Yesterday I read that the parent company of Reader’s Digest filed for bankruptcy protection again. It brought back a bunch of nostalgic memories.
It would be a curious thing to see a brain scan that could show where knowledge was acquired. If such a process existed, I think I would be safe to say that one of the main learning sources during my adolescent years would have been from voraciously reading the Reader’s Digest every month. I am quite confident in saying that I learned more from that magazine that I did from Junior High or High School.
When I was a wee lad, I honestly thought the Reader’s Digest was a Church publication for adults, like the Children’s Friend was for the kids. Why? Because we had a faithful Home Teacher who would trudge up the road to our house every month, rain or shine, with his Reader’s Digest in hand. He would sit on the couch and visit, mostly with my parents, and then pull out the magazine and read an article or story. I usually enjoyed them.
The variety of the Reader’s Digest kept it interesting, and I really loved how certain “departments” were there every month. Especially the jokes. There were jokes and funny anecdotes strewn throughout, but there were topical collections, such as “Campus Comedy,” “Humor in Uniform,” “All in a Day’s Work,” and of course, “Laughter the Best Medicine.” I remember my mom reading articles by Erma Bombeck and laughing herself silly.
There is nothing a boy enjoys more than a fresh batch of jokes every month – and you have to admit, guys, that the jokes in the back of the Boy’s Life were pretty terrible.
There was a regular feature called “Drama in Real Life,” where the story was told of some poor guy who was stranded on a mountaintop, lost at sea, trapped in a burning building, or some other hopeless situation. It was always exciting, and life affirming. I remember one particular story where a man had a month long ordeal at sea, floating on a life raft after the ship he was on sank. I was reminded of this recently when I read the book “Unbroken.” At the time, I was so fascinated by that survival tale, that I went to the library and checked out every book I could find that was about people being lost at sea. Ahh, the library…that is another wistful post for another time.
Perhaps I have always been a geek, but I always liked the Word Power game. It was basically a vocabulary quiz. I know that I learned words from this that I incorporated into my own vocabulary.
There were always articles that didn’t mean much to me at the time, about finances, politics, etc. But I read a lot of them, and I think it helped make an impact on my desire to read a large variety of materials.
So here is the sad part. As I have been typing this, it occurred to me that I have written everything in the past tense. Why? Because I can’t even remember the last time I picked up a copy of the Reader’s Digest that wasn’t sitting in a doctor’s waiting room.
When did I stop reading it? I know we subscribed early in our marriage. Maybe we quit because of money, or because the internet provided enough stuff to read without paying for it. I don’t remember. Either way, it has probably been a mistake to not have it around the house – and a disservice for my kids.
(I just took 3 minutes and subscribed. $15 a year – I can handle that.) (After I subscribed, I found a better deal here)
Anyway, it is sad to see things that mattered to us become lost to us, and I hope the Reader’s Digest can right its financial ship and recover. It would break my heart to lose another important piece of my personal nostalgia so closely on the heels of the death of yellow Zingers..
sad my grandpa introduced me to reader’s digest when I was in grade school. He gave me his RD collection when I was in high school a cabinet full but I have to leave them to our old house in Iloilo Because of RD I learned how to read better english. yah it’s nostalgic. Ps I love laughter the best medicine Hi MMM I’m your new fan from the Philippines.
I agree, the RD is not what it used to be. We still subscribe, reluctant to let go of a once very good thing, but I can take it or leave it. I have to admit that they do try to keep it up beat and that is refreshing.
I still have a couple of my hardcover Treasury for Young Readers books, they mean so much to me. Sadly, I think you’ll find that the Reader’s Digest of our youth is no longer the same; there are offensive, suggestive items just like in every other “modern” magazine. I think perhaps it’s going bankrupt not because we’re all online, but because decent people look for better stuff than the reinvented Reader’s Digest supplies.
Read mine cover to cover every month. First an Ensign article, then on to the RD… guess your HT was right… they really do fit together nicely:) welcome back:)
–Kandis
You HAD to bring up the yellow zingers?! I just worked my way past the hiccup crying and moved on to a dainty tear glistening on my cheek – back to the sup-sups! Thanks a lot fella!
I grew up with it also, and loved it so much that my dad bought me my own subscription when I got married…best wedding present ever. : )
I have always loved Reader’s Digest. My mother was a school librarian, so we always had plenty of books to read. However, Reader’s Digest was a family favorite. I still enjoy it. Now I need to go renew my subscription!
Oh, and I think you meant to type “wee” lad. 🙂
When I was a substitute teacher for several years, I always took a Readers’ Digest to read the “Drama In Real Life” story in case there weren’t lesson plans. Middle School kids LOVE them.
I love Readers Digest too, and when I was young I often tried to write something to send in to them. I had great hopes of getting paid the money they promised. 🙂 Sadly they didn’t find my stories as humorous as I did. lol It occurs to me now that I can probably get it on my I pad!
I grew up with RD too. We lived in a tiny norther Arizona town and had to drive an hour to another tiny northern Arizona town to see our family doctor…because scrappy tiny town kids don’t need Pediatricians…there was always a RD in the waiting room. I loved the “Drama in Real Life” section. I’ll never forget the day I was in the middle of one and my Mom finished with whatever kid needed to see the doctor and said it was time to go. I argued I was almost done and had to finish to see if he survived. She looked over so matter of factly and said, “Of course he survived who do you think is telling the story?” I never read that section the same again…after all, I already knew the ending. I did keep reading those stories though and learned valuable lessons about problem solving and perseverance.
I read it every month. Sadly, wish the magazine was a bit longer and had fewer drug advertisements. My grandfather always quoted jokes from RD because they were clean. I hope they will keep publishing it. I like the “Everyday Heroes” section.
What do you mean the jokes in the back of Boy’s Life are lame? I LOVE them and always have. I read them back when I was growing up with brothers older and younger who subscribed to Boy’s Life. Since I have four sons I read the Boy’s Life jokes monthly, and I still love them. Many of the riddles are recycled from my childhood and they still bring a laugh. We dropped our subscription to RD simply because subscribing meant being the recipient of too much junk mail. We pick up the magazine a few times a year at the store. At used book stores I have found collections of jokes or anecdotes (Life in These United States, for example)and bought them to enjoy. Once I found an RD from WW2 and enjoyed it immensely. Thanks for sharing.
The strangest thing….I found some old Reader’s Digest from the 1930s and 40s and I’ve been so entranced by them lately, even putting some on my blog. But I never thought to subscribe to it! So I just did, thanks to you MMM!! What a kind link you sent to us.
For example, here’s a post I did recently about a RDs from 1947:
http://adventuresofgrandmahoney.blogspot.com/2013/01/readers-digest-1947.html
I grew up reading Reader’s Digest, too! My mom kept all of her copies, so I actually went through the whole collection of 30-40 magazines and read them starting when I was 10. I would always look for the joke sections first, and they got better as time went on. Good ol’ Reader’s Digest.
Love me the RD and yes, I need to renew my subscription, thanks for the reminder
I am an avid Reader’s Digest reader. I think I have a 4 year subscription. I grew up on it too!
Faithful subscriber for decades. Issues stick around and are re-visited for months before being donated – usually to our local Kaiser. We stick them in our bags, take them to our rooms, read bits to each other. There is usually a copy to be found in the “reading room.” I also subscribe to their Condensed Books, now Select Editions, which has brought to me authors and genres I otherwise would not have read.
I’m reading a book from the library about an airplane crew from WWII who survived a plane crash, only to find themselves stranded in the unfriendly jungles of New Guinea. It’s so, so good. Non-fiction, but it’s so well-written that it feels like a fictional story.
I am so impressed what people overcame to fight for our country.
It’s a great book: http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Shangri-Survival-Adventure-Incredible/dp/0061988359.
We always had The Reader’s Digest around when I was growing up and I loved it too. One time my Dad and I had driven into town (Gallup, New Mexico!) and after running our errands, we stopped at the grocery store for a few things and he picked up a Reader’s Digest. I was looking forward to reading it on the 50 mile trip back home. But he got in on the passenger side and told me I would be driving. I had my permit but was just a beginner and was not thrilled about driving on highways yet. He calmly read the Reader’s Digest–chuckling to himself at the jokes– as I white-knuckled it home. Now that I am riding with beginner drivers I could use the Reader’s Digest to keep me calm. I used to subscribe and I would get good deals on gift subscriptions so all of my siblings got it for Christmas. Time to renew and see if we can save a little piece of our literary culture.
I loved Reader’s Digest too! I thumbed through one at the dentist’s office the other day. Hadn’t seen one in years. Of course I stopped at all the joke pages. I was quite disappointed to see that Word Power has been “dumbed down.” (Or maybe I’m just lots smarter than the last time I tried it.)
Maybe we need a link to the subscription page because I was thinking the same thing. I think I am a better reader than my kids will ever be – because of the Reader’s Digest. And I know I read articles on subjects I never would have just because at the end of the month you have already read everything else. The question now is which bathroom to place it in, and how to keep electronics out of the bathroom….hmm.