Later today, my wife will take her two kids on holiday. We’re both real excited - my daughter about all the songs we’re going to sing in the car and all the card games she’s going to learn, and me about all those elegant French birds. But, I realise they’re out of my league (okay for my fantasy league, I guess), so what I’m really excited about is the magazines that I’ll be picking up at WH Smith. No, not Club International for the adventures of Sandy, but The Spectator and Private Eye, two thoroughly British specimens, which I’ll savour not just on the flight but while en France.
So, question: what are the magazines that you hardly ever buy when at home, but invariably buy when you take an aeroplane?
I find the ones at the airport are a tad too pricey. I mean, I can get the same magazine at walgreens for less. Why pay more? Well, at least at my airport they seem to be more.
However, If I did buy any, it would be Interview. Providing they had it.
I haven’t flown in many years, but I used to enjoy reading trashy tabloids during a long flight. That was the only time I would ever buy 'em. I have no idea where this habit came from.
I always get a paperback. If I’m in a real airport (which is not often, considering where I am usually flying from/to) I can usually get something I want to read. Otherwise I get the book equivalent of the movie ‘Die Hard’. Other times I’m so hung over I just sleep.
You intrigued me enough that I did a search for your location. Yes, I doubt one could pick up The Spectator there.
Back on topic: I’ve just passed the 23-page printout of the “Have you ever been arrested?” thread to the printing and publications dept. for binding. Looks like I’ll have a free “true confessions” mag for this flight.
I normally only get a couple newspapers. However, if I do get a magazine, it’s often the Economist. Most of the other magazines the kiosks have are of no interest to me.
In my experience, magazines at the airport have the same cover price as the ones at my local Barnes & Noble.
I subscribe to about 8 magazines, so i never buy any of those at the airport. I often buy the New Yorker before boarding a plane, and on other occasions i will pick up a photography or computer magazine.
I’d second Private Eye - I do enjoy it although I don’t read it often enough to get all of their in-jokes. I also get very smug indeed if I can get 1 or 2 of their crossword clues (I’m rubbish at crosswords).
I used to get Viz too, but now I have a subscription to that, there’s no need. It’s also a rather embarassing magazine to be reading - it looks like a kid’s comic but the language is far from childish - I’m glad I never ended up in an embarrassing situation with some child reading over my shoulder and asking their parents what it meant!
I buy “Harper’s”. It’s almost alway available at the airport, but never at places I frequent in normal life. I should probably subscribe, but the only time I buy new subscriptions are when the neighbor kids are selling for school, and “Harper’s” is never on their list.
Scientific American, Discover or Metropolitan Home.
The last time I was at the airport, I was tempted to pick up one of the Dan Brown’s other books in paperback (I haven’t read The DaVinci Code and don’t intend to, but I’m curious); I read the first paragraph and changed my mind.
I always have a book with me on trips, but when I fly it’s pretty much just to NYC (the wait at the gate is always longer than the flight itself) so I usually prefer a magazine or two on the plane. If I pass a store in the terminal and I have a few bucks to spare, I tend to pick up People or Cosmopolitan. I’ll admit that I’ve bought Cosmo for home reading a few times, but I don’t think I’ve ever bought People anywhere but an airport.
I’ll pick up Wired, which I browse through at our company’s library a few times a year. Lots of interesting techy stuff, and enough to read for a few hours.