Here we are, nearly one year after I started this blog, and just a few days away from April 1, 2013 - the day that I promised I would be reading the current issue of The New Yorker. Well, as anyone who has followed this effort with any interest whatsoever could probably guess, that won't be happening.
However, the good news is that - unbelievably it seems - I know that the goal of catching up on the New Yorker IS possible. That much is clear based on the fact that since January 7, I have read 6 months of New Yorkers in just under 3 months. With this new, more proactive strategy in hand, I am quite confident that I will be fully caught up by the end of 2013. By the end of June, I will be completing the 2012 backlog; by the end of September, I'll be halfway through 2013; and by the end of the year, I should be all caught up.
The accelerated pace of my catching up has precluded me from commenting as often or as thoroughly as I had originally planned when setting up this blog. However, in the interests of continuity, I can say that I have read and enjoyed the following since my last post:
February 13 & 20, 2012 issue, completed Jan. 22 - Despite my goal of catching up as quickly as possible, I found myself unable to put down Raffi Khatchadourian's 20-page feature entitled "Transfiguration," about a face transplant. His ability to make us care about the man undergoing the procedure and the way he made the science behind the procedure itself accessible to an average reader was compelling, to say the least.
February 27, 2012 issue, completed Jan. 25
March 5, 2012 issue, completed Jan. 28
March 12, 2012 issue, completed Feb. 2
March 19, 2012 issue, completed Feb. 6 - the article about the disappeared in Argentina was tragic but interesting
March 26, 2012 issue, completed Feb. 10
April 2, 2012 issue, completed Feb. 18 - the profile of LBJ on the day Kennedy was shot was noteworthy
April 9, 2012 issue, completed Feb. 20
April 16, 2012 issue, completed Feb. 23 - enjoyed the story exploring why the fascination with the Titanic disaster endures, 100 years after it happened
April 23, 2012 issue, completed Feb. 28 - a few articles of interest here, including the one that featured researchers trying to manipulate the immune system to cure cancer, and the article about gun control (which was all the more poignant given that the massacres in the Aurora movie theatre and at Newtown happened during the time between when the article was written and when I was reading it)
April 30, 2012 issue, completed March 3 - I laughed at the coverage of the silly war on raw milk, living as I do in a place where raw milk cheese is as common as fine wine (and usually paired with it)
May 7, 2012 issue, completed March 4 - this issue was missing from my pile, so it was my first experience reading The New Yorker on my Playbook. I found it really annoying.
May 14, 2012 issue, completed March 7 - I liked the article about Clay Christensen and his research and presentations on innovation
May 21, 2012 issue, completed March 14 - interesting to read about the Kenyan marathon man who threw his gifts away by drinking too much and accidentally killing himself
May 28, 2012 issue, completed March 15
June 4 & 11, 2012 issue, completed March 18 - Science Fiction issue - read all the stories
June 18, 2012 issue, completed March 21 - As a fan of Family Guy and having recently watched him host the Oscars with mixed results, I found the profile of Seth MacFarlane quite revealing.
June 25, 2012 issue, completed March 27 - Another Hollywood profile, this time of Ben Stiller, also quite revealing. The funny guys aren't quite the nicest ones, are they?
July 2, 2012 issue, completed March 29 - the article about how we spoil our kids was very relevant for me. After I finished this one I took my kids to the store and for the first time asked and expected them to carry some of the groceries, help pay, etc. Maybe I can take small steps to help them become independent to avoid helpless selfish brats in their 20s (I know a few of those).
So, here we are, almost April 1 and I'm 9 months behind - 3 months ahead of where I was 3 months ago. I'm quite sure I will be able to keep up the pace in the coming months - but time will tell!
