Saturday 15 February 2014

My name is Karen and I am an addict........







It seems a long time since my last proper post – sadly I hit that whole writers block thing and worried that anything I had to say was quite simply not very interesting :( I have tried to keep posting with my Thoughtful Thursday picture and quote combo but needed inspiration.....

Luckily my group of blog friends that I found through ‘Blogging From the Heart’  have stepped in with a group challenge involving choosing prompts for each other....  The lovely Cordula  chose this one for me “What you’re addicted to, and why”

Hmmm, I’m probably addicted to lots of things in small ways. I can’t sleep at night without having read at least a page from my book (or the same page several times if I’ve had a drink!) I can’t imagine life without Earl Grey or new shoes and I am probably more than a little enthusiastic about checking FaceBook sometimes.

However, there is one thing that I am shamefully addicted to which I will now lay bare for you. I have hinted at this addiction in previous posts but now is the time for the full truth. Magazines. I love them, have to have them, need my fix and I don’t know why... In my more sensible moments I can list all the reasons why I shouldn’t buy them. Too expensive, full of adverts, more clutter for my already crammed house, articles with info that I could easily find in more depth online, etc etc etc. But I still find myself scanning the displays, being lured in by glossy covers, free gifts, the promise of delights within. I said out loud to DD recently that I would buy less magazines this year whilst clutching the latest ‘Homes and Antiques’ to my fevered bosom. She laughed and said I would never stick to it. She was right.

In more insane moments I have been known to buy the same magazine twice, forgetting that I already have that issue in a pile at home. I promise myself that I will read, cut out interesting bits then recycle... Ha! Cut up my beautiful pages, even of the doubles??  Some publications I have every issue of, neatly filed. Oh the panic that set in when I realised that foolishly I had missed a copy of The Simple Things – a gap in my set, the anguish! (hooray for back issues) Some publications just reflect my changing interests. Spring time is nearly all gardening mags, I go through phases, yoga mags, craft, interiors, history, Christmas (never trashy celebrity mags  I'm proud to admit).

So what is it about magazines? I actually don’t know. Maybe it’s the fact that each new purchase means I get to treat myself to a cup of tea and a few precious moments to myself. Maybe I'm scared I’ll miss some piece of life-changing advice (I would never have discovered Susannah Conway if not for a magazine). Maybe it’s a way to inspire myself in an easy to access way. No matter how much I love browsing the internet, there is nothing quite the same as flicking through a magazine. It’s like Pinterest on Paper.

No, I am standing up here and now to declare my addiction and to make a pledge to address it once and for all. From this day forward I promise to only buy two magazines a month. Just two. One, two, that is all.


Unless that free gift is something really special! ;) 

5 comments:

  1. Magazines offer inspiration for sure. In all of those areas of interest, new ideas and amazing areas of learning lay within...and presented in a wonderfully glossy fashion too. I subscribe (and check each day in WHSmiths when publication is due) to 3 or 4 monthly mags and 2 quarterlys. This isn't too bad except in one case I have collected the magazine for 25 years and not chucked a single one out. Those large plastic boxes from 'useful shops'...yep the attic is full of very heavy magazine filled boxes!

    Of course friends and relatives sometimes have said 'oh you like (insert hobby here) don't you? and then proceed to give you box upon box of their 1970's magazines from the attic...actually this isn't me being ungrateful - as EBay will probably nudge my bank account into a happier state one day should I sell them (as if I would sell them!) :-)

    Anyway, magazines - yep you're an addict but it's all good stuff..and you could always use them as bedding for a giant hamster in an emergency.

    Jason

    Ps. I have 2 very large boxes of the football magazine 'Shoot' I collected as a child in the 1970's in the attic for sale. Should you need to add to your collection these contain lots of gentlemen in very short shorts, long hair and bandito moustaches... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hmmmm, so very nearly tempted! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ahh I do love a good magazine! But I don't buy them often as these days I end up half way through and then forgetting about them!
    My addiction is the internet in all it's glory - I spend *far* too much time online. >_<

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes - it is easy to lose several hours to the internet! But then luckily I have 'teenage controls' in place, the teenagers have use of the computers so my time is strictly limited :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very funny confession! I had to pare down my magazine collection the last time I moved, and have done fairly well not building it back up since. But my book collection is a whole different story! I can relate to your buying the same issue twice, as I've done that many many times with books!!

    ReplyDelete