Texas Monthly

Yeeehaw! This magazine is focused on the Lone Star State. It's tough to fit all the news that fits from such a large state as Texas, but Texas Monthly manages to pull it off. What Cosmo is to New Yorkers, this is to Texans. This is where we get our latest fashion tips on how to properly display our handguns. This magazine is full of ads, but pay attention to those ads- they're often the fanciest and up and comers of the Texas scene. Don't expect to see people California-ing your Texas up in here. The articles sometimes slant towards the scandalous, and they do some in-depth, hard hitting reporting about things going on in the Lone Star State. The most popular editions are always the Bum Steer Awards, where they call out Texans who have either been done wrong, or are doing wrong. Generally, you don't what to get that call that you've been nominated. Then, there's the BBQ list. This coveted list is often quoted, and if your BBQ joint has made this list, then you've made it. This is THE authority on Texas BBQ. Don't listen to the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal's list. What do they know about mesquite smoked brisket? I always enjoy the pieces that're written by Kinky Friedman. He's such a delightful author.

I've been reading Texas Monthly since my parents got a charter subscription, and it's consistently one of the best magazines of any type that I've read. As I've watched many of my favorite magazines wilt over the years, Texas Monthly keeps to its high standards and if anything gets even better. Great listings to goings-on around the state, fascinating and unique feature articles. Some of the best writing anywhere, and it's all focused on the Lone Star State. And the guides are a great reference. I've kept their Best BBQ issue in my trunk (and replace it when the new one comes out) so I can find the best BBQ joint in whatever tiny town I find myself in.

Every month I get the Texas Monthly (hmmm, that sentence seems redundant, but I'm too lazy to fix that now) and peruse the pages with mild interest. I usually skim the pages, read one or two articles and throw it away. The writing is decent, but for some reason the content never grabs me. I blame this mostly on being a product of the internet age. I got a subscription to the Chronicle and read it twice in paper format, but I read it online all the time. I think I'm just spoiled and feel that turning pages is too much effort for fluffy magazines and should be restricted to literature. Yep, I'm a printed media snob.

I have been a devoted fan of Texas Monthly for years, but I have had a terrible experience with them this month! Shortly after graduating from college a decade ago, I bought gift subscriptions to Texas Monthly for 3 friends who had all moved out of the state for work. I ordered 3 gift subscriptions for those same friends last month, and was so looking forward to sharing the experience of reading the same articles and keeping up with news and culture in Texas even though we are all far apart. When I received confirmation of my order 2 weeks later, I discovered that a line of the address had been left off of 2 of the 3 subscriptions. I contacted Texas Monthly online immediately, and got a response 48 hours later, telling me that the addresses would be corrected, but not until the January 2016 issue, 3 months later! I asked if that meant that my 12 month subscription started in January, and received a reply that no, the subscription ran from October 2015 - September 2016. I was also told that the issues from October - January were a "courtesy" and that I could only get a refund if the magazines were returned. How am I supposed to be able to ask my friends to return issues that don't get mailed to them in the first place? I have now been trying to work with their customer service and exchanging messages back and forth for a week, all to address their error in printing 3 lines of these 2 addresses instead of 4. I would have understood if they had just responded that the October issue had already gone out, but they would correct it for the November issue. How can they have an order placed on October 21, and still mail the October issue, but not be able to correct an address error for subsequent issues until January? I really used to love this magazine, but after this, it will be the last thing from Texas that I ever consider giving as a gift.