For the past three years, my Christmas present from a friend has been a subscription to Guardian Weekly. A very generous gift indeed. Here is how I read it: I start with the column on the back page, which is always illuminating. Aditya Chakrabortty’s piece on the death of neoliberalism (10 June) brought me great comfort, although the idea is yet to catch on here in New Zealand. Soon, hopefully.
I skip over Maslanka puzzles, chess and Sport; we get far too much of the last in this country. I thoroughly enjoy Oliver Burkeman and some of his columns have indeed changed my life. Yes, Shortcuts is fascinating and I know I should read Ethical living every week but I don’t. I have really tried hard to crack your Cryptic crossword but haven’t yet done so. I will persevere.
I start to tremble with excitement as I near the Culture section, particularly the book reviews, as I am an English teacher. Sometimes I feel a sense of panic at this point – so many great texts and so little time. Discovery is fine, depending on the topic, and Weekly review is definitely worth a look. And on it goes (Professor Steven Pinker says it’s OK to start a sentence with “and” so I do) until I reach the cover of my Guardian Weekly.
I really do not know where I would be without the Guardian. So keep on keeping on. And hello from the other side.
If you would like to appear in this space, send a brief note to guardian.weekly@theguardian.com
