Was I really planning to read Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason a few weeks ago? Who was I kidding? Fortunately, I didn’t even buy it (either the book or the notion, take your pick). After giving up on that idea, I tried to find another book to read. I spent lots of time at the Strand and elsewhere, picking up books that looked fascinating and then putting them back down. I just didn’t feel like investing the time in reading a whole book. I wound up frustrated.

And yet at the same time, I found myself catching up on past issues of the New Yorker (probably my favorite magazine). I realized, hey, the pieces are shorter — but I’m still reading! Since then, I’ve picked up The Best American Magazine Writing 2004, chock-full of magazine-length pieces. I’m currently reading the first piece, about how interrogations work, that appeared in the Atlantic Monthly last fall.

I’m also thinking that if I want to get paid to write, the best place to start is with magazine articles. So I’m looking into taking a course this fall, either through the Gotham Writers’ Workshop (I took a screenwriting class through them a couple of years ago) or through Media Bistro. (Ahhh, the advantages to living in/near Manhattan.)

I think a class would not only teach me some stuff, but would also give me a kick-start into the professional writing process.