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I don't know whose bright idea it was to monkey with Reader's Digest, but I am not amused.

I do not like the new format one iota. I have read RD since I was child. One of best things about going to visit my grandparents was sitting down with those large print Reader's Digests for the blind (as we called them) and reading them from cover to cover. No ads in those, by the way--a HUGE improvement. I would devour the condensed book in the back. One that I remember most was about Ted Bundy and the investigation that lead to his capture. I cannot count how many times I read that story.

The new RD sucks.I don't like the title page inside, I don't like the cheesy pictures on the back, I don't like the chages in the old standards, I don't like the books about celebrities, I don't like the snippets from other magazines in the mini digest part, and I really hate the Q and A interviews. I don't like it at all. What used to take me at least an hour or two to thouroughly read, not take 30 minutes. I can't just sit down and read it from cover to cover as I used to. It was one of those mindless delights that I enjoyed. I do not like to read most magazines. Vanity Fair, Time and People are about it. RD gave me a chance to see what was in other magazines without having to bother to read them. If it weren't for my husband's affection for it, Idoubt I would even renew.

An interesting sidenote.I was once published in RD. You know that sounds much better than it really is. I should leave it there and attempt to be quasi-literary, but I will out myself. It was in Life in These United States, I think. One of those columns where you send in something and they pay you $400. Well, they used to. I noticed that now they only pay $300. Anyway, I sent in something and about 3 months later, I was lying in bed with W. watching TV when the phone rang. It was So-and-So from RD. I thought it was some telemarketer, so I said we already subscribed. She stopped me and and if I had sent in something for the magazine. After I said yes, she said it was going to be published in the November edition and they would be sending me a check for $400. All she had to do was read it to me and make sure that it was what I had submitted. It was. Then she needed to talk to someone who could verify that it had actually happened. W. was there, so he did. (Wouldn't you think that people would lie? I guess most people wouldn't think they would call and check, though). That was it. She thanked me. In November, sure enough. There it was. The first entry in the section with my name and town and state.

Do you have any idea how many people pay attention to that? We lost count. I guess when it is a familiar name or town, it catches the eye. Who knows. A really nice lady in Nashville sent me her copy with a sweet letter explaining that she had grown up in our town and was happy to see someone from there in that magazine.I was also surprised at how many people said they had sent stuff in for years and never gotten in. It was very odd.

Sadly, I am afraid that was my 15 minutes of fame. I don't even know what I spent the money on. Probably a bill or something boring.