Reader's Digest

I always liked the Humor in Uniform and other sections. I never read much of the rest.

It was something mainly purchased by the older generation (I mean, much older) and as they fade away, so shall the Digest.

I couldn't poop without it for years.

I remember we made Christmas trees out of them at school. You folded all the pages into a tree shape and then spray painted them. So pretty!

My grandmother had a stack of them next to her bed and I read all the humor columns. There was nothing else to read.

I have to admit that I kind of like RD these days. Maybe it's because I'm now in their target demographic, but there are usually several stories I enjoy in any given issue.

My older boyfriend gets this shit in the mail every month. I didn't know it was a old thing.

My grandmother was a devotee. She also bought the Reader's Digest Condensed Books.'

I never understood the point of them, but she read every one.

My favorite part was "Ways to Enrich Your Word Power." I would quiz her on all of them while she cooked dinner.

r6 I like the word quiz every month, too. First thing I read. I usually get almost all of them, but they stump me once in a while.

[quote] My older boyfriend gets this shit in the mail every month. I didn't know it was a old thing.

Have you told him he's an old bitch?

Reader's Digest used to be headquartered in my hometown. Every year the fire department would have fire trucks drive around neighborhoods with Santa Claus giving out free Readers Digest Condensed Books.

I still buy it here and there. I go to the park and and read it while looking at the lagoon and ducks.

Did not know this was still a thing, and I am 60. My grandparents got it, but never my parents. And "condensed books" are an abomination. As I recall, the founders were total right-wingers, too.

I recall Reader's Digest would always advertise as the most renewed magazine in America. The reason was that you just couldn't cancel it.

Once I found out it had right wingers on its Board, I tried hard to cancel my parents' subscription. It still kept coming. I finally wrote a letter that, if they kept sending it, it would be free of charge because they will never get another check from us. It still kept coming

I remember the joke sections--As a kid, I would send in funny stories hoping RD would print them, but they never would

[quote] Reader's Digest used to be headquartered in my hometown

Chappaqua, NY, right? RD used to be in Chappaqua and then moved to, I believe, the town next door, Pleasantville amid a bunch of tax issues. RD gave its land and buildings to the town of Chappaqua. The town is developing it with housing and an outdoor shopping mall.

Believe it or not, Readers Digest still exists. My parents still get mail asking them to subscribe. Readers Digest must buy the AARP mailing lists.

All those mother-in-law jokes! And "That's Outrageous" which often had LBGT things to complain about.

There was always one story about an animal saving someone.

"Drama in Real Life."

Yet none of those were about Claire's baked potato or "Once Around the Garden."

55 yr-old here. my 86 yr-old dad signed me up for it apparently as a free gift he received. I enjoy it for nostalgic reasons as I used to read it off and on years ago. Used to like all the joke pages, drama in real life, and the human anatomy series ("I Am Joe's Heart").

Reader's Digest reminds me of my dentist's office. It was one of many magazines available in the waiting room when I was a kid. Speaking of which, my dentist now has ZERO magazines in the waiting room. I know I'm old, but I like to flip through magazines when I can to avoid even more screen time.

Waiting rooms only have a few magazines for the old people. Everybody else is on their phones.

Quotable Quotes and Life In These United States were always a hoot !!

I subscribe (39 years old). Its perfect for slipping in my pocket for something to read at the coffee shop or while doing laundry. Funny stories and informative articles. I'm also an illustrator and they still use a lot spot art which I appreciate. Consciously trying not to stare at my phone all the time.

r15 Of course it still exists. And they publish a bunch of other magazines, including a nostalgia-themed one called REMINISCE. And I'm sure some of you subscribe to BIRDS AND BLOOMS.

Yeah, I never realized until a few years ago how really square it is, and how borderline racist and homophobic it is, too. It is for people who think ketchup is too spicy.

[quote]My grandmother had a stack of them next to her bed and I read all the humor columns. There was nothing else to read.

How much time did you spend in bed with your grandmother?

Can you show me on the dollie where you touched your grandmother?

HOw long can RD possibly survive?

R20 & R21 — Until you mentioned it I hadn't realized that there are now no longer magazines in doctors' waiting rooms. I just got back from having my teeth cleaned, and actually noticed that everyone (myself included) was fiddling with their phones. On further recollection, I realize there wasn't a magazine in sight.

[quote] How much time did you spend in bed with your grandmother?

[quote] Can you show me on the dollie where you touched your grandmother?

Fuck your dollie, I can tell you my grandmother touched me all over. She was a very sensual woman.

My grandparents loved these and I used to read them when I was little and ran out of library books. Some of their stories were really interesting!

When you were little, stupid RD stories were interesting of course

When I was a kid, we would read the titles adding "under the sheets." Read list and try it, you'll get a few laughs.

I'm 30 and have been subscribed for years. My surrogate mother introduced it to me when I was a kid. I also used to be subscribed to Reminisce and Reminisce extra. I used to have several of their coffee table books. The Best of Reminisce was my favorite one in the series, but it's long out of print. I also had several Taste of Home cookbooks that I never got around to using which I gave to my aunt and one of my great-aunts.

I substituted it for a book on longer train or bus rides. The stories/articles were a perfect length. I've yet to attempt the Christmas tree.

I seem to remember it was fiercely anti-Communist. I came across a school report about the Soviet Union and I had clearly sourced the RD only.

An aunt gave me a subscription. It was ridiculous. It' still popular overseas.

It seems like all magazines are getting smaller and smaller with less content. I've noticed Reader's Digest isn't as thick as it was years ago when my grandparents subscribed. I also recently got a subscription to Vanity Fair, and I noticed the same thing. Magazines are getting cheaper and thinner in quality. I guess because they have so little profit and are barely surviving.

I was a voracious reader as a kid, and I read every issue of my parents' subscription. I still the remember some of the Drama in Real Life stories vividly. There was the guy who survived losing both legs to a wood chipper, the girl who survived in the jungle after a plane crash and maggots infested her wounds, and the pianist who protected her hands during a car crash but ended up with tremendous head injuries and cerebrospinal fluid leaking out of skull that she confused with post nasal drip. These stories were riveting! I'm glad I was too young to be aware of any political slant to the content.