Reader’s Digest USA – December 2020 January 2021

DON’T
SWEAT IT
Weights have
been in short
supply, but you
might find them
in unexpected

places.

Morning. One upside for shoppers is often extend their usual time limits
rock-bottom prices as some stores for returns. Stumped for a gift idea?
liquidate. The downsides: They might Zappos.com, the shoe giant known
not be around if you need to return for its above-and-beyond customer
something or use a gift card. In other service (which includes a 365-day
words: Bankruptcy buyers beware. return policy), has an “Ask Us Any-
thing” line with representatives who
Customer Service Really Counts are ready—and encouraged—to talk
It’s a fact of life: Sometimes gifts go to callers about anything, whether
back. Do your giftees a favor and buy they have a question about an order
from retailers with generous return or just want to chat. Now, that’s a nice
policies, such as Nordstrom, which holiday present!
doesn’t impose a time limit for re-
turns; Home Depot and Kohl’s, where When to Shop
customers have six months to return
items; or fanatics.com and REI, which Not on Thanksgiving ...
allow returns for a year. (Most poli- Many stores that opened their doors
cies have exceptions, so read those on the holiday last year—including
closely.) During the holidays, retailers Best Buy, Target, and Walmart—have

Rd.com 99

TAKE
CONTROL

Watch sale
schedules to

save on
electronics.

announced that they will be closed sales, when hot items are offered at a
this year. discount for a limited time. The best
way to see all the sale schedules in
... Or on Black Friday one place is to visit blackfriday.com
Not in stores, anyway. Home Depot and theblackfriday.com.
announced in early September that
it was canceling its in-store Black Fri- Small Business Saturday
day promotions and instead planned Held the Saturday after Thanksgiving
to offer deals all through November (November 28 this year), this “shop-
and December, in stores and online, ping holiday” is a good reminder to
with exclusive offerings on its app. support your local merchants, who
Other retailers have similar plans to need you more than ever this holi-
avoid the in-person crush, so watch day season. By some estimates, one
their websites or download their in every three small businesses is in
apps and allow push notifications so danger of going under because of the
that you will receive alerts for “flash” pandemic.

100 Dec 2020 ✦ Jan 2021

Your Money Reader’s Digest

Whenever Stores Restock What Gifts to Buy &
If you find that something you want Where to Find Them
is sold out, nowinstock.net will let
you know whether another retailer Comfy Clothes
has it. For Amazon goods, so will In a world where we now have “work
camelcamelcamel.com; it will even sweatpants” and “Zoom sweaters”
ping you if the price drops. You can and maybe even an entire wardrobe
also ask a local merchant to order of slippers, comfort is king. In April,
something specific for you and call when clothing sales fell 79  percent
you when it comes in—but you may overall, sales of sweatpants shot up
also want to check in with the store 80 percent. If you want to help upgrade
every week or so, given how busy it someone’s “workleisure” wardrobe,
may be this time of year. consider Uniqlo’s basic sweatpants,
at $20 ($29.90 for men) voted best
At the Last Minute bargain for women by Real Simple
Forgot something—or somebody— staffers, who wore and washed 45 dif-
important? Don’t panic! This is when ferent brands. From outdoorsy Lands’
same-day delivery can save you. If End, you can buy fleece for everybody
you’re in one of the 260-plus markets and have it monogrammed for an
served by shipt.com, the personal-
shopping service ($99 per year or Books are always
$9.99 per order), you can order items popular gifts, and
from Target, Costco, CVS, Petco, or many Americans
your local supermarket for same- are reading more.
day delivery. Walmart+ ($98/year)
promises same-day delivery service extra $8 per item. Fanatics.com has a
in some regions, but it’s not available huge selection of school and sports-
in many smaller towns. Amazon of- team sweatshirts starting at $30. For
fers same-day delivery, too, but it’s a splurge gift with a bargain price tag,
also limited to certain cities. Other shop lululemon.com’s “We Made Too
retailers that offer same-day delivery Much” sale section, where you’ll find
in certain areas include Ace Hard- markdowns on its famous women’s
ware, Barnes & Noble, and Best Buy; leggings and lots more—for men too.
most require a minimum purchase
and may charge a fee. For shoppers Books
in smaller towns, don’t forget that They’re always popular gifts, and many
some local businesses—and not just Americans say they are reading more,
supermarkets—will bring your orders
right to your door.

Rd.com 101

Reader’s Digest Your Money

according to a survey from market re- workout items. They may still be hard
search firm Statista. Amazon’s “Find to find or crazy expensive, so con-
a Gift” section makes shopping there sider giving other health helpers
even easier, but independent booksell- such as exercise bands, jump ropes,
ers are working hard to keep up, offer- or yoga and stretching mats or shop-
ing curbside pickup and sometimes ping at less-obvious suppliers, such as
even free shipping, and they’re known overstock.com, T.J. Maxx, supermar-
for offering booklovers personalized, kets, or even Home Depot, where we
thoughtful recommendations. Find a found mats in a variety of bright colors.
store near you at indiebound.org.
American Wines
Bicycles Many European wines got more ex-
Bikes were one of the hottest items of pensive last year because of a new
the past year, thanks in part to closed 25 percent tariff. If you have a wine
gyms and iffy public transportation lover on your list, it’s a good time to
around the country. In fact, for buy American. Look for noted re-
months, mass retailers and specialty gional varietals such as California
shops were sold out of all but the pric- chardonnays, Colorado Rieslings, and
iest specialty rides, so if a two-wheeler Oregon pinot noirs, as well as wines
(or a three-wheeler!) tops the wish from vineyards in your area. Accord-
list of someone special in your life, ing to the experts at Wine Enthusiast,
many bottles from 2010, 2011, and
A handmade 2012 are at their peak for drinking.
gift is always You can find plenty of good choices
appreciated—even for less than $25, and you don’t nec-
if you aren’t handy. essarily have to go to a wine store to
find them. Some Aldi, Costco, and
start shopping soon, before supplies Trader Joe’s stores have solid selec-
dwindle again. If you’re not particu- tions—even according to wine snobs!
larly handy, look to buy from a locally Buy a case (12 bottles) and you can
owned shop, where you can get a bike usually save an extra 10 percent. And
that’s already assembled rather than a don’t snub bottles with screw caps;
box full of parts. these days, plenty of fine wines come
without a cork.
Workout Gear
Also in short supply this year: hand Crafty Items
weights, kettlebells, and other popular A handmade gift is always
appreciated—even if you aren’t handy
enough to make it yourself. Etsy.com

102 Dec 2020 ✦ Jan 2021

UNCORK dates and sale schedules (see
S AV I N G S “When to Shop,” page 99). An-
Tariffs have other way to save: Check re-
driven up tailers’ online outlet sections,
the prices of where you can find good deals
imports, so on open-box items (prod-
this year try ucts that have been returned)
domestic. and refurbs (pre-owned
items, which are certified by
the sellers and often come
with a warranty). Check out
apple.com/shop/refurbished,
amazon.com/outlet, and
bestbuy.com/outlet. You’ll save
even more if you have an old
device to trade in. For example,
in the fall, Samsung was offer-
ing as much as $400 for certain
used Galaxy phones—money
you can put toward a new pur-
chase. Apple doesn’t generally
have sales, but last year you
could score a gift card or free
wireless earbuds with certain
purchases, so watch for bonus
deals this year too.

offers its own holiday guides to get Sneakers
you started. Other sources for jew- When big-name athletes’ signature
elry, decor, clothing, and more made shoes come out, they usually fly off
by artisans around the world are the shelves, making them popular gift
thelittlemarket.com, worldmarket.com, items for “sneakerheads.” If you’re
and tenthousandvillages.com. looking for a specific new release,
such as the retro Air Jordans due out
Games and Gadgets this holiday season, make sure you
Hunting down the hottest holiday don’t miss out. Use the shoe release
gifts, such as the Sony PlayStation 5 calendar at Dick’s Sporting Goods or
or the Xbox Series X, often feels like a sign up for notifications on shoe com-
game in itself. Pay attention to release panies’ websites. Look for refurbished

Rd.com 103

KICKS MAKE
GOOD GIFTS

Grab sneakers

on release day or

risk missing out.

classics at Nike’s resku.co. Or if you’re The top recommended poppers
all about price, see what styles are on at toptenreviews.com include the
sale at sneakadeal.com. countertop West Bend 82505 Stir
Crazy Popcorn Popper ($25) and the
At-Home Events stovetop Great Northern Popcorn
Original Popcorn Popper ($34).
While concerts, comedy clubs, and
other in-person shows are now Treats
no-gos, you can still spectate at home.
The Moth (themoth.org), the source of Speaking of snacks, with traveling on
many RD stories, offers tickets to its hold for many of us, why not send a
storytelling performances for $10 per care package of regional delicacies—
household. Online cooking classes Kansas City ribs, New York bagels,
from the experts at Sur La Table Alaska king salmon—to folks on your
(surlatable.com) run $29 per house- gift list? Goldbelly.com, a clearing-
hold. A subscription to watch stage house for dishes from around the
performances at broadwayhd.com country, arranges for shipping directly
is $100 a year—less than the price to the lucky recipient’s door. Plan
for a single seat in a theater. And at ahead, because holiday delivery dates
eventbrite.com, you’ll find listings for might be limited. You can also call a
all sorts of lectures and shows. favorite restaurant near your relatives
to have a meal delivered to them,
And don’t forget the popcorn!

104 Dec 2020 ✦ Jan 2021

Your Money Reader’s Digest

or use a food-ordering app such as ... And Keep Coming
Seamless or Uber Eats. It’s nice to give As we’re all craving fresh stimulation,
the family kitchen crew a night off! this might be the year to spring for a
gift that shows up every month or so.
Master Classes You can find subscription boxes filled
It’s always a good time to learn some- with food, toys, pet products, makeup,
thing new. You can gift a virtual seat clothing, and more. Some let the re-
in a class with a top professional in cipient hand-select items, while oth-
a variety of fields, such as ballet with ers are full of surprises. Browse at
prima ballerina Misty Copeland, fic- mysubscriptionaddiction.com. Our
tion writing with children’s novelist sister publication Taste of Home has
R. L. Stine, or scientific thinking with a nifty box filled with curated kitchen
Neil deGrasse Tyson. Find them and goodies and recipes; learn more at
other pros at masterclass.com, which tasteofhomebox.com/rd1220.
charges $180 per series.
Nostalgia
Gifts That Keep on Giving ... Of course, you’ll make new memo-
Some companies make donations ries this year, but the old ones are
after you order. For example, for ev- worth celebrating too. You can get
ery pair of socks you buy at bombas. your home movies digitized and
com, a pair goes to a homeless shelter. saved on a thumb drive or DVD or
Buy a comforter at thecompanystore. in a Cloud file at legacybox.com
com and a comforter goes to a child ($60 and up) so you can watch them
in need. Any purchase (of jewelry, without hauling out the projector or
pottery, etc.) from uncommongoods. share them with the rest of the fam-
com sends $1 to a charity partner ily. Have a wardrobe of beloved T-
of your choice. Or do your Amazon shirts made into a memory quilt at
shopping through smile.amazon. projectrepat.com ($75 and up). Or
com, and a portion of the money you turn your smiling faces into a photo
spend will go to your chosen cause. book, calendar, set of note cards, or
Another great source for unique other photo-memory gift at shutterfly
gifts that give back: museum stores, .com, artifactuprising.com, or one
where your purchases help keep of the many photo gift sites (options
visitor-starved museums afloat. A few and prices vary). Watch for special
good ones to try: the Smithsonian discounts for first-time shoppers, and
Institution (smithsonianstore.com), check groupon.com and livingsocial
the National Gallery of Art (shopnga .com for discount offers. Certainly,
.gov), and Chicago’s Field Museum however you celebrate, this will be a
(fieldmuseum.org). holiday season to remember! RD

Rd.com 105

Reader’s Digest

FIRST PERSON

Use a

Hankie,

Dude!

He has used a pocket handkerchief all his life—
and was ridiculed for it. Now, this famous author

says his habit has found its moment.

By Scott Turow
From The Washington Post

T he text from my son said right rear pocket, a piece of simple
it all: “Dad, there’s an ar- cotton, roughly 15 inches square and
ticle you were born to write less than four inches when folded. I
that the world is finally was a dutiful son, but I can recall be-
ready for: Bring Back the ing a ten-year-old on the school play-
Handkerchief!” ground, feeling the padding directly
over my butt and wondering what it
As my son knows, there’s no “bring was there for. Time would tell.
back” for me. For me, the handker-
chief never left. Every night for most of my life, I have
removed from my trousers the items
My mother raised me with several I’m going to need the next day—keys,
fixed rules. One was that a gentleman wallet, and hankie, if it’s still unused.
always has a clean handkerchief in his

Photographs by Joleen Zubek Rd.com | dec 2020 ✦ Jan 2021 107

Reader’s Digest First Person

After 60 years, I am like the princess in hankie wiped. Can you grab the han-
“The Princess and the Pea.” My body dle of a pot that’s boiling over with a
weight feels wrong if I’m heading out of Kleenex? Now that I am a grandfather
the house with an empty back pocket. of five, my hankie again has been get-
ting a workout. When friends become
I am sure this habit has sometimes grandfathers for the first time, I often
struck friends and colleagues who’ve send them a dozen handkerchiefs as
noticed it as a little quaint, but in po- a small gift. “Hold on to these,” I say,
lite company nobody comments on “you’re going to need them.” In fact, for
somebody else’s trivial eccentricities. Father’s Day last year my wife gave me
That rule of behavior, of course, did several new handkerchiefs, embroi-
not apply to one’s children in the late dered with my grandpa name, “Pops.”
20th century. When my three kids were
growing up, they all let me know when- Her gift was a tacit admission. From
ever they could that my hankie was as her subsequent comments, I take it
that the first time that handkerchief
A GENTLEMAN came out, right after we started dat-
ALWAYS HAS A CLEAN ing, she thought to herself something
HANKIE IN HIS RIGHT like, “Holy smokes, what a geezer!”
But by now, neither of us can count
REAR POCKET. the number of times her eyes have
welled up at a movie, a tickle won’t
ridiculously old-fashioned as a top hat leave her throat in the theater, or, as
and a walking stick. They had their ar- happens, she’s needed to blow her
guments. If you have to be prepared nose and timidly whispered, “Can I
every day for allergies or a cold, why borrow your handkerchief?”
not tote a little packet of tissues, which
saves you from that disgusting busi- Yet not even Mom could have an-
ness of blowing your nose in the thing ticipated the hankie’s new role as an
and then stuffing it back in your pants? Essential Public Health Appliance.
All of us have learned how hard it is
Point taken—especially in the time to follow the Centers for Disease Con-
of COVID-19. But a cotton handkerchief trol and Prevention’s advice in this
is a lot more durable than tissue, cre- coronavirus-plagued era about not
ates no waste, and has a far wider va- touching your face. Here is an answer.
riety of uses. One reason my kids saw Got an itch in your eye or your nose
that handkerchief so often is because of that you just have to scratch? Facing
the epic number of chocolate mouths, those frequently touched places such
skinned knees, and drippy noses that as elevator buttons and door handles
that seem full of peril? Use your han-
kie, dude!

108 Dec 2020 ✦ Jan 2021

Here let me add a sober note on applying two rubber bands six inches
best practices: Touching your face apart? In a pinch, and if you have no
with a coronavirus-infested hankie is rubber bands, your handkerchief can
not much better than doing so with become a makeshift bandanna that
a dirty hand. The solution is to carry can be pulled over your lower face like
multiple hankies in different pockets. a robber entering a bank.
And of course, if you used a hand-
kerchief for virus protection, wash it So my son has it right: Bring back
thoroughly with soap and hot water as the pocket handkerchief. It may ac-
soon as you can. tually save a few lives. And it will
certainly give me the chance to chan-
That said, your handkerchief can be nel my mother, to lift my chin and
even more useful in protecting others look at my adult children through
from you, especially if you are one of one eye, asking in her good-hearted
those asymptomatic coronavirus car- way, “What do you have to say now,
riers. In April, the CDC recommended smarty-pants?” RD
wearing masks when we’re out of the
house. Guess what can be turned into a Washington Post (aPril 15, 2020), CoPyright
DIY mask by folding several times and © 2020 by sCott turoW, WashingtonPost.Com.
used by Permission of brandt & hoChman literary
agents, inC.

Looking on the Sunny Side
There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.

norWegian Proverb

Rd.com 109

THE DaviD arky/Trunk archive
GENIUS
SECTION

10 Pages to sharpen
Your Mind

110 Dec 2020 ✦ Jan 2021

Reader’s Digest

OLDIES BUT
FEEL-GOODIES

Why our brains prefer music from
our youth—call it cerebral comfort food

By Jeremy D. Larson
From pitchfork.com

L istening to new music is on the terra firma of your “Summer
hard. Not hard compared Rewind” playlist? Why spend time on
to going to space or war, but something you might not like?
hard compared to listening
to music we already know. One of my favorite pieces of arts
Especially those of us who have set- criticism is a 2016 article from The
tled into the groove of adult life often Onion titled “Nation Affirms Com-
don’t listen to new music because mitment to Things They Recognize.”
it’s easy to forgo the act of discovery From music to clothing brands, the
when work, rent, children, and life joke is self-explanatory: We love the
come into play. Eventually, we bow things we know because we know
our heads and cross a threshold where them and therefore we love them.
most music becomes something to
remember rather than something to But there is a physiological explana-
experience. tion in our desire to seek comfort in
the familiar. It can help us understand
Most people have all the songs they why listening to new music is so hard,
could ever need by the time they turn and why it can make us feel uneasy,
30. And thanks to Spotify and Apple angry, or even riotous.
Music, we can easily whisk ourselves
back to the gates and gables of our It has to do with the plasticity of
youth, when life was simpler. Why our brains. Our brains change as they
leap off a cliff hoping you’ll be rescued recognize new patterns in the world,
by your new favorite album on the which is what makes brains, well,
way down when you can lie supine useful.

When it comes to hearing music,
a network of nerves in the auditory

Rd.com 111

Reader’s Digest

cortex called the corticofugal network more and more without sending it off
helps catalog the different patterns of the charts. This is the entire neuro-
music. When a specific sound maps scientific marketing plan behind pop
onto a pattern, our brains release a music. But when we hear something
corresponding amount of dopamine, that hasn’t already been mapped onto
the main chemical source of some of the brain, the corticofugal network
our most intense emotions. This is the goes a bit haywire, and our brains
essential reason why music triggers release too much dopamine as a re-
such powerful emotional reactions. sponse. When there is no map or pat-
tern to anchor to, music can register
Take the chorus of a song by Adele as unpleasant or, in layman’s terms,
or Bruce Springsteen, many of which bad. “If the dopamine neurons can’t
have very recognizable chord progres- correlate their firing with outside
sions. The majority of our brains have events,” Lehrer writes, “the brain is
unable to make cogent associations.”
THE ACT OF LISTENING
TO NEW MUSIC IS That’s what happened one night
in Paris in 1913, in what is perhaps
HARD ON THE BRAIN, the most infamous musical debut in
BUT NECESSARY. history. The piece that premiered at
the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées that
memorized these progressions and night was Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of
know exactly what to expect when Spring, an orchestral ballet inspired
each comes around. When the corti- by the Russian composer’s dream
cofugal network registers that Spring- about a young girl dancing herself to
steen chorus, our brains release just death. Drawing from the Slavic and
the right amount of dopamine. Like Lithuanian folk music of his home-
a needle tracing the grooves of a re- land, Stravinsky blackened his score
cord, our brains trace these patterns. with rhythmic and harmonic tension,
The more “records” we own, the more stretching phrases to their outer limits
patterns we can recall to send out that and never bothering to resolve them.
perfect dopamine hit. The harmonies were difficult to name
and his rhythms impossible to follow.
In his book Proust Was a Neuro-
scientist, the one-time neuroscience The Rite began with a solo bas-
lab worker Jonah Lehrer writes about soon squeezing out a riff so high in its
how the essential joy of music comes register that it sounded like a broken
in how songs subtly toy with patterns English horn. This alien sound was—
in our brains, spiking the dopamine apparently and unintentionally—so
strange that chuckles erupted from
the bourgeoisie in the mezzanine

112 Dec 2020 ✦ Jan 2021

The Genius Section

JuAnA mAri moyA/getty imAges boxes and rippled through the crowd Le Figaro called the piece a “laborious
below. The dissonant opening gave and puerile barbarity.”
way to the martial assault of the
second movement, “The Augurs of Laborious and puerile as it may
Spring,” and the dancers bounded on have seemed, did Rite really necessi-
stage, moving squeamishly and at jag- tate a riot? Maybe. The way the cor-
ged angles. As recounted in the daily ticofugal system learns new patterns
newspaper Le Figaro, the chuckles makes everything we already know
turned into jeers, then shouting, and far more pleasurable than everything
soon the audience was whipped into we don’t. We experience the strange
such a frenzy that their cries drowned allure of wanting to go back to that
out the orchestra. time in high school driving down
country roads with the radio on. Plus
Many members of the audience our brains actually fight against the
could not fathom this new music; unfamiliarity of life. “We are built to
their brains—figuratively, but to a abhor the uncertainty of newness,”
certain extent, literally—broke. writes Lehrer.
A brawl ensued, vegetables were
thrown, and 40 people were ejected The coda to the famous Rite of
from the theater. It was a fiasco Spring riot is not often told. After
consonant with Stravinsky’s full-bore the melee of that evening, the ballet
attack on classical music and thus continued running at the theater for
every delicate sense in the room. many months. Alex Ross wrote in his
book The Rest Is Noise, “Subsequent
performances were packed, and at
each one the opposition dwindled. At
the second, there was noise only dur-
ing the latter part of the ballet; at the
third, ‘vigorous applause’ and little
protest. At a concert performance of
Rite one year later, ‘unprecedented
exaltation’ and a ‘fever of adoration’
swept over the crowd, and admirers
mobbed Stravinsky in the street after-
ward, in a riot of delight.”

The act of listening to new music is
hard, but it’s necessary. After all, what
is unheard could define history—
might as well come for the show. RD

pitcgfork.com (April 6, 2020), copyriggt © 2020
by condé nAst.

Rd.com 113

Reader’s Digest

BRAIN GAMES

Quick Crossword 2 1 3
4
Easy There’s no such thing as 6
too much chocolate ... or is 78
there? Experts say these are
the most commonly regifted
items. Fit them into the grid.

SOCKS LOTION 5
SOAP JEWELRY
CHOCOLATE FRAME
PAJAMAS WINE
CANDLE COOKBOOK

9

Sort It Out Emily goodman (quick crossword). darrEn rigby (sort it out)
Difficult The eight tiles below have been sorted into two groups according to a rule.
Part of this rule is that in Group A, the three dots on each tile are arranged clockwise
starting with the dot on top, and in Group B, they’re arranged counterclockwise.

AB

In which group
does this tile
belong?

114 Dec 2020 ✦ Jan 2021 | RD.com

The Genius Section

Fyroausrebrrsiaimnpysooun (nhge(rwe’osrtKhmeandepaul)b.liesmhiilnyggCooomdpmaanny)(t(FhiellF ianshtihoenbalbalneKss)n.onwomuann)p.r2o9j9eCotn(-6t)he-go games & puzzles to Keep Here’s the Deal

difficult Four playing cards, one of each suit,
lie in a row on a table. They are a three, a four,
a five, and a six. Using these clues, can you
determine the cards’ suits and their order?

✦ The cards on either side of the four are black.
✦ The club is to the right of the three but not next to it.
✦ The spade is to the left of the heart.
✦ The middle two cards add up to an even number. Neither of them is a club.

The Fashionable Snowman Fill in the Blanks
MediuM How many
MediuM Noel is about to put the finishing touches common English words
on the snowman he built. He has already placed the can you make by adding
buttons and sticks (as shown), but he has a few other a letter to each of the
decorations as well. They are: blanks below? We found
seven. Proper nouns
✦ A top hat don’t count.
✦ A festive scarf
✦ A carrot, for the nose DIY
✦ A pipe
✦ A vest For more Brain Games,
go to rd.com
Noel might use /crosswords.
all of these
items, though
he will certainly
use no fewer
than three. How
many different
combinations
are possible?

For answers, turn to page 119.

Statement required by the Act of August 12, 1970, Section 3685, Title 39, United States Code, showing the ownership, management and circulation of READER’S
DIGEST, published 10 times a year at 44 South Broadway, Floor 7, White Plains, Westchester County, NY 10601, as filed on September 30, 2020.

The names and addresses of the publisher, editor-in-chief, and managing editor are: Publisher, Lora Gier, of 111 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 2210, Chicago, IL 60601;
Editor-in-Chief, Bruce Kelley; and Managing Editor, Lorraine Burton, of 44 South Broadway, Floor 7, White Plains, Westchester County, NY 10601.

The owner is Trusted Media Brands, Inc., 750 Third Avenue, New York, New York County, NY 10017, and the names and addresses of Bondholders, Mortgages
and other Security Holders owning one percent or more of the total amount of Bonds, Mortgages or Other Securities are RDA Holding Co., 750 Third Avenue, New
York, NY 10017.

Annual subscription price: $24.95.
Average number of copies of each issue during preceding 12 months, and of the single issue nearest to filing date, respectively, are as follows: Total number of
copies printed (net press run) 3,305,695—3,243,474; paid distribution—sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors and counter sales 106,462—111,846;
paid mail subscriptions 2,410,798—2,352,737; total paid distribution 2,517,260—2,464,583; free or nominal rate distribution 427,540—459,341; total distribu-
tion 2,944,800—2,923,924; copies not distributed 360,895—319,550; total 3,305,695—3,243,474; percent paid: 85.48%—84.29%; paid electronic copies
93,120—128,000; total paid print distribution + paid electronic copies 2,610,380—2,592,583; total print distribution + paid electronic copies 3,037,920—
3,051,924; percent paid: 85.93%—84.95%. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete.

Jim Woods, VP, Magazine Planning

Introducing The Best of Reader’s Digest 2020

ENJOY

70%

SAVINGS

Including FREE SHIPPING

Wonderful keepsake
edition featuring our BEST
stories, photos & jokes.

Stories Spanning Almost 100 Years

• fest reader-shared true stories
• Courageous tales of lifesaving heroes
• feautiful retellings of acts of kindness
• Mesmerizing photos we can’t forget
• Laugh-out-loud jokes & cartoons

CLAIM YOUR COPY TODAY!

SAVE %, including FREE SHIPPING, at

RD.com/BESTRD

The Genius Section Reader’s Digest

WORD POWER 9. atone v.
(uh-'tohn)
As the holiday season approaches, A begin fasting.
many of us turn to spiritual matters and B bow down to.
end-of-year reflection. This contemplative C make up for.

quiz is full of words that refer to holy, 10. ashram n.
soulful, or meditative practices. ('ah-shrum)
A burial mound.
After you’ve pondered, ascend to the B Nativity scene.
next page for answers. C religious retreat.

By Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon 11. homily n.
('hah-muh-lee)
1. canticle n. 5. vespers n. A sermon.
('kan-tih-kuhl) ('veh-sperz) B hymn.
A sacred flame. A evening service. C parish.
B small chapel. B silent worship.
C Biblical song. C winged cherubs. 12. thaumaturgist n.
('thaw-muh-ter-jist)
2. asana n. 6. genuflect v. A miracle worker.
('ah-suh-nuh) ('jen-yoo-flekt) B congregation head.
A sweat lodge. A donate. C nonbeliever.
B yoga pose. B ponder.
C spiritual guide. C kneel. 13. supplicate v.
('suh-plih-kayt)
3. halal adj. 7. lama n. A pray.
(huh-'lahl) ('lah-muh) B obey.
A in a trance. A prayer shawl. C consume.
B on a pilgrimage. B humble offering.
C fit or lawful. C Buddhist monk. 14. kinara n.
(kih-'nah-ruh)
4. mezuzah n. 8. halcyon adj. A enlightenment.
(muh-'zoo-zah) ('hal-see-on) B set of seven candles.
A scroll hung by a door. A awesome. C scripture.
B golden halo. B peaceful.
C organ composition. C mythical. 15. psyche n.
('sy-kee)
A soul.
B guide.
C rite.

Rd.com | dec 2020 ✦ Jan 2021 117

Reader’s Digest

That’s the Spirit(s)

Most examples of spirit are ethereal, such as a person’s soul
or mood, or even a ghost. But what about that most earthly of
spirits—aka alcohol? That meaning may have originated as a
term for the vapors produced by distillation; spiritus is Latin
for “breath.” Or it could be linked to the final product of
distillation: pure alcohol, the “spirit” of the original liquid.

Word Power 7. lama (c) Buddhist 12. thaumaturgist (a) DaviD CroCkett/Getty imaGes
monk. In Tibetan, the miracle worker. That man
ANSWERS title Dalai Lama means who “cures” blindness
“oceanmonk” because with a touch of his hand
1. canticle (c) Biblical the spiritual head of says he’s a thaumaturgist,
song. The choir sang a the religion is said to but he’s really just a
canticle to begin Sunday’s possess an ocean of huckster.
service. compassion.
13. supplicate (a) pray.
2. asana (b) yoga pose. 8. halcyon (b) peaceful. Before his big presenta-
Barbara’s favorite asana is I’m an early riser because tions, Boris would suppli-
downward-facing dog. I adore those halcyon cate to the gods of public
moments that happen speaking.
3. halal (c) fit or lawful. just as the sun comes up.
My family is Muslim, so 14. kinara (b) set of
we’ve always followed 9. atone (c) make up for. seven candles. The first
a halal diet. Ellen broke her mother’s kinara, used to celebrate
camera, and she will be Kwanzaa, was created
4. mezuzah (a) scroll atoning for that for years. 55 years ago.
hung by a door. The
Rosens bought that 10. ashram (c) religious 15. psyche (a) soul.
pretty mezuzah on a retreat. Though ashrams Why do so many
family trip to Israel. are usually associated politicians seem to
with Hinduism, they’ve have the psyche of a
5. vespers (a) evening become popular in the potted plant?
service. If we don’t eat United States as sites for
dinner soon, we’ll be late other forms of spiritual
to Christmas Eve vespers. contemplation.

6. genuflect (c) kneel. 11. homily (a) sermon. Vocabulary Ratings
After my knee surgery, Can I just borrow the car 9 & below: acolyte
I couldn’t genuflect for without all the usual 10–12: sage
a month. homilies? 13–15: guru

118 Dec 2020 ✦ Jan 2021

The Genius Section

BRAIN GAMES Make
ANSWERS Lauusgh!

Nasos Zovoilis/WesteNd61/superstock See page 114. Caption Contest

Quick Crossword What’s your clever description for this
ACROSS picture? Submit your funniest line at
2. LOTION RD.COM/CAPTIONCONTEST. Winners will
4. SOAP appear in a future Photo Finish (PAGE 120).
5. COOKBOOK
6. PAJAMAS Reader’s Digest (ISSN 0034-0375) (USPS 865-820), (CPM Agreement# 40031457), Vol. 196, No.
7. JEWELRY 1166, December 2020/January 2021. © 2020. Published monthly, except bimonthly in July/
9. FRAME August and December/January (subject to change without notice), by Trusted Media Brands,
DOWN Inc., 44 South Broadway, White Plains, New York 10601. Periodicals postage paid at White
1. CHOCOLATE Plains, New York, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
3. SOCKS Reader’s Digest, PO Box 6095, Harlan, Iowa 51593-1595. Send undeliverable Canadian ad-
5. CANDLE dresses to [email protected]. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, in any
8. WINE manner, is prohibited. Reader’s Digest and The Digest are registered trademarks of Trusted Me-
dia Brands, Inc. Marca Registrada. Printed in U.S.A. SUBSCRIBERS: You may cancel your subscrip-
Sort It Out tion at any time and receive a refund for copies not previously addressed. Your subscription will
Group B. The dots expire with the issue identified above your name on the address label. If the Post Office alerts us
on each tile are in that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected
alphabetical order by address within one year. A special Reader’s Digest Large Print with selected articles from Reader’s
color (Blue, Green, Digest is published by Trusted Media Brands, Inc. For details, write: Reader’s Digest Large Print,
Orange, Purple, Red, PO Box 6097, Harlan, Iowa 51593-1597. CONSUMER INFORMATION: Reader’s Digest may share
Yellow), with Group A information about you with third parties for the purpose of offering products and services that
going clockwise from may interest you. If you would rather not receive such offers via postal mail, please write to Read-
the top dot and Group B er’s Digest Customer Mailing List, PO Box 3123, Harlan, Iowa 51593-0189. You can also visit
counterclockwise. www.tmbi.com/preference-center to manage your preferences and opt out of receiving such
offers via e-mail. Please see our Privacy Policy at www.tmbi.com/privacy-policy.
Here’s the Deal
Left to right: Three Rd.com 119
of diamonds, six of
spades, four of hearts,
five of clubs

The Fashionable
Snowman
16

Fill in the Blanks
Daily, dairy, daisy, deify,
deity, doily, drily

Reader’s Digest The Genius Section helovi/Getty imaGes

PHOTO FINISH

Your Funniest captions

Winner
December 26!
—Carla Meyer Panama City, Florida

Runners-Up
Nick’s audition for Graywatch went well.
—Steven Arruda Locust Grove, Virginia
The commercialization of Christmas was complete when Speedo
signed Santa Claus as their new spokesmodel.

—Jennifer Falco Crystal Lake, Illinois
To enter an upcoming caption contest, see the photo on page 119.

120 Dec 2020 ✦ Jan 2021 | RD.com

mA fit so discreet, discreet fit

you’d never know

they’re for bladder leaks.

ax protection +