Magazine Rant

I’m feeling peevish today about the number of favorite magazines going out of print. Yesterday I received a mystery copy of Martha Stewart Living in the mail, and when I called the subscription number,they told me it was good until August ’09. I don’t subscribe to MSL, and don’t want to. Couldn’t figure it out, then talked to a customer service rep. Seems that Mary Engelbreit Home Companion stopped publication, effective February 1, and switched us over to Martha Stewart. I don’t want Martha Stewart, I want ME, so I told them to just send me a refund. I'm getting a whopping $7 back. I subscribed to MSL for a while, and realized I never opened the plastic wrapper, and was giving them away without looking at them. But ME? I kept all my issues, I look at them over and over. I’m really disappointed.

And this on the heels of Country Home magazine going away. I just renewed that one in October - and the goofballs are still accepting subscriptions on their website! And of course the notice that Cottage Living was also folding. At least they wrote and said I’m getting the rest of my subscription as Southern Living. Why would I want Southern Living – I live in Cleveland, for crying out loud. I had all the Southern Living exposure I wanted when I lived in NC, and I just don’t feel there’s any comparison as to type of magazine.

So, out of all the magazines I get, that's three going away, thanks to this lousy economy. Those are my respites, my vacations, my inspiration and pick-me-ups, and now they are no more. Three left for me - Country Living, Romantic Homes, and Victoria. If those go away, particularly Romantic Homes...well, my mailman will be less burdened, but I'm going to be mighty unhappy.