Save a magazine (or two)

My name is Jan, and I'm a magazineaholic. I just love them. They're an easy escape, and cheap (especially if you subscribe, rather than buying them one-off at the grocery store). Just started a National Geographic article about the 500+ species of carnivorous plants – fascinating! The Smithsonian is another favorite... some of the best writing and subjects. But what I really love to find in the mailbox (aside from handwritten notes!) are my design magazines. Although their numbers have diminished greatly in the last year or two, there are still some great magazines left. House Beautiful has truly stepped up their offerings -- I'm gaga over some of the Swedish style rooms they're showing in the current issue. Elle Decor has a fabulous international issue out now. Still love Sunset after all these years. Dwell is great for the modernist take. Country Living for some funkier styles (30 issues for $24!). What else? What do you read? What do you tear out and keep?

I know there's a lot available online*, and some of you are thinking, why would I opt for a tree killer magazine filled with ads, when I can just zoom around online? Because with a magazine, you can sit in your favorite reading chair and relax with it. Tear out a recipe or an article on paint colors, or a dream kitchen. Drink your tea and listen to music and have a moment. It's just not the same sitting at the computer (and by the way, don't those pop-up ads just drive you nuts?). So pick one or two you like, and subscribe today. Keep them alive and well, while we can.

* one of the really good online-only magazines is Lonny. Have you found it yet? It's put together by a group of staffers from the late, great Domino magazine. I quite like it, but it's a different experience turning pages with your mouse, sitting at your office desk, or slumped over your laptop, squinting.