Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Good-Bye Cosmo

I received my October Cosmo recently, which is my last issue. No, nothing is happening to the magazine, I just decided not a renew my subscription. Its a little bittersweet. Ever since high school Cosmo has been my favorite magazine. I used to say I couldn't fly without one, and every time I flew home from college I would buy one. I soon learned that as long as I was buying 2 or 3 Cosmos a year it was far cheaper to just subscribe, and that's what I've been doing for the past 3 years.

Why did I decide not to renew, considering most of the time you can get a subscription for around $15? Partly because after reading it for almost 10 years it each article seems to be strangely familiar. It's kind of hard to come up with brand new material year after year, month after month.

But mainly its because a lot of it no longer applies to my life. I don't really feel like I need to read dating tips and no longer need to read articles telling me "Why He Hasn't Called," or something similar. Which I guess means I'm leaving a life stage behind. Look at it this way. In elementary school I used to subscribe to American Girl Magazine. After a few years I grew out of that and started reading Seventeen. And by high school I moved onto Cosmopolitan.

Which brings up the question, what now? Don't get me wrong I'll still be receiving Entertainment Weekly and Glamour in the mail so I won't be magazine free, but part of me thinks I should replace Cosmo with something else. I do like reading Redbook, which I feel is somewhat similar to a married person's Cosmo, but I'm not married. On a similar note I like reading wedding magazines, but I'm not engaged and would feel awfully silly subscribing to one. So basically I'm not sure what the next step is. Anyone have any good suggestions? What magazines do you subscribe to or enjoy reading? Anyone else feel a little guilty when you choose to stop receiving a magazine you almost seemed to grow up with?

~Shoshanah

14 comments:

  1. I'm really not a fan of Cosmo at all and never buy it anymore. I read Glamour, Chatelaine (a Canadian magazine which is kind of like Glamour) and running magazines. I've perused Redbook a few times but still feel like it's a bit "old" for my taste!

    Maybe shop around a bit before you find a subscription to replace Cosmo!

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  2. I read Cosmo, but lately I've been feeling like you and that it's less relevant to my life. I subscribe to a few mags- Glamour, Rachael Ray, Food and Wine, Real Simple and Victoria (I've loved this mag since I was little!) and recently contemplated subscribing to Southern Living, but that scared my New England self a bit too much :)

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  3. The only magazines I get are EW and Glamour as well. However I think I might take up cosmo since my life seems to be progressing backwards.

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  4. Marie Claire, Lucky & Allure would be good Cosmo replacements! I feel like Cosmo always has the same "advice" columns as well... but I can't bring myself to end my subscription! I do still enjoy the beauty and fashion... so I'm gonna go with that! Maybe once I'm married I will step up to a "grown up" cosmo!

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  5. I adore Marie Claire, I subscribe to it and I'm rarely disappointed by an issue. I buy a Glamour here and there when it interest me and I generally enjoy them.

    Town and Country is another one I love but it's def geared towards an older more affluent woman but I enjoy reading it and dreaming. It's also an interesting mix of design, society, and fashion.

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  6. I agree with Baker Girl, I LOVE Marie Claire!!! It's by far my favorite. It has all kinds of of my favorite's from Glamour but also lots of human interest stories plus great fashion!

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  7. I like Marie Claire, Glamour, Oprah, and Real Simple. I almost bought Comso today but I made the same realization. It's just not me anymore.

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  8. I used to love Cosmo, but it got a little repetitive for me too. I absolutely adore Glamour and Real Simple now. InStyle is fun to look through, and it's like $5 for a year on amazon right now, so I just subscribed to that. Marie Claire is good too, and I'm thinking of subscribing to Allure. Also, Rachel Ray's magazine looks fun, but I haven't really gotten to look through an issue yet.

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  9. I agree with the Cosmo thing. Every article seems to be the same. I like People...less trashy gossip than US Weekly with some real life feel good stories thrown in. In Style is good too.

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  10. I love Entertainment Weekly- especially their movie and fall tv previews.

    I am intimidated by magazines like Cosmo because 95% of the pages seem to be advertisements.

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  11. Yeah, I hear ya on this one. I used to love it, but now I find it irrelevant and a bit trashy.

    Are you going to subscribe to anything else?

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  12. I know how you feel... I gave up Cosmo a few years ago. I just felt like I had out grown it.

    For fashion I like Elle and Vogue. Since you're such a good cook, what about a cooking magazine? Oh! Maybe you could make one recipe a month from the magazine and share it on your blog. :)

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  13. Self, Women's Health, Real Simple, Health, Everyday with Rachael Ray (one of my faves- great mag!), Southern Living

    I love all sorts of magazines. Even the ones that most people wouldn't expect- woman's day, family circle, better homes & gardens, etc.

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