I've been a reader of The New Yorker since about 1988. By this I don't mean I read the entire magazine each week -- like most, I'm limited by time and interests. I'll do a quick scan of the two or three "main" articles, the film reviews, the caption contest on the back page, and possibly the music section, if it's about pop music. I'll read a piece of fiction only if someone's recommended it or I know the author; I don't often dive in blind. And of course, the cartoons.
My time is limited further, in a good way, by the gift I was given recently of The Complete New Yorker, the super-stupendous collection of eight DVD-ROMs containing searchable scans of every New Yorker issue published from 1925-2005 -- over four thousand issues filled with some of the best writing and journalism in the English language.
You see the problem. What hope do I have of enjoying the past eighty years of The New Yorker, discovering new interests and indulging the old, if I can't get through this week's issue? If only I had someone who could recommend to me three or four New Yorker pieces a week, whether from an issue that just came yesterday, one lying around from a few weeks back, or something from a 1937 issue.
That's generally what this site is for. I'm guessing there are other fans of the magazine who are similarly time-strapped and looking for a smarter way to enjoy the New Yorker's bounties, and if this site works as I'm hoping it will, we can all come here to share what we like and learn about pieces we might otherwise never find, or just talk about New Yorker-related stuff.
Please read before posting- If you're describing a piece you like, and it's not in the archive (currently, anything post-February 2005), provide the issue date so others can find it
- If it is in the archive, provide at least enough info to find it with a search (issue date, author, and/or title)
- Very long posts steal front-page real estate from your fellow users. If you want to say more than 200 words or so in your post, please end the post with "[more inside]", post what you've written so far, and click the "comments" link. You can continue your thoughts inside, at whatever length required.
- Try to make your posts interesting. "I realled liked X" is probably not enough.
Comments and suggestions are always welcome. Enjoy the site, and enjoy The New Yorker!