Words.
My
love affair with printed words goes back to my days of sitting in Mother’s lap
and listening to her read. The Little Engine That Could was my
favorite book.
And
then there was grammar school’s Weekly Reader. I couldn’t wait until the
next edition. Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn were
probably the first books that I read by myself.
These
days, I always have a stack of books within reach. I like magazines, too.
Perhaps my favorite is THE WEEK. There are several things that I enjoy
about it. Number one is that it’s the kind of publication that you can read in
snippets, as you have time.
Next,
I like the variety of topics. There’s news, photographs, cartoons and opinion
pieces. Some of the opinions I like. Others I don’t.
Another
big plus of THE WEEK is that if you read or just scan the topics, you’ve
made a lap around the globe. The content is pulled from dozens of publications.
The pieces are short, and I like that, too.
Here’s a glance at a typical table of contents:
News
Main story
Controversy
of the Week
U.S.
at a Glance
World
at a Glance
Best
U.S. Columns
Best
European Columns
Best
International Columns
Technology
Health
& Science
I’ve
skipped a few topics, but I always pore over the editorial-cartoon section. As
soon as I discovered Thomas Nast (1840-1902) and his political cartoons in
journalism class, I was hooked. Politicians have always been easy targets for
cartoonists.
The
“People” page draws me in, too. The Rolling Stones were a part of my youth’s soundtrack.
I’ve just read how frontman Mick Jagger, 82, fights his ego and stays young, bouncing
all over the stage.
Arts
Books
Author
of the Week
Art
& Music
Film
& Architecture
Television
I
slow down in this section. Books, movies and music hold my interest. I’m always
in the hunt for a good read or movie to add to the must-see list.
Leisure
Food & Drink
Consumer
Property
What
I eat and drink is plain vanilla compared to what’s featured here. I don’t
spend much time on those subjects. However, I never miss the two pages of real
estate listings. I’m not in the market, but I am curious about what is selling
and for how much from coast to coast.
The categories vary. The feature that
I read most recently was about “Homes built in the 1960s.” A townhouse in
Chicago is listed for $5,995,000, and the “Steal of the Week” is a California
cottage selling for $519,000.
Ummm, no thanks on either.
Business
News
at a Glance
Making
Money
Best
Columns
From
“The bottom line” column, in the June 19, 2026, edition, I learned that there
are 16 U.S. colleges and universities that cost more than $100,000 per year.
Right
here at home, we have outstanding choices for far less. UGA and Georgia Tech
are perennially among the nation’s best. And aren’t we glad Gov. Zell Miller hatched
HOPE scholarships?
Other
Obituaries
The
Last Word
Puzzle
page
Reading
cartoonist Pat Oliphant’s obituary (1935-2026), I learned about his career of
“flaying the powerful.” For examples, he pictured Richard Nixon as a gangster
and Bill Clinton as a carnival huckster.
The
longest piece is near the end. I just read “How the Amish use AI.” Who would
have imagined? But Erik German’s article explained how “buggies and chatbots
can exist side by side.”
If
crossword puzzles are your thing, the back page is for you.
And
there you have it, THE WEEK.
A
smorgasbord read around the world in 38 pages.
dnesmith@cninewspapers.com
