This is my first issue of Lapham's Quarterly, and my feelings are mixed. It certainly is intellectual, which I find appealing. Some of the quotes and short pieces are very satisfying. On the other hand, it perhaps isn't surprising that the Comedy issue is not so much about making you laugh as it is about studying what comedy is--or at least what writers through the centuries have conceived it to be. There are lots of juxtapositions of those who don't appreciate comedy at all and think it a base human instinct versus those who understand that it is an essential part of human nature that helps to make life bearable.

This issue provided satisfying reading during my lunch hours, and I mostly look forward to the next one, which has already arrived. But whether or not this becomes a permanent reading habit is still to be determined. (I did download and listen to some of the Lapham's Quarterly podcasts, by the way, and most were excellent. ( )