Rediscovering Reader’s Digest

I gifted myself a Reader’s Digest subscription for 2021. When I did it online in December, it was Christmas time, and it seemed the right thing to do. So I went ahead. And forgot about it. The first issue arrived Saturday afternoon. Halfway through the month. The postman pushed it through the door. It fell with a heavy ‘plop’. Startling me. I was not expecting any mail. Seeing the Reader’s Digest there was like finding a long-lost friend at the door. It made me smile. I used to take Reader’s Digest 25 years ago.

Renewing the relationship

Its office was a stroll away from my newspaper workplace. I would walk across and pick up my copy. Then I forgot about it. But everything about it is the same. Except for the size. It’s now smaller and thinner. Like the publisher has put Reader’s Digest on a diet. But once you go past the cover, it’s like renewing a friendship that was forgotten and did not die. And so I spent a cozy weekend with Reader’s Digest. Poring over the magazine. Delighted to find the old sections all there. Life’s Like That, Drama In Real Life, Humour in Uniform, Laugher’s The Best Medicine, Quotable Quotes, Letters to the Editor (people still write), a Quiz, Word Power, and a spanking new section called Culturescape on books, art, and entertainment with small reviews on web films, bestsellers and music albums, audiobooks, podcasts.

It’s a comforting read. Soothing almost. Its stories are gentle after the assault by news of Covid, murders, rapes, suicides, scams, political wars, Bird Flu, municipal elections, bad weather, spoilsports in cricket, agitated farmers and you know what all. It’s like drinking Hot Chocolate at night. You’re left with a warm glow. And a good feeling. I finished the issue last night. Now I am waiting for the postman to deliver February’s Reader’s Digest.

About Mark Manuel

The above thoughts/content is the work from the wall of Sir Mark Manuel Someone who has interviewed almost every role model this country has to offer as of now. Mark Manuel is a respected Mumbai editor, writer, and columnist. With over three decades of journalism in leading publications including the Free Press Journal, Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Mid-Day, and Afternoon. He is widely known for his brilliantly penned interviews. He himself is a TEDx speaker.

His work

His interviews have featured in several leading media houses. They include the Hindustan Times, Huffington Post, BBC, and Network 18. Almost every famous person has been interviewed by him. In the country from Mother Teresa to Muhammad Ali. His first book is just out. It’s titled Moryaa Re! It is perhaps the first crime thriller that has police procedural. He began his career covering crime. And in a tribute to his experience and knowledge of this beat. Several distinguished officers of the Mumbai Police and its Crime Branch collaborated with him to make this book possible. In a statement of friendship for Mark Manuel and admiration for his work, Amitabh Bachchan wrote the forward.

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