For about ten years, beginning around 1985, I had a goal of reading at least 52 books a year (one per week). When I began dating Pam, she, a voracious reader, adopted the same goal. We would occasionally battle to see who would end the year with the most books read. My high was in the 80s. But I can’t compete with Pam. One year, while I met my 52 goal, she read 104 books. This year, she’s on track to hit that number again. Right now, she’s somewhere around 90 books read for the year.

I met that goal for about seven years, but couldn’t keep it going. There was my Masters work, my actual book writing (six books during the 1990s), and various general excuses. But most significantly, I read magazines, and while the accumulated wordage might equal Pam’s book-reading, we haven’t figured out an equitable formula for including my magazine reading. Not that either of us really cares.

I look forward to my magazines coming. They are:

• Newsweek and Time. I’ve been reading Newsweek since I was a kid, and we received it at home. I began taking Time during the mid-1980s. If I had to give up one, it would be Time, I guess. Newsweek tackles some more ambitious and creative ideas, like the recent review of the Presidential election.
• BusinessWeek. I began taking BusinessWeek in the mid-1980s, probably because I got a great deal for a trial subscription. I’ve grown to really like it. Learning what is happening in the business world is a great complement to Time and Newsweek.
• New Yorker. I discovered The New Yorker during my Masters work at Ball State, and have been taking it since around 1993. It’s weekly. The New Yorker has the best, most in-depth reporting you’ll find anywhere. And the quality of writing is exceptional. Some people say it has a liberal bent, but I don’t really see that. The reporting is very fair, and very thorough. It has long long long articles, so reading it is a commitment. I usually read maybe two articles per issue. That’s enough.
• Sports Illustrated. I’ve always enjoyed Sports Illustrated, but have viewed it more as a guilty pleasure, compared to the hard news magazines. But I began taking it again six or seven years ago, and don’t mind indulging this guilty pleasure. >Besides, the writing is incredible. To take an event that I saw on TV and heard commentators dissect, and then provide me an article a week later that fully captures my attention–that’s good writing. The in-depth features can be remarkable. The writing quality is up there with The New Yorker, though of a different breed. As a writer, I need to be reading both of those magazines.
• ESPN. This one is, indeed, an indulgence. We got it cheap, it comes every two weeks, and I enjoy it. Don’t need it, but enjoy it. It definitely has its own identity apart from SI.
• Entertainment. Pam and I took this years ago, then stopped. We started again a couple years ago, after getting a good deal. It’s fun. I enjoy keeping up on celebrity/entertainment nonsense.
• MacWorld and MacAddict. I get these monthlies at work, and devour them right away. I need to keep up on what’s happening in the Macintosh world, since I run a network of Macs. I also check out two Mac news bulletin boards every day (MacNN and Macintouch).
• Christianity Today. I also receive CT at work, and usually read it right away.

So that’s it. Put it all together, and you’ve got a lot of reading material. But I don’t know how to count it up to equal what Pam reads in books.