Welcome to a special year-end issue of The Week. For the first time, we have expanded on the year-end features that we used to squeeze into our last regular issue, and given them their own home. We hope they’ll provide some reading pleasure for our loyal subscribers in the lull between Christmas and New Year’s.
In this issue, we take you on a (not entirely nostalgic) tour of the year in news and business. We select some of the best achievements in books (both novels and nonfiction), music, art, and food. We’ve also curated three great longer reads that we found in our exhaustive reading of newspapers, magazines, and websites. All of it, of course, is spiced with a bit of fun.
At year’s end, I want to express my gratitude to our 560,000 subscribers, who’ve made this the best year yet for The Week. In recent months, subscribers have given more than 100,000 gift subscriptions to friends and relatives. Thanks to your enthusiasm, our business is strong and growing at a time when many print and digital publications are struggling. It’s both gratifying and humbling.
We live in interesting times. In 2014, we’ll continue to do our best to give you a succinct, intelligent, and lively summary of what’s happening and what a wide variety of very smart people think about it all. My talented staff and I wish you, the extended family of The Week, a very happy New Year.
William Falk
Editor-in-chief
P.S. To recharge our batteries, we are now taking some time off. Your next issue of The Week will be dated Jan. 17 and should begin arriving Jan. 10.