Todd Strader
In this installment of the Pushing My Shelf blog series, Todd talks about finding just the right kind of magazine.
This month we thought we would do a blog series for the Push Your Shelf Bingo Challenge. The challenge is to complete Bingo squares that “push your shelf.” In other words, read or try something that you might not ordinarily consider; something not typically found on your bookshelf. Find out more here.
To cheer you on some participating staff members* are contributing short blogs that recount their experience completing a Bingo challenge and describing how that square “pushes their shelf”.
* Staff members can play. (Just not win.)
Todd Strader is the Information Services Coordinator at the Handley Library
I decided to read a book that completes the square “Read a Print or Online Magazine.” Yes, I’ve read a lot of magazines. However, the Library has a collection of literary magazines that I have been meaning to try out including Ellery Queen’s Mysteries Magazine, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Analog Science Fiction and Fact.
The magazines in our collection have a great retro feel that I find charming. The size, binding, and design of these long-standing periodical titles is much the same now as when first presented in the 30s, 40s and 50s. They harken back to their “pulp” magazine origins; so named because they used cheap paper made from pulp wood. And just like the pulps from yester year, I like that each issue is packed with several short stories written both by accomplished authors and break out authors.
I discovered that I really enjoy these magazines for a couple of reasons. I like that I can finish a story in a single sitting, and they come in a travel size. So, lunch break, doctors’ office, anytime there is a short wait these little magazines are perfect. The content is diverse so there is bound to be something in each issue that I like. And they are a great way to explore authors without committing to a larger read. If you are thinking of checking off that BINGO square about magazines you might want to tryout one the libraries literary magazines.
