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Sue's avatar

I remember Tiger Beat and then Seventeen Magazine from my teen years.

There really is something indulgent about a glossy magazine. Going on vacation with an armful of magazines is the height of luxury to me. If I am making a care package for someone, I want to include magazines. While I do not miss physical books vs ebooks, I do think that the feel of the pages of a magazine as you flip through is something I miss.

Thanks for another post!

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Laura K Bray's avatar

I always take magazines on flights with me. Having a stack of them, along with some good snacks is the best way to spend a flight.

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iHanna's avatar

Yes, I loved all of those magazines too, and hope they're not all extinct yet!?

These days I don't really read many magazines but I love cutting them up and "harvesting" them for collage fodder still. Creating art is a great distraction from scrolling/the world. :)

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Laura K Bray's avatar

They are fun to use for collage!

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Karen Houlding's avatar

You've sparked a lot of memories with this post, Laura! I remember my Mom drinking Tab, too and Fresca. I don't remember if she read magazines, but I faithfully read Dynamite and Ranger Rick, then Tiger Beat, etc. later on. I plastered my walls with pages ripped out of Donny & Marie, John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Leif Garrett, Charlie's Angels, Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman and more! I love to read on paper whether it's magazines or books. I think it slows us down and the tactile connection with the paper is priceless! Thanks for sparking these memories!

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Laura K Bray's avatar

I love that, "our connection with paper is priceless". So true!

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Nicole MacPherson's avatar

My favourite school fundraiser was the magazine fundraiser! I also read Cosmopolitan and Self as a young woman, hoo boy. I still remember the sex advice with respect to using a scrunchie and you know what, DON'T TRY IT, THIS IS A BAD IDEA.

When I was a kid my mom got Canadian Living and Chatelaine, and I have very nostalgic memories about those magazines. I loved them so much. My grandma always got Women's World and I swear that those magazines contributed to a lifetime of disordered eating. "Lose ten pounds this week! Lose three dress sizes in ten days! Etcetera!" I remember reading the meal plans and I'm sure they were probably 1000 calories a day or something like that.

The best magazine - and I wish I had kept copies - was Sassy. I think that maybe that was just a couple years after you would have been the age to read them, because I was about 13 when I started reading them. I felt like it was a "smart" magazine for teens, but also had sections on beauty products and movies. I still remember the discussion about the Iraq/ Kuwait war, and how it presented a balanced perspective on ALL sides, which was pretty rare for a North American magazine in 1990.

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Laura K Bray's avatar

Yes, Cosmo was RACY. And equally yes, don't try many of it's suggestions at home. I never read Sassy but it sounds like it was good. Are we failing today's teens by only offering IG to scroll instead of some age-appropriate but thought provoking articles?

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Kaarin Marx Smith's avatar

One more thing we share -- a magazine addiction! My favorite way to spend Friday nights when I was in highschool (okay...kind of an introvert here) was in the bathtub reading a magazine -- Seventeen or my mom's Good Housekeeping or Better Homes and Gardens. As an adult I subscribed to Sphere, Real Simple, Sunset...they all felt so indulgent to read. I love the idea of turning back to magazines for content rather than endlessly scrolling through my phone.

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Laura K Bray's avatar

I love Sunset! I forgot about that one. We'll have to bring stacks of magazines to our next writing retreat.

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