Ideas, Opinions, Genealogy, and Book Reviews
I had mentioned last month that I had subscribed to the Wilson Quarterly for years and enjoyed it. They stopped printing paper copies so now I can get the articles on-line or on my Kindle. Continue reading “Wilson Quarterly, Pacific Standard, Frustrated Blogger, and Expanding Social Security”
I mentioned before that I subscribed to the Wilson Quarterly by mail for several years. There were long articles and almost always several were interesting. There were shorter articles (maybe a page or so) which summarized longer articles often published in scholarly journals or more popular magazines of the intellectual or policy type. And Book Reviews that I found interesting.
The Wilson Quarterly was a very thought provoking and often gave me a look and differing perspectives on various issues. But a while back, they stopped printing on paper and published the Quarterly on the web.
I was trying to decide if I wanted a web subscription. I enjoy reading in my easy chair and was looking for something that would allow me to read the Wilson Quarterly without sitting at my computer. Of course I could get a web subscription and read at my desk or on my laptop or Chromebook.
I also noticed they have subscriptions via iPad, Nook, Kindle Fire, Kindle, Android Tablets and Sony but I had none of these except an old Kindle. So I thought I would give the Kindle subscription a try.
I was a bit skeptical since the Kindle was several years old (no touch) and I was unsure how easy it would be to maneuver around the Wilson Quarterly as there are several sections and several articles withing each section. So far it seems fairly easy to move around and read articles of interest.
Amazon has a try it policy. I am now trying out the Kindle version for a 30 day trial. You order and give credit card info but they won’t start charging while you are in the trial period. What could be fairer than that?
For many years I subscribed to the Wilson Quarterly and enjoyed it when it landed in my mailbox. There were almost always several articles worth reading and shorter articles including Book Reviews that I found interesting. It was a very thought provoking and often gave me a look and differing perspectives on various issues. But they stopped printing and I miss it.
These articles are still published but on the web. Since I still get email from them, this morning, I decided to read an article pointing how our government still works and why the founders designed it the way they did. It was interesting reading since so much of the news around our government lately has been about the gridlock in Washington that led to the recent government shutdown and debt crisis.
The article The Gridlock Illusion by R. Shep Melnick which is subtitled “If Washington seems to get much less done than it once did, it is partly because it is trying to do so much more” is well-worth reading.
The Wilson Quarterly is published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. They list several subscription options on their website. I’ll be doing a little thinking about which makes makes sense for me.
If you are interested in New York, you might enjoy the new website http://narrative.ly That is narrative.ly
The dot is important since if you leave it out, you will end up at another website. This website publishes original, true and in-depth stories about New York City.
I found the site and became interested because one of my favorite authors Gabriel Cohen published a non-fiction short story about his Brooklyn apartment there. (See http://www.jackreidy.com/blog/2012/09/27/a-splash-of-red-by-gabriel-cohen/ for a more complete story about my discovery.
Enjoy!
I signed up for Gabriel Cohen’s email list and I’m glad I did. For those not familiar with the author, Gabriel Cohen is a writer living in Brooklyn who has written several books about a Brooklyn-based homicide detective.
I have reviewed all 4 to date here.
I have enjoyed them all and I’ve been waiting for the next in the series. So what does this have to do with the list? The author has his own website at http://www.gabrielcohenbooks.com.
And you can sign up for emails there. You don’t get many. This is the first I’ve gotten in a while and it was so good I decided to blog about it.
I was hoping for a notice that a new book was coming and maybe an invitation to be an advanced reader. I think what I got was almost as good, but some might actually say better. Mr. Cohen has written a nonfiction piece for a new website.
I totally enjoyed “A Splash of Red” which is a free read at http://narrative.ly/2012/09/a-splash-of-red/. It starts with the writer looking for an affordable apartment, and quickly progresses to a crime writer living at a crime scene. I say quickly because it is not a very long piece. It is a great story and certainly worth a few minutes of your time.
While there be sure to check out the rest of the Narratively website. It is an interesting web publication of true stories. Did I mention it is free? If you are so inclined you may support the project but the site is free and open to all.