读者- Have you read this?

[jasoninchina]

I came across this small magazine the other day in my mother-in-laws house. I was surprised to find that I could read many of the articles. They have a website here: http://www.duzhe.com/.

I would say the level is around intermediate. It only costs a few kuai per issue. My guess is that 读者 (Readers) is similar to Readers Digest in that there are reader-submitted articles. Does anyone else have more information about this magazine?

[imluffy]

Actually 读者 is the most popular magazine in china.

读者 and Readers Digest are different.

You can read some 读者's articles in this blog: http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/articlelist_1395829533_1_1.html

[Sarevok]

One of my teachers has recommended this one before (when I was still taking formal courses). Another one was using these articles as a supplementary material for her reading classes. Definitely worth a read, though every issue is kind of a mixed bag, some articles are indeed at the intermediate level, but some can be pretty challenging even for an advanced learner (it's being published for native readers after all).

[Meng Lelan]

Thanks imluffy for the link to that blog, I wasn't even aware of it. Actually 读者 is the one magazine I try to get my friends to bring back from China when they visit.

[renzhe]

It's great to know that it's still going, I last saw it over 10 years ago (when I couldn't make any sense of any of it).

[Lu]

I tried reading it in 2002, I remember struggling with the clou of the jokes. I don't remember if I tried any of the longer articles, but it's a good magazine for learners I think.

[anonymoose]

读者 certainly is good practice material, but personally I find a lot of the articles rather 肉麻. I don't know if it is the intention of the editors or not, but a lot of the articles seem to be of the "inspirational" type, recounting someone battling through adverse circumstances and winning against all odds, and so on. Well, that's not too bad in small doses, but seems to be quite a prominent theme in 读者, which to some extent has put me off.

Anyway, for the last couple of years, I have had so much other stuff to read that I haven't picked up a copy of 读者 lately.

[gougou]

Yeah, I had the same impression as anonymoose. I liked it in the beginning, because indeed some of the stories were pretty easy to understand, but found the content to be quite fluff - inspirational in the way that Korean drama is inspirational.

Han Han's magazine 独唱团 was quality stuff and not too inaccessible - unfortunately rather short-lived too.

[mlescano]

Hey, everybody. I'd like to subscribe to this magazine or buy individual issues. I'd like to know what your experiences have been doing so from outside China. Is is like TCB, where you get access to all old material when you subscribe? Can you have a digital-only subscription or digital-only purchase of individual issues?

[roddy]

It's ¥2.99 an issue on Kindle from Amazon.cn - assuming you can work out a payment method that seems a decent method. 

[mlescano]

Well, there was some red tape while trying to buy it, but I did find a couple of loopholes and now I'm reading the 2017-17 issue. Thanks!

Spoiler

 

1) Switch to English instructions and create an account. You can even use Gmail and your foreign mobile number to create the account.

2) Check out an issue of 读者. Where the "buy with one click" button would normally be, you'll see an option to top up your credit.

3) Top up any amount you want (I added 100 RMB). If your bank rejects the transaction, try another less restrictive card, or alert your bank beforehand.

4) Install the Kindle app on your PC, and remember to switch to amazon.cn in the drop-down before logging in (the iOS app does not allow you to switch to Amazon China)

5) After 15 minutes, check again the issue you want to buy. Check out the Kindle preview and scroll to the end, the first blue link after the preview ends is the "buy now" option.

6) Enter the address and phone of a hotel in China. I used Hilton's double tree in Beijing, where I did stay once.

7) Enjoy.

 

 

[Xiao Kui]

I have spent many hours poring over 读者 with a highlighter in one hand and dictionary in the other.  I first started "reading" it when I was just a little over a year into my Chinese studies and it took forever just to work my way through one article. I still buy it about once a month for the variety of articles which are a great source of new vocabulary. Other than the sappy 散文 the stories themselves are pretty good, too!