I am generally reading at least one book at any given time, but also like to break that up by turning to magazines when my attention is divided - like during a basketball game, after drinking or any speaking portion of the Miss Universe pageant.
My magazine list is long, but distinguished and spans many spectrums of the human condition. But lately I've been feeling overwhelmed by the avalanche that keeps piling up on me, and it is starting to cause me anxiety rather than pleasure. 
This is a problem.
Currently, I have subscriptions to:
1) US Weekly
2) Newsweek
3) GQ
4) Entertainment Weekly
5) Money
6) Travel and Leisure
7) Maxim
8) Consumer Reports
9) Playboy
10) Stuff
11) FHM
12) Esquire
13) Details
14) Texas Monthly
15) The New Yorker
16) Men's Fitness
17) Blender
18) Flex
The sheer volume is starting to overwhelm me, but I imagine it's like trying to decide which of your children you would like to get rid of (obviously I don't have children nor can I really think of a reasonable scenario where you would have to make such a decision, but still . . . ).
There is no easy choice, but I'm going to have to start letting some of my subscriptions lapse, and simply ignore the plethora of renewal notices that start coming roughly 9 months before you're due.
I will not bend to the sheer volume and increasingly insidious tone of the magazine companies, and although I will miss expanding my knowledge or looking at the pictures, there's only so much free time available.
-BDS
whoa. I am overwhelmed by even ONE magazine subscription. (I don't have any) A few of these are basically the same magazine anyway, right?
Hey. I came over by way of bostonpobble. This is a great blog. There's only one thing to do with a mountain of magazines. Grab your glue stick, scissors and COLLAGE! think about it! Maxim wallpaper! Playboy placemats! Paper mache furniture so you can sit on pictures of Lohan in rehab! Put it on ebay, I'll buy it.
Yikes, that's a lot of pulp!!!! I had the same problem years ago. When it became too overwhelming, I went on a subscription hiatus. Let everything expire, then eased my way back into the stuff I really wanted. Online articles help with the withdrawal, but there's nothing like having that mag in your bag when you have a few minutes to kill. Good luck!
You have to keep Texas Monthly! After all, you do live in Texas : )
Jlee - Don't be daunted and pick some with lots of pictures. Ha. And yes, one could argue that Maxim, Stuff and FHM are essentially the same magazine.
Getoffmylawn - Glad to see the navigation as Pobble is good people, and the collage idea is interesting. I'm considering how long such projects would take, but this Ebay idea is an entirely different revenue stream I've never even considered. Nice one.
Linda - Pulp indeed. But we MUST know what is happening in the world, eh? I used to have Movieline and Premiere on that list as well, but they have dropped off somewhere along the way. I like your term "subscription hiatus" - that's perfect.
Symplyamused - That one will stay as it's distinctly its own, and it balances out the New Yorker. Ha.
please, i think Texas Monthly is bringing down your IQ, stud. US weekly is completely unneccessary - perez is much more accurate. newsweek is the poor man's new yorker, can it. EW - see my comment on US weekly. i'm a big proponent of consumer reports and of course playboy's got great journalistic values. i feel like you can pick 1-2 of Stuff, FHM, Esquire, Details, GQ, Blender, and Flex (is that for gays?). so, your list should include:
1. Money (you make it, apparently)
2. Travel and Leisure
3. Consumer Reports
4. Playboy
5. The New Yorker
6. Stuff/FHM/Esq/Deets/GQ/Blender/Flex/Men's Fitness.
You can send me the check for the $4000 over the next ten years I just saved you in subscription costs.
ps sorry for blogging in your blog <3
I had the same problem because of my office subcriptions. i finally narrowed it to TIME, People and Oprah's....I have some suburban moms and that one is popular. people costs a lot and gets taken from the office the most...but I love it for latenight fluff turn off the brain reading.
I agree with the post above..US isjust People's enquirer version and you can get better fluff on TMZ, X17 or Perez.
Flufferwise I haven't seen many porns but Playboy always seemed like a tease...I liked the harsher porn.
porn mags...that is...not porns...I am tired...see ya'
Julia - That is a thorough analysis, but I don't think anyone residing in Florida can bag on TX Monthly. Ha. Anyway, Flex is a weightlifting mag, and as they say (who?) the check is in the mail. But the USPS is untrustworthy, so don't factor it into your budget.
Vivavavoom - I read "People" in waiting rooms and Time I occasionally buy. As for Playboy, it is too tame for actual use, but the articles and the main interview are usually pretty damn good. Seriously.
i only get one magazine called: "the week." it's a weekly digest of all the news including some good gossip. i highly recommend it especially since i can get through it in one or 2 sittings and be completely up-to-date on the actual goings on in the world. you can also access some of it on-line and the week of earthday they allowed subscribers to read everything on-line and didn't send out the magazine to save paper and some trees.
That's quite a list you've got there. And that's just the stuff you're not ashamed to show uw.
Cats - I try to recycle, and I do enjoy reading online. That being said, I will never be able to give up my newspapers and magazines and books entirely because I just enjoy the feeling of holding something in my hands (that looks worse onscreen than I intended).
WhatIgot - Exactly. Just think how much higher that number would be if I included Guns and Ammo, Juggs and a few others. Discretion.
Whow, that's a lot of weekly/monthly reading. I think you currently have EVERY magazine published coming your way. And, may I say, that's a great list.
I was thinking more along the lines of Cosmo as opposed to Guns and Ammo, but whatever.
One more thing, where's the Time and SI?
Anonymous Boxer - I've got a solid majority, but you've hit upon the central problem is that I don't know which I can let go.
WhatIgot - I was taking a stab in the dark & thought G & A sounded funnier. And I get SI from my Dad (Time I only like to read on occasion).
Crap I came late in the day, I think everyone has covered everything I wanted to say. I think Maxim, Stuff, FHM etc are all rather similar so stick with one. I've only read Maxim on occassion and it's damn funny.
As for US weekly and Entertainment Weekly they would be similar as well.
Lastly, how much do these subscriptions cost you a month?? And what do you do with the mags after...donate them I hope :) or you could mail me the travel and leisure ones :)
My gosh I thought I received a ton of magazines. You've got me beat by a mile. I'm guessing the Playboy magazine may not be on the lapse category. I would suggest US News and World Report. Newsweek is pretty close.
Be a man. Keep Playboy, and ditch the rest.
Miss Ash - You pay the price for late admittance. Ha. Anyway, I don't even want to think about the cost (but for monthly pubs. if you buy 3 a year you pay for the subscription costs for an entire year).
Sarcastic - I have read that every once in awhile (though it's been awhile) and it never grabbed me.
Anonymous - There's no way I can cut back that much, but Playboy stays (despite the relatively high cost).
Man, have you added up the cost of all your subscriptions?
Good luck on trying not to renew.
I'll take all the luck I can get, and I don't want to think about the costs. But some were gifts, so . . .