Magazines as a Coping Mechanism
Hand me the Arts section, pls.
Many moons ago, I started a new job at a small Christian university. The dutiful HR staffer who oversaw a day’s worth of onboarding for my colleague and me was rightly taken aback when I answered her question about how I spend my free time by cheerfully proclaiming, “I’m a magazine whore!”
Reader, it is difficult to write those words today without my cheeks burning with embarrassment.
In my defense, I had come to that sleepy college from a job in the publicity department of a major record label where we swore like sailors and drank diet coke as though it came from the fountain of youth.
Life as an assistant at a record label was intense. The hours were long, money was tight, and sometimes tempers flared (over the most trivial things). But we all loved what we did, and so we had our coping mechanisms. For the members of the Publicity Department, that meant lots of magazines—specifically gossip magazines but also skateboarding magazines and sometimes décor magazines, and maybe a New Yorker from time to time.
There was usually an US Weekly in my bag. I’d read magazines in standstill traffic. I transformed a massive stack of copies of Vanity Fair into a makeshift table in my studio apartment. You get the picture; I loved magazines.
Then I left publicity altogether and life got busy with my career in tech. Maybe I wasn’t reading gossip mags anymore (oh how the tech bros and sisters would have sneered at that!), but my love for longform writing about all manner of things never waned. I especially loved The Atlantic and the weekend magazine for papers like the Los Angeles Times. I enjoyed reading stories about people I’d never meet and places I’d never go. These stories allowed me to completely focus on something that likely had no impact on my life and then close the magazine and just move along.
There’s something to be said for writing that isn’t about gruesome crime or terrifying world events. And there’s a reason that cookbooks are bestsellers.
You may point to “feel-good news,” but I say that genre is a walk on thin ice! While stories of animals being rescued may qualify as feel-good material, there exists within them the threat of a major emotional breakdown.
No, I want to read well-written dramas about someone else’s life. I want to be able to pour over the intensity of a massive home renovation or a business relationship gone wrong and then return to my regularly scheduled programming with a newfound sense of gratitude for not having to make any big decisions.
I especially need this typical magazine fare in my life now. Times are so very weird – and hard – for so many people. If you’re looking for a mental break without needing to commit to a movie or novel, here are a few stories that may provide that much-needed distraction.
First up, the story that keeps on giving.
My friend Molly and I have done our very best to stay atop all the dramz between the actress with great hair, Blake Lively, and the guy none of us has heard of, Justin Baldoni.
This is a story to fill the void left by Meghan and Harry. A layered story with a full bench of players and no lack of sordid details. It’s also a story packed with surprise as it has taken more turns and twists than Lombard Street. Why just days ago, Hugh Jackman’s ex-wife got on the Blake-Bashing Bandwagon. (That sure was outta nowhere; hats off to ya, Deborra-Lee for landing that headline at Blake’s expense!)
If you’d like to join me on the journey that is Blake v. Justin, here are a few comprehensive articles that do a good job of documenting all the drama:
House in Habit - The PR Battle Between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni: Strategy, Spin, & Smear.
The Free Press – Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, and the Art of the Smear.
The New Yorker (paywall) – Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, and the Collapse of the Hollywood #MeToo Era.
A story about someone else’s relationship status.
Rumors are swirling today about a potential divorce for a very high-profile political couple, but that doesn’t qualify. No, we are looking for material that doesn’t spike our blood pressure, and that turbulent story is sure to cause a spike. So instead we gaze upon the surprise that is the Timothée Chamalet’s / Kylie Jenner relationship. WHAT??? Blink fast three times, Tim, if you need our help! Harper’s Bazaar breaks down the apparent two-year relationship between the darling actor with perfect hair and the cosmetics queen from that reality show family.
A story where someone else spends money on a gorgeous kitchen.
Jennifer Garner has a gorgeous new home after apparently knocking down her old one, and for some reason there has been quite a bit of press on this renovation. Hello! has some good intel, while Architectural Digest has a lineup of seriously beautiful photos of the home’s interiors and landscaping.
When all else fails, turn to the queen of words.
Looking back over Joan Didion’s words today, I am amazed many of them first found their home in magazines. Did the original readers of her 1967 essay “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” recognize her tales about the residents of Haight Ashbury as a masterpiece? If you are ever in need of a break from the heaviness that is life, read Joan. (But not one of her essays about fires in California because #TooSoon) Her work is incredible. She writes about ordinary people and places in a profound way. It’s as though she strings words together like pearls on a string. Ah, just spectacular.
With that, I leave you to take a break from the hard things by enjoying beautiful stories about interesting things. If you have another story you’re following as a break from The World, I’d love to hear! (And to think we haven’t even gotten to reddit.)