Magazine Addict: Free Reads from the LA Public Library + Amazon Prime + ISSUU- 05.07.17
Did you know how many FREE resources you have to read DIGITAL books and magazines these days? And i’m not talking weird, creepy, random zines and ebooks you never wanted in the first place… i mean everything from bestsellers and cookbooks to italian fashion magazines and newspapers around the world! How did i not know i could read some of my favorite (and pricey on newsstands) international design magazines online for free? And easily “borrow” ebooks i’ve been tempted by (or even impulse bought) online for free? And if you did know, why didn’t you tell me???
I’m a magazine addict, since long before i started blogging in 2005. Print magazines and catalogs were my happy place as a kid ~ nothing like vibrant images to happily distract me. Perhaps it’s only natural i ended up in design, and eventually with all these websites sharing all my visual inspirations? For the last 12 years, i’ve read a few hundred websites a day in a ridiculous amounts of tabs… my digital newsstand of sorts? I can’t resist a stack of magazines to pick through while waiting at the salon or a doctor’s office. My favorite part of airline lounges are the magazines you don’t find everywhere else. And i go weak in the knees at a good newsstand ~ especially when traveling ~ where i can’t help walking away with an armful. Also before screens and wifi took over airplanes, i would indulge in grabbing a book at the airport and happily devour it during a flight ~ my cherished travel rituals as a teen.
Well flash forward to a far more digital age, an early morning flight to Nashville tomorrow, and a nostalgic craving for something new to dive into during the flight… blogs and websites just haven’t given me the same excitement they once did, and i’ve been diving back into more books and magazines… and with the speed i often go through them, it feels wasteful to splurge on every potential impulse buy. So i decided to see what was at my local library… but of course it was the middle of the night… so instead i discovered just HOW many digital resources the Los Angeles Public Library offers, and it kind of blew my mind…
Take a peek on the next page for some of the best resources i’ve found to take my magazine addiction to a whole new level.
We get stacks my magazines to NOTCOT regulary ~ fashion, automotive, business, tech, travel ~ so exciting when they arrive, yet finished so quickly, i often feel a slight guilt as they fill the recycling bin.
Recently i’ve been hooked on the free magazines you can borrow (which change each month) through Amazon Prime Reading (which also has so many free books and audiobooks you can borrow!)
[Side note ~ if you don’t have Amazon Prime, it’s half price for College Students
Well, as i was checking out books on Amazon, i realized there are so many i don’t NEED to own, and would likely read through pretty quickly. So i ended up checking out the Los Angeles Public Library, the Santa Monica Public Library, and Beverly Hills Public Library (These are the closest cities for me, each with quite a few physical locations - have you checked yours out lately?)
To my surprise, the Los Angeles Public Library has quite the assortment of E-Media and Digital Content Resources available online, and you can access them all with either your LAPL (physical) card, or you can get an LAPL e-card just by registering online. Additionally you can easily borrow eBooks with your e-card online as well from both the LAPL (i just filled my kindle apps up with some for the flight tomorrow!) as well as some of the other services they’ve partnered with like Overdrive.
Through the LAPL E-Media Portal you can get digital passes to read the NYTimes, take e-courses, listen to audiobooks, and peruse so many magazines and newspapers it’s making my head spin. Most of these services would normally cost you, but entering through the public library portal, they are free.
There are so many American Magazines to read through the LAPL and Zinio:
But the most incredible resource i’m loving is what the LAPL and PressReader provide!
“PressDisplay by PressReader offers instant access to 2000 plus newspapers from 100 countries in 60 languages languages (use their menu to select your preferred reading language)” and then there are all the magazines… which you can browse sorted by country or category (or both!)
Here are just a few of the many i’m super excited to dive into! It’s like a kid in a candy store (or me at an international newsstand?) So many Italian architecture/design magazines ~ fashion magazines from around the world ~ food, lifestyle, travel magazines galore…
And while we’re talking about free magazine reading online ~ i’d be remiss not to mention ISSUU too. While there are only a few publications i read there, i do find myself checking in almost monthly. My favorites ~ checking in on Nashville’s Native, a few different cities of Edible (their whole business model is kind of fascinating), and for Cannabis research (Leaf, Dope, Culture, Edible List and a few others are all on ISSUU!)
Also ~ on cookbooks ~ so many of the newest, “must read” books are easily found to digitally borrow on Overdrive:
I’m so excited and inspired to have new (and totally overwhelming) sources of content to lose myself in. So there’s my current list of free book and magazine resources… have any i should add? What do you use?
And if you have Amazon Prime or a local public library ~ make use of all they have to offer!
Thank you for compiling this list. As a magazine art director, I’m always looking to the newsstand for inspiration and this will prove invaluable!
----- Heidi 22.05.17 16:46