Jul 17, 2001 10:17 AM
2242 Views
The Reader's Digest is a US magazine with numerous editions. Apart from US, British,Indian and other English language versions,it is published in most major languages, Spanish, French, German,Arabic, etc. All told around 25 million copies are sold in some 19 languages.
The standard of writing in this publication is slick,almost it seems to a formula,but it is of a high standard. Words are not wasted in this long-established and very popular publication.
Contents wise it is good. There is more-or-less something for everyone.Interested in politics and current affairs? The RD covers those areas and, in a very ''balanced'',non-controversial,manner. It is never offensive and extremely careful not to offend national sensitivities. You could almost argue that such a style leads to a rather bland form of journalism.
Besides politics and current affairs, this US publication has some very good stories on medical breakthroughs and scientific discoveries. Here,since most of the content is factual in nature,its non controversial approach works well. There is also sections on humour including Humour in Uniform and among other subject areas featured are the likes of cookery,gardening, and true life stories. Another interesting feature is ''Word Power'': this gives crisp definitions of the meaning of words.
An interesting feature of this publication ,which is over 200 pages,is its size : it can fit into a large pocket and handy to read on your travels. It is not too demanding and if you like what might be termed ''light reading'' it is just about ideal. Currently it retails at around US$2.49 but is, I believe,also available on subscription.
