Cicada

This is a preteen/early teen mag. Lots of good writing. Well edited, has some tough stuff as written by kids themselves. It's a good magazine and is argued over for the first reading.

We gave this magazine as a gift to our granddaughter who will soon be 14. Our Library director recommended this magazine as suitable for gifted children who enjoy poetry. Our granddaughter writes her own poetry. She likes Cicada so much she asked us to renew it.

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I'm in my mid-20s now but I received Cicada when I was a teenager and I loved them. The stories and poems were stimulating and I always dreamed of submitting my own work (though I never did). I hope this is still around when I have teens in the house.

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Teachers Helper - Grades 2-3 ed

Not great for "real learning" but there are usually some fun ideas in each issue.

I will use these a lot in my classroom! Teacher's Helper is a big help in my weekly lesson planning!

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Washingtonian Magazine

I subscribe to "Washingtonian" magazine for the informative details included in many of the articles. I have the January 2013 inauguration issue in front of me that includes among the following:

Pages 31-36: Information on the events being hosted in the D.C. area during the period of January 2013.

Pages 117-119: Ideas on facilitating an upbeat mood during the winter.

Pages 151-167: There are an abundance of restaurant recommendations within these pages.

Pages 169-174: Tips on what to look for when deciding to hire a professional mover.

"Washingtonian" magazine is good for both locals looking for innovative ideas on navigating the D.C. area and tourists who plan a short-term visit.

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Hi-Fi +

I am an Audiophile and appreciate good print material. Hi Fi+ gives me a different perspective on equipment as viewed from across the Great Pond. This was an extension/renewal to my existing Amazon purchase.

I love HIFI Plus magazine for its well written reviews and ethically honest journalism practices compared to the older British trash publications like What hifi.

However, because HiFi Plus is imported from the UK it is prohibitively way too expensive to subscribe to in paper format. I wish the publisher would offer a Kindle version for North American subscribers. As an audiophile I do have to say it is one of the best magazines published in the world today. I have listened to equipment at local HIFI salons that was reviewed in the publication and found many of the reviewers claims to be spot on sound wise, which can often be very subjective depending on the perception of the person hearing a particular audio component and what it's hooked up to. A couple of years ago HiFi Plus reviewed an Sim Audio Moon integrated Amplifier,(that was given hi marks in many well known U.S. audiophile publications), and the writer thought it had a rather disappointing sterile sound quality.

Being an old fan of Sim Audio I heard that same amp before reading that review and came to the same conclusion.

I was shocked and angry when a so-called American journalist gave an A rating to the same amp in their prestigious publication. I suspect he had been bought off. Whenever you read the phrase, "it sounded so good that I bought the review sample," be very skeptical of the writer. For the writer either gets the component for free or at manufacture cost. I know this for a fact because I have known Audiophile journalists who have told me that's how they get compensated for writing positive reviews of products that may or may not be as great as they are touted to be.

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Woodcarving

If you're new to carving & want to get some ideas on where to start, this may be the magazine for you. Most of the projects (usually one per magazine) are relatively simple w/ decent instructions, firmly set in the "objet d'art" category. Stuff that makes for interesting gifts that may collect dust on someone's shelves.

If you're looking for information or properties of various types of woods, try an encyclopedia instead ("Encyclopedia of Wood," ISBN: 0816021597 is a good place to start).

If you are looking for events or carving groups in your area, you might want to search online unless you live in the U.K., where this magazine is produced.

Give it a shot for a year. You'll probably pick up a tip or 2 and then move on to bigger things.

Progressive Populist

'The Progressive Populist' delivers 22 issues a year packed with insightful articles from people like Amy Goodman, Jim Hightower, Garrison Keillor, Patrisia Gonzales and Ralph Nader. It provides plenty of space for 'letters to the editor.'

With subscriptions for less than $30, it is a bargain and a good tool for sharing progressive thought with others.

The only thing wrong with THE PROGRESSIVE POPULIST is it publishes 22 times a year instead of weekly. A digest of people's pundits and news unfiltered by the conglomerates that control the majority of American news, THE PROGRESSIVE POPULIST belongs in the information mix of anyone who realizes they can't trust corporate media, where reporting truth is a conflict of interest. As I write this in May, 2011, the latest edition of THE PROGRESSIVE POPULIST includes an article by Alexander Cockburn challenges the hype about the so-called revolution in Libya. Another piece debunks the myth that the United States Postal Service loses money. While a weekly dose of Cockburn, Ralph Nader, Jesse Jackson, Ted Rall, Amy Goodman, Dean Baker and other columnists THE PROGRESSIVE POPULIST carries would be great, reading them 22 times a year beats not at all.

Sure, you may have PROGRESSIVE POPULIST contributors such as Dean Baker showing up in your TRUTHOUT e-mail digest, or maybe you're on Ralph Nader's e-mail list. But in every PROGRESSIVE POPULIST issue I, for one, read several informative pieces I see nowhere else.

THE PROGRESSIVE POPULIST's "Dispatches" section reports news you should have but won't necessarily get from your daily, conglomerate-owned newspaper. I read "Dispatches" first.

Subscribe to THE PROGRESSIVE POPULIST.

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Airstream Life

Every Airstream owner should be getting this magazine. There is a great variety of articles ranging from tectnical tips to Airstream history to places to go with your Airstream.

The magazine is printed on glossy stock with great photography. Advertisements are limited and Airstream related so that there is more information in this magazine for its size than the typical RV magazine.

I've been reading Airstream Life since it's beginning. I also read several other "RV" magazines. Airstream Life stands out among the crowd of "RV style" publishers.

The magazine is quality. This is not your standard flimsy paper magazine. Each issue is thick, perfect bound, and color throughout.

On top of the physical quality, what goes into the magazine is always interesting. It is a "cover to cover" read. The information is great, and really is not just for Airstream owners!

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I dream of owning a 1960's Bambi Airstream and can live the Airstream camper's life vicariously through this cool magazine! Good articles and pics.

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I subscribed when this magazine first came out.

I found advertising for businesses I could trust to help me with my '68 Land Yacht restoration.

The best column is how not to get taken when purchasing a vintage airstream.

It is amazing at the cons out therejacking up prices for items that are modern or easily available for less...buyer beware.

Also John Irwin's column is fun to learn ways to modify and adapt these trailers for personal convenience.

Two thumbs up for this quality magazine for airstream enthusiasts.

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Althought this magazine is targeted towards the Airstream owner, it is a great resource for anyone on the road traveling across the United States and then some. If you don't own an Airstream you will after reading your first issue. Packed with great information, product reviews, travel info, wonderful photos and a whole bunch of tidbits for everyone. The best RV magazine on the market today. But don't listen to me, pick one up and you'll agree.

Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine (1-year)

This magazine has paid for itself many times over with its very simple, relevant financial tips. I won't go into my personal details, but I estimate that by acting upon the advice I found in different articles over the past year, I will have saved and earned over $2000, and perhaps much more. This amount has not come from major windfalls from stock purchases, but rather from sound advice on taxes, credit cards, savings options, fee comparisons, etc.-the types of things we all deal with often. I have subscribed to many magazines over the years, and the majority were only for 1 year-this one I will continue renew for years to come!

I've read other personal finance magazines before and found them to be either too basic to be worth my time, or too focused on some obscure area. I'm not a financial professional, but I like to constantly increase my knowledge of personal finance. Kiplinger's has been great for that. I skip 80% of the articles in this magazine, but that still leaves one or two in every issue that teach me about an area I didn't know about -where to buy bonds online the most cheaply, how to find good financial advice, why options are priced the way they are. One good article pays for the entire annual subscription. Each issue has a wide range of articles appealing to lots of levels of experience.

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Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine fits right in the middle between the lowest-common denominator approach of Money magazine and the head-in-the-clouds attitude at Worth magazine. Kiplinger's has a nicely balanced style and tone; it never preaches, and I almost always find a tip, suggestion, or tax-saving idea that pays for my year's subscription in every single issue. If that's the measure of the value of a personal finance magazine, then Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine deserves a five-star rating. Good stuff, and a good value!

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I had been subscribing to Money magazine for the past 14 years. At some point I wanted a change so I try Kiplinger's. I'd say comparing between the two Money seems to target more on upper income readers whereas Kiplinger's middle to lower. Money's written style is more technical whereas Kiplinger's is less.

Overall I'd say Kiplinger's content seems more fundamental than Money.

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My retirement plan sends me a magazine, which is so boring that I don't even bother to open it anymore; Kiplinger's isn't at all like that. The best part of Kiplinger's is that it describes how real people with average salaries, kids, and debts can invest for the future. There are also some great articles for parents about how to teach their kids to manage their money. Everything seems practical, but I've yet to try any of it. The magazine is broken into four sections: `Ahead' short articles about finance news and current event, `investing' about investing mostly stocks, `your money' about ways to invest your money though not as technical as the investing section and more diverse, and `spending' which is basically general interest about new fun technologies and other ways to spend all the money saved or made through investing.

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