My Favorite Magazines

In the past, I've highlighted my favorite blogs and my favorite websites so I thought it about time to highlight my favorite magazines.

This is a tough thing to do, winnow down the magazines you read frequently to a mere ten. Sadly, many good magazines didn't make it on the list (and many good magazines I probably haven't stumbled on yet probably will make the list in the future). Good Magazine, some time back, discussed their choices for the 51 Best Magazines Ever, and The Millions made their case that the best magazine ever is The New Yorker.

Without further ado, my favorite magazines (in no particular order)...

1) Esquire. A great well-rounded magazine without all the ridiculous soft-core porn offered by Playboy. Esquire has your fluffy celebrity profiles and "What To Wear on Your First Date" type stories, but also has great features including stories about Dennis Kucinich and tuberculosis (not the same story), education reform and bacon (again, not the same story...though that would have been totally awesome).

2) The New Yorker. Just holding its pages makes me feel smarter. I'm always amazed about what I'll be interested in reading once I actually start reading it. Who knew I'd be interested in prison reform or mushroom hunting or dueling or Bush's scriptwriters or a cornucopia of other topics if it hadn't been for this magazine? Add to that Sedaris essays, Roz Chast cartoons, and frequent contributions by Steve Martin and I'm a happy guy, indeed. The only knock? It comes out weekly and, really, who can read all of it before the next one comes out?

3) New York Times Magazine. I don't subscribe to the Sunday NY Times, though I probably should. Instead, I go down to my local coffee house, Cafe Luna, and steal it. I'm a bad person.

4) The Atlantic Monthly. Smart, sharp, witty, and with a slight sense of humor that Harper's doesn't have. They also employ Matthew Yglesias, a great blogger.

5) Vanity Fair. For the longest time I thought Vanity Fair was a magazine for women. How wrong I was. I apologize.

6) Outside Magazine. Great writing about great topics from great writers. It's the magazine that helped launch Jon Krakauer and that's a magazine I can read and read often.

7) Smithsonian. Their December issue has a story about the keepers of the missing Ark of the Convenant. How cool is that? Did I mention I'm totally psyched about the coming Indiana Jones movie?

8) National Geographic, National Geographic Adventure and National Geographic Traveler. It goes without saying that National Geographic would be on the list.

9) Mental Floss. I'm a dork.

10) Good Magazine. I'm a dork, and an optimist.

HAPPY READING!