Here is their Mission Statement: I think you’ll like it.

Rain Taxi champions literary culture through programs and publications that foster engagement with innovative writing.

See? What did I tell you? It’s right up your reading alley.

And, if you were to turn to the Spring 2010 issue (Vol. 15, No. 1), you would see that the categories would likely appeal as well: Fiction, Poetry/Video, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, Interviews and Features.

They’re not fancy but, if you like reading, and if you’re visiting this site it’s more than likely that you love reading, it’s certain that at least one of these categories will make your reader’s heart beat just a little faster and it’s more than likely that you’ll appreciate the variety.

Especially if you already subscribe to some of the glossier bookmags, or to some of the less-glossy-but-even-more-prominent booksheets, you’ll probably be particularly interested in Rain Taxi which makes a point of including books that might be a little harder to find (e.g. small press, academic offerings, older-and-out-of-the-media-eye-but-still-relevant-reading).

There is always a good mix, in my opinion, of writers whose names I recognize and writers I haven’t “met” yet, but despite the diversity of categories considered, what is common — to all of the reviews I’ve read herein — is a passion for reading and for books, those which are comfortable and those which make a reader stretch.

This month I was keen to read about The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis and American Salvage by Bonnie Jo Campbell, and I wasn’t keen to read about Memories of the Future Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky or The Abyss of Human Illusion by Gilbert Sorrentino, because I hadn’t heard of either author, but after I was done reading the reviews, I knew that I wanted to read more than just the reviews (although I think I’ll be searching by Title name for awhile with one of those for sure).

Rain Taxi will round out your pile of Reading About Reading and add several notes to your TBR list (the advertisements, often from small presses showcasing the winners of literary awards that don’t usually make the newspapers, as well as the content).

And, if you’re going to subscribe, which is remarkably reasonable, why not make it for 2 years at least: it’s not as though you’re suddenly going to stop reading!

Do you have a favourite bookish magazine you would recommend?