Comments on: Hoarding Magazines http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/2006/01/15/hoarding-magazines/ Everyone has a right to my opinions Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:13:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Mark http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/2006/01/15/hoarding-magazines/#comment-177 Mark Sun, 15 Jan 2006 23:48:43 +0000 http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/?p=115#comment-177 I think that part of the pleasure of buying magazines is that one is not simply buying a publication; in buying a magazine you are promising yourself a period of time, normally on your own in which you can escape whatever else it is that you should be doing. Is it just me, or is at least part of the pleasure the act of buying a paper or magazine, and walking home, or to a cafe, with it burning in your bag or pocket, knowing that you have bought yourself a little slice of leisure time? And I think that perhaps it is this reason which explains why we don't mind the fact that we often don't read them - the intention was good. And in the same way that the initial intention was honorable, so to is that most unrealistic, yet fiercely guarded notion that yes, one day, we will go back and fill in the gaps by picking up those old publications. Nick Hornby's recent collection of 'Believer Magazine' articles, published under the title of 'The Polysyllabic Spree' expresses this same sentiment - we all have bookshelves populated with book bought in the best of faith, unread, and unlikely to ever be read. But they stay there, a collection of promises to the self, that one day, there will be nothing more pressing to do than go back and make amends. I think that part of the pleasure of buying magazines is that one is not simply buying a publication; in buying a magazine you are promising yourself a period of time, normally on your own in which you can escape whatever else it is that you should be doing. Is it just me, or is at least part of the pleasure the act of buying a paper or magazine, and walking home, or to a cafe, with it burning in your bag or pocket, knowing that you have bought yourself a little slice of leisure time? And I think that perhaps it is this reason which explains why we don’t mind the fact that we often don’t read them - the intention was good. And in the same way that the initial intention was honorable, so to is that most unrealistic, yet fiercely guarded notion that yes, one day, we will go back and fill in the gaps by picking up those old publications. Nick Hornby’s recent collection of ‘Believer Magazine’ articles, published under the title of ‘The Polysyllabic Spree’ expresses this same sentiment - we all have bookshelves populated with book bought in the best of faith, unread, and unlikely to ever be read. But they stay there, a collection of promises to the self, that one day, there will be nothing more pressing to do than go back and make amends.

]]> By: matgb http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/2006/01/15/hoarding-magazines/#comment-176 matgb Sun, 15 Jan 2006 18:11:02 +0000 http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/?p=115#comment-176 I know exactly how you feel, even now, having cleaned out the last years worth of newspapers (every Independent; why keep them?), I still have a stack of Private Eyes, and there are New Statesmen, Spectators, etc scattered everywhere. Utterly stupid (especially as tey're pretty much all available online somewhere), never look again at any of them, but, well, they're mine, and they're good (or something). Ah well... I know exactly how you feel, even now, having cleaned out the last years worth of newspapers (every Independent; why keep them?), I still have a stack of Private Eyes, and there are New Statesmen, Spectators, etc scattered everywhere.

Utterly stupid (especially as tey’re pretty much all available online somewhere), never look again at any of them, but, well, they’re mine, and they’re good (or something). Ah well…

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