Monday, February 25, 2013

To Reader's Digest

Reader's Digest
What a magazine that was! What an amazing concept.
It was just the right book to wean a beginner into serious reading.
A beginner ... dug into snippets from Laughter is the best medicine or Humour in uniform.
Graduated to enjoying a play on words? Read the yummy two-liners that appear at random after an article as surprise gifts.
Garner some medical info from the health series called I am John's... (liver, pancreas, muscles etc etc).
Tales of warmth and kindness and soul-stirring reality give courage to face smaller turmoils. There was rarely any horror or evil. It made you feel that the world is a wonderful place after-all.
Drama in real life provided nail biting stories... that I often read in a hurry... to see what happens in the end. These stories carried us into US and into the strange crisis they face....
 a delivery in a far away cottage, a car crash victim who crawls a few miles before he reaches help, a shark  attack....snow...blizzard...typhoons...twisters
The - Test your word power - that made us feel scholarly if we earned Good.
And then if you are ready for serious reading... there is the abridged story in the last section of the book.
The back covers carried painting by upcoming artists. I spent many afternoons trying to replicate the paintings.
The world was divided into two classes of families...those who read Reader's Digest and those who didn't.

But over the years, I changed and so did Reader's Digest. It lost its charm. Perhaps it is too soft? Perhaps it is too diverse?

But I feel sad when they say it will close.
Thank You Reader's Digest. You have given me hours of immense joy.  And much claim to elite reading.
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Today I Salute
All marathon runners who have it in them to place one step after another to complete a marathon. and particularly to Fauja Singh who ran at the rollicking age of 101








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