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I feel I have to promote the Times Literary Supplement. I personally have always gotten somewhat more out of it. The NYRB feels a tad parochial (inward-looking)

I feel I have to promote the Times Literary Supplement. I personally have always gotten somewhat more out of it. The NYRB feels a tad parochial (inward-looking) at times, its subject matter a tad more restricted than the TLS. But it's great they got Zadie Smith to write a piece for the anniversary issue, I love her voice. Actually a bit ashamed to say I haven't been keeping tabs on the both the TLS and the NYRB - I used to spend hours with stacks of them to pass the time and discover new pastures in uni - in a while.

jacobolus 13y ago
Zadie Smith is a frequent contributor to the NY Review: http://www.nybooks.com/contributors/zadie-smith-2/ http://www.nybooks.com/contributors/zadie-smith-2/
lobster_johnson 13y ago
I don't agree about NYRB being parochial and restricted. If anything, it's one of the more expansive magazines in terms of subject matter covered. While I don't know the Times, I can't think of a literary magazine more dedicated to covering the entire world (geographically, politically, intellectually) as NYRB. For example, NYRB has a lot of foreign reporting and analysis; this last year they have had a ton on Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Libya and a wealth of other countries. Many of the subjects covered — books, art, people — are not American. And while their stable of writers certainly lean in a specific political direction, NYRB tends to favour just quietly reporting the facts, as opposed to bombastically trumpeting political opinions the way that, say, The Economist (which recently insisted that western leaders must bomb Syria) frequently does. There are admittedly exceptions. NYRB has traditionally been critical of Israel, for example. But they are generally critical of war-mongering, persecution and nationalism, so it's hard to argue that they are being one-sided in that sense.

jacobolus 13y ago

Zadie Smith is a frequent contributor to the NY Review: http://www.nybooks.com/contributors/zadie-smith-2/ http://www.nybooks.com/contributors/zadie-smith-2/

lobster_johnson 13y ago

I don't agree about NYRB being parochial and restricted. If anything, it's one of the more expansive magazines in terms of subject matter covered. While I don't know the Times, I can't think of a literary magazine more dedicated to covering the entire world (geographically, politically, intellectually) as NYRB. For example, NYRB has a lot of foreign reporting and analysis; this last year they have had a ton on Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Libya and a wealth of other countries. Many of the subjects covered — books, art, people — are not American. And while their stable of writers certainly lean in a specific political direction, NYRB tends to favour just quietly reporting the facts, as opposed to bombastically trumpeting political opinions the way that, say, The Economist (which recently insisted that western leaders must bomb Syria) frequently does. There are admittedly exceptions. NYRB has traditionally been critical of Israel, for example. But they are generally critical of war-mongering, persecution and nationalism, so it's hard to argue that they are being one-sided in that sense.