Harper 's remind I of a book reading I once go to . the author read a selection from Proust . it take forever and when she finally get to the ` point ' the crowd all murmur and nod in approval at its profundity . I think I be go to go out of my mind ... . . what be so profound about take 1000 word to make a point that could have be make in ten word or less ? and therein lie my problem with Harper 's . people here compare it with other `` thoughtful '' magazine like the Atlantic and the New Yorker . no. ... it be not like those magazine at all ; every paragraph in those magazine be pack with information that be critical to understand the entire story . they do not take the rambling `` blue highway '' approach like Harper 's do . if you really want a magazine that be balanced and in depth without the wander prose of Harper 's try my two favorite : the New Yorker and the Economist . I also recommend the Atlantic .