Now I'm a Believer

I know I've mentioned before my obsession with The Believer. But I'm not sure I've ever talked about why it is that I am obsessed with it. I'm sure there will be plenty of people who disagree with me, or even who don't care for it at all, but in my opinion The Believer is the best magazine in America, and this is why:

For starters, I love the physical attributes of the magazine. Unlike your typical glossy mag, The Believer is printed on high quality matte paper. To me personally this means two things. 1) it begs to be saved. I pour over my copies and then put them on the shelf with all the other issues I own, which I have serious plans to hold on to for the rest of my life. 2) it's much easier for read. I am very light sensitive, and when I look at white surfaces they actually glow. I've never really been sure why. I've tried to describe it to people I thought might be able to explain it me (doctor's, specialists on learning disabilities, etc.) and no such luck. The "brighter" white a surface is, the more it glows. This is true for the pages of books as well. The brighter white a page is, the more it glows and the harder it is for me to read. This is reflected in reading pace, the speed of onset of eye strain related fatigue, etc. Glossy magazine pages are basically the worst. Not only are the pages bright white, but they're already shiny, which just makes the glowing affect worse. The Believer is printed on matte, off-white pages, which means the glow factor is much more limited. Other physical attributes I like include the incredibly distinctive cover art by Charles Burns, the somewhat incongruous (but usually appealingly so) illustrations strewn throughout each issue and done by a different artist each month, and the general layout and formatting of the magazine.

I love the that the one commandment of The Believer is Thou Shalt not Publish Bad Reviews. The world of book reviews and literary criticism is filled with searing reviews of books the reviewer has decided are loathsome. While I suppose some people find this useful in helping them avoid the bad books that are out there, I feel differently about that kind of review. I would much rather know what to read than what not to read. Knowing what books are bad doesn't help me choose what to read next. Reading The Believer adds more to my constantly expanding reading list than anything else. I also feel that many of the reviewers who can't ever seem to find anything nice to say about a book are a lot like the Post film critics. As far as I can tell, the Post film critics have just seen far too many movies. They never like anything. And usually if the like something it's so bizarre that every normal human being finds it unwatchable. My Mom and I have said for years that if one of the Post critics likes a movie, we won't see it and if they hate it, we will. There are exceptions. And before you decide that all the members of the winsexy clan have totally pedestrian taste, I should clarify that we, well, don't. I mean sometimes, yes, but not always. Just take my word for it. Anyway, I think many book reviewers have just read too much and everything seems the same. Which I kind of understand. If I read that much I might feel the same way. But I think once you get to the point that you don't like anything you read, it may be time to get a new job. Enter The Believer which only publishes good reviews, helping out those of us that actually enjoy reading.

One of the things about The Believer that I am most fond of, is the way it makes me feel when I read it. Every time I sit down to read The Believer I feel a little smarter once I stand up again. And I don't mean this in the I look cool and feel smarter because I know The Believer is an intelligent magazine kind of way. What I am talking about is that every time I read The Believer I learn something I didn't already know or I understand something in a way I was previously unaware of or incapable of grasping. Not only do I enjoy it, but I really believe it makes my consciousness richer. Maybe not in the super structured hyper-intellectualised way I felt school made my consciousness richer (and I certainly don't mean this in a bad way, those of you who know me well know I loved school), but I still believe it contributes to a more intelligent, more interesting winsexy. And since I think striving to be ever more intelligent and interesting is an admirable goal and one of the things I like to think shapes my life, I love The Believer for assisting me in that quest.