that page? Sometimes I do get bored and end up skimming, but something about skipping ahead to the cover article feels like cheating on a test. Also I refuse to admit that I paid $5 just to find out which rehab so-and-so checked into this week. I never read the last chapter of a book or fast forward on a movie either (although I do love my DVR and being able to skip all the commercials on my favorite TV shows!)

[zoe]

I read fashion mags because I'm interested in the new look and what goes with what this season.I start by flipping through the whole mag to see whats instore for me.Then I start from front to back,reading short stories as I get to them and passing long ones.I get to fashion spreads and drool over them for a while,leave the mag open on the page wth an outfit I liked.I hardly finish reading all the stories in one go,I mostly fish out the mag when I'm bored and am waiting for the next edition to come out.

[Andrea]

I'm not much of a magazine reader. To be honest, they mostly frustrate me. 3/4 of them are nothing more than lame advertisements. I get lost in the myriad of different perfumes to be wiped on one's wrist, am disenchanted with the beauty tips, generally uninterested in what the Dear Mary's are about, and have come to realize I will never, ever try that recipe. If I do read a magazine, it is likely to be Time, because it's more no-nonsense than Vogue, Elle, etc.

However, give me a good book, and I am all over that thing. If I really like a book, I will spend an entire day reading it on breaks, during lunch, all evening long and well into the night until it is complete. I read a little bit of everything, too. I'll do the occasional suspense novel (well, it's been awhile, but sometimes...), a lot of psychological texts since that's my field, some science, just about anything historical, and the list goes on.

Either way, my style is 90% practical. Most of the time I like reading some that lets me walk away feeling like I've learned something. On the other hand, I have plenty of friends who hate that notion and want to lose themselves in an easy-to-read magazine. It seems teachers in particular are prone to that. And I certainly cannot blame them! As a friend recently told me, "I spend all day in the classroom. I want to leave it behind on the weekend and enjoy things NOT related to learning/teaching." To each their own, for sure!

[Jan]

I will tell you how I read magazines if you promise not to tell me what it says about me. Because I don't want to know. Also, I probably already do.

I start on page one. I read through from beginning (starting with that cheesy letter from the editor -- yes, really), reading the pages out of order only when I need to to finish the articles and then going back to where I was.

I'm not even kidding.

[Raenette (Auckland)]

Here in New Zealand it's really hard to get a decent mag like the Cosmo or Fair Lady or even Rooi Rose and Sarie - which I used to love reading! Magazines here are mostly about overseas celebrities, like Tom and Katy or Britney, and all of it is rubbish. If I could get hold of a Cosmo now, I would read it from top to bottom, cover to cover, back to front and back again. I may even try the recipes! Oh, for a good read...

[SCY]

The first thing I do is shake out all the inserts and free stuff that they cram into mags, annoys the heck out of me and chuck them in the bin (who actually uses those little cream things?). Then I flip through the mag to see what articles catch my eye, read those, read the letters to the ed, the agony aunt colum and then just check out the pictures.

I love HEAT magazine though and have to admit to being a real gossip whore.

[Ann]

Like you, I scan the magazine first and then go back to what I consider interesting articles and ditch the rest (unless I'm really desperate). However. There is one Really Important Rule in our house, that has been instilled in my daughters (and husband) over the years, so much so that they have now also adopted it as their own: No-one Reads The Magazine Before Mom. Not unless they want their heads bitten off and tossed aside. Seriously.

[Rachel]

I just start at the first page, read what looks interesting, and then skip all the boring bits (i.e.-advertisements, usually the clothes section (i'm fine with out knowing where to buy a $5,000 handbag, thanks), and I usually skip all the beauty pages...I learned how to put on makeup when I was 12...don't need to learn it from a magazine!

[Megan]

Erm. My reading habits say I'm a nerd? Because, depending on the magazine I either:

Leaf through looking for articles that address a specific need or offer a new way to do something (Photoshop Professional, Web Designer)

Read cover to cover and make my Children listen to the bits I find particularly interesting (Discover, National Geographic, Scientific American etc)

Leaf through to find the shiniest picture of the most luscious looking dish and then actually read the recipe, and the instructions and... often go on to make it. Like mint lamb kebabs... mmmm... those were good! (Olive!, BBC Food something can't remember)

I haven't read a magazine that had creamy things or scenty things or inserts in general in a very long time. I might need to pick one up though!

[Sue at eLuckypacket]

Hey Tertia - totally unrelated but I thought you would find this challenge fun ... perhaps post the tissue under the glasses photo ;-) Or challenge Mel to do this too ... to settle once and for all just who has the biggest shnoz.

[Sue at eLuckypacket]

Hey Tertia - totally unrelated but I thought you would find this challenge fun ... perhaps post the tissue under the glasses photo ;-) Or challenge Mel to do this too ... to settle once and for all just who has the biggest shnoz.

Duh, here is the link: http://eluckypacket.com/2008/06/09/come-as-you-are/

[Sue at eLuckypacket]

Sorry - here is the link: http://eluckypacket.com/2008/06/09/come-as-you-are/

[Victoria]

I tend to read familiar features that consistently amuse or interest me-- quotes pages, cartoons, and some shorter snippets like that. Then I look up anything that caught my eye on the cover or the table of contents (as I was looking for the cartoons and quotes). After that, I tend to go front to back reading anything that looks interesting, abandoning an article if it's boring. If there are consumer reports, I find them then and read everything in order of whatever catches my eye first. I love personal narratives for the most part, but sometimes they're boring, so I don't make accommodations for them. I skill the cooking articles, too; I love to cook, but I'm a vegetarian, and the recipes I find in magazines are often main courses involving meat, so they get ignored.

[Hannah]

I tear out all the cards out of the magazine and then sometimes I'll read it cover to cover or I'll start with the most interesting article. I subscribe to Redbook and Goodhousekeeping, as well as three or four cooking magazines.

I agree with several other posters that there is A LOT of preservatives and unnecessary sodium and sugar in pre-packaged food. I make almost everything from scratch. I even bake my own bread.

[Mag Addict]

I love magazines, I love books. Probably a lot of my salary goes on them.

I think South Africa has some good ones. Bummer no-one has them here in Asia.

I buy certain mags without reading the cover to see what is in them. I will flick through and depending on the mag I will go to my fav part. I look at the recipes and sometimes I will make a note that one looks good to try but to be honest in the end I never do. I read the kiddie sections if there is one, even though I don't have kids, I know plenty. I read everything in the mag.

I love the samples, I dislike the inserts. I find USA mags have far more adverts and inserts than the UK ones.

Once in New York I had read every magazine that I wnated too and still needed one and so bought one I had never read before and after looking through it only did I realise that I was not their target reader what so ever. The magazine was called Ebony.

All my books and mags are recycled.

[Tamsen]

One of my biggest vices are celeb gossip magazines. Totally stupid, totally love them. I don't order them, it's just a special treat while I'm at the supermarket. Usually I pick up one with my box of wine. Ahh, bliss.

I read cover to cover, in a straight linear line. I don't really skip over any parts, unless I could give a rat's ass about one celeb, or it's somebody I haven't even heard of.

In the magazines with the sections on home/garden, and food, well... Food, I skip over. I doubt there's any way I can reproduce a mag recipe. Home/garden, I basically just look at the pictures and form my own little opinions on the decor. I don't think I ever look and go, oh that spotted plant would be PERFECT.. but I kind of absorb the styles I like, and maybe later on down the road it'll play in on how/what I buy.

[Zea]

Good morning. I don't believe in intuition. When you get sudden flashes of perception, it is just the brain working faster than usual. But you've been getting ready to know it for a long time, and when it comes, you feel you've known it always.
I am from Libya and also am speaking English, tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "It is rare that such consolidators ever sell air tickets directly to the public cheap flights with more than travel companies displaying over one million sta travel compares flight prices across all major airline groups."

Best regards 8-), Zea.

[Julianne]

Hello. The toughest question has always been, "How do you get your ideas?" How do you answer that? It's like asking runners how they run, or singers how they sing. They just do it!
I am from Iceland and bad know English, give please true I wrote the following sentence: "Read all irline tickets posts on webware."

Thanks for the help :D, Julianne.

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