Here is an interesting question for all who wish to answer: what magazines did your family subscribe to while you were growing up?
The sorts of reading materials that are available in one's house have an important role, for better or for worse, in shaping what types of adults we become. They can expose us to the outside world, different thoughts, and different ways of living. They can also confirm certain biases and prejudices.
In addition, these magazines can tell a lot about how one grew up, what type of family one had, and one's range of experiences. Indeed, magazines are important cultural and class markers. I suspect that for many of us, we reveal a lot about our cultural, class, ethnic, and religious backgrounds simply by listing the magazines we subscribed to.
Without further ado, here are the magazines and periodicals we subscribed to:
Reader's Digest - I eventually learned to loathe this magazine. Mostly I read the lame humor columns and the vocabularly quizzes. The articles are very simplistic and conservative. I don't think I have ever looked at this magazine as an adult.
National Geographic - This was my favorite magazine. I especially loved the high-quality maps. The photographs and articles about foreign places and people allowed me to daydream about future adventures.
American Heritage - At the time I liked this magazine, since I am very fond of reading history. I have since learned that this magazine is pretty superficial in its history and somewhat conservative in its outlook. The New York Review of Books has better articles on American history.
The Liguorian - This is a Catholic magazine. I rarely looked at. If I tried to read it, it would usually bore me to tears.
So take the poll and tell me what magazines your family subscribed to.
