Do you have a reading subscription that you eagerly anticipate on a regular schedule? That magazine, fanzine, newsletter, comic book, or periodical that you dive into the moment it arrives and then read it a second time, third time, or more, because it brings you such joy until the next issue arrives? I am not talking the daily or weekly paper, world or business news, or work-related information. I am talking something you read purely for enjoyment. I love reading books for pleasure, and as much as I love shopping in bookstores, wandering the isles of used bookstores, or finding that amazing book in a secondhand shop or at a rummage, there is something special about periodicals that you can anticipate on a regular basis.
There is comfort in the routine. Your anticipation builds when you know the time of arrival is coming. If there is a delay for some reason, you can actually feel it when it has been too long between readings. Subscriptions become apart of our lives and it can really impact us when one ends for one reason or another.
There is excitement for the unknown. What will this issue include? What will it focus on? Will there be a new topic or story that astounds you or impacts you emotionally? Your subscription may have a particular topic or theme but it is not something anyone has read yet until it arrives. All the readers get to enjoy this new issue together.
Growing up, I loved receiving Boy’s Life Magazine. It is the first subscription of my own I can remember and I would devour each issue when it arrived. I would reread the best articles numerous times and tear out some of the pictures to put on my wall. I would try some of the included challenges or crafts. I would learn from the stories told by others. In many ways, that magazine helped me grown up. Later, I subscribed to National Geographic Magazine and learned so much about the world around me. The maps and posters adorned my walls. The stories and imagery opened my mind and heart to a world much later than my small town in Indiana. Today, I my periodic pleasure is Outdoor Indiana. Having traveled some of the world over the decades, I now love to focus on my home state and the joys of the communities, people, and nature around me. Each month I learn something new about my state that I had no clue about. Even the world close by can be full of huge new things. I get emotional about some of the stories and yes, once again, I sometimes tear out pictures or remove their included calendars and put them on my walls to enjoy.
What periodical brings you pleasure on a regular basis and why?