Let's Read and Discuss the New Yorker Magazine

Join the interesting discussion of The New Yorker articles and topics.

This will be a Zoom meetup:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81199867844

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All you have to do is to read and share one article from one of the following issues: 7,14, 21, or 28. The article can also be from the New Yorker online.

And let’s open the discussion up to articles from other magazines: National Geographic, Cosmopolitan, Scientific American, Rolling Stone, National Review, The Atlantic, Harper’s, Economist, Vanity Fair, American Scientist, Pew Research Center, Physics Today, Substack, and others.

The New Yorker is proud of and known for its good writing. Let's discuss our reactions to and estimation of the quality of the article.
1. Why did you select this article to read and discuss? Did the title intrigue you? What kept you reading instead of bailing?
2. New Yorker articles usually have a protagonist. Was that immediately obvious, or did it slowly emerge? How did that change the reader's experience?
3. Was the protagonist "good", rapacious, naïve, a jerk? If mostly negative, did you root for them anyway? Why?
3. Did the article have a noticeable hook that made you care about the people or situations? Did each sentence lead smoothly to the next?

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4. Did the article move you emotionally? Was there any point where it made you angry? confused?
5. Did the article cause you to change your opinion--of the subject, the people involved, or yourself?

Reading is a social activity, isn’t it? We read and then share our thoughts and learn the insights and opinions of others, making the total experience more complete and enjoyable.

Everyone has an equal opportunity to speak and to listen. We discuss the content of the articles, the general topic area as it is experienced in our lives, and how they are written. All opinions are welcome; no one is right and no one is wrong. We do not want to veer off into long discussions, but rather we want to stay focused on the content of the articles and what we can learn from them and what we can share from our own experiences and insights.

We always start the discussion with a 15 minute ‘social hour’ of everyone sharing how they are doing; past events, current activities, and future plans and whatever else is on your mind.

Those who are not New Yorker subscribers can read a few free articles per month at the New Yorker website without being asked to subscribe.

The Austin Public Library has electronic access to many magazines, including the New Yorker. Your local library should also have current New Yorker issues.

Finally, if you do not subscribe and want to read a specific article, please send me a note via email to greg02390239@gmail.com and I will send you a PDF of the article.