Magazines

 
A fairly wide range of magazines makes it into my house every month. This is, in part, down to work - I need to see what issues are being discussed and what issues and sections I can pitch as a freelance journalist. Secondly, they're fun. Of course, my magazine habit can get costly. Every month, Easy Living and Living etc drop on to my door mat. During the course of the month I may also pick up (but not every month) Red, Essentials, w&h or something else that grabs my eye from the women's shelves. I like these because they are intelligent, they aren't solely concerned with fashion and 'how to please your man'. [Disclaimer: I have written for w&h and Easy Living as a freelance].

Interior decor mags are lots of fun. Looking on the shelf of magazines I'm currently clearing out, I can see Real Homes, House Beautiful, Ideal Home, Country Home, Your Home and Elle Decor. I can't see how the sort of writing I produce would fit with these, so they are purely for pleasure. Of course, we're looking at around £2.90-£3.90 a magazine these days so it all adds up.

Subs then, are the way to go. My Easy Living sub cost £12 for a year via a leaflet in the magazine, my Living etc sub was courtesy of Tesco clubcard coupons (only available in the UK, sorry lovely overseas people). I've just been browsing the latter's site and for home decor I see sub offers for Coast, Country Living, Elle Decor, House Beautiful and Ideal Home. So, as a little January gift to myself, I'm laying down £12 of tokens for a year of Elle Decor. I also added £10 of tokens to convert to £40 of Pizza Express tokens. Free mags for a year + free pizza out = fab.

Which magazines are in your house? Do you keep them all?