Cape Cod Life

I've been reading this magazine for years. Would pick it up, while visiting the Cape, knowing that someday I would buy/build at the Cape. Fabulous ideas. Many, many years later, my dream was realized. The decorating tips and ideas from this magazine were well-worth the cost of this magazine. I'm a big into recycling, so I pass this magazine (very reluctantly) to family...favorite magazine for many years...

Red Magazine

I buy this magazine often from Barnes & Noble in the states. It's filled with content I that I wish all the popular women's magazines were filled with: Fashion, cooking, interesting interviews, product reviews, home design etc. The magazine has everything and I find myself constantly going back to the same magazine until it's essentially torn to pieces. It's a perfect Sunday morning read, and it'll leave you entertained for hours, at least for me it's about 3 hours of unapologetic mag & tea time.

My only gripe is the price in the US. I think it goes for $11. That's a lot for a magazine so I refuse to purchase it every month, I can't justify this monthly expenditure. I wish it were cheaper, sure. But it's a great, whimsical, well rounded product. For that I am pleased.

A friend brought me a copy of Red while she visited Oxford. I spent hours with it. This magazine is superb; the articles are well-written and engaging. The only thing that bothered me was the references to certain products, many of which are available only in the UK, with prices listed in pounds. (Yes, I know this is a British magazine but I was mildly annoyed. Call me shallow.) This didn't bother me enough to make me stop reading at any time, however. After the first read, I wanted to read it all again.

About the only thing that stops me from ordering a subscription is the high price. Perhaps when I win the Publishers' Clearing House Sweepstakes I will subscribe to Red.

Buy Red Magazine Now

Zymurgy

For the $38 membership, you get the magazine for free when you join the AHA ;

The magazine is great if you are past the beginner stage of beermaking. It can be a bit on the technical side, but if you love making beer, then it's great information.

I have to agree that a)this is an essential for the homebrewer who wants to learn more and b)that it could be better.

I love homebrewing and for me being able to read little tips here and there both improves what I do, and also keeps my ego in check and reminds me NOT to take out the loan on the brewery just yet. Zymurgy is good to answer questions and generally keep a pulse on the hobby.

That being said, it can be sometimes repetitive (and they even seem to repeat themselves sometimes!) but usually the letters and other completely novel things will counteract the repetitious ideas.

All of that being said, I completely agree that subscribing to this magainze in any way other than joining AHA is silly.

Buy Zymurgy Now

Must-have for those who brew. Great recipes included and you can use your membership card at microbreweries for discounts. Well done, Zymurgy.

Read Best Reviews of Zymurgy Here

My only real complaint is they're not monthly issues. Zymurgy is very informative and relevant for every homebrewer whether you brew solo like me or in clubs and like to compete. Highly recommended.

Want Zymurgy Discount?

Precious Times

It's a great magazine to share with teenagers and young women. It's so inspiring and informative for young women. I have a daughter 21 and I didn't give the magazine to her to read, I just read it and left it on the table, hoping she will pick it up on her own and read it. She has and now I see her packing it up with her magazines.

Mental Floss

In an age of books "for dummies" and "complete idiots," Mental Floss is a magazine that makes you "feel smart again." Let's face it, some of those "dummies" books are pretty good, but you wouldn't display them in your home or read them on the train. By contrast, I openly read Mental Floss in public and place the latest issue on my coffee table.

The magazine combines a cheeky sense of humor with a wealth of information. I loved the recent "Y Files issue." "Why is yawning contagious?" "Why do people yell `Geronimo' before jumping?" "Why does the United States print $2 bills?" Mental Floss delivers the answers. Trivial pursuit may leave you wondering "why" about an answer, but Mental Floss never does.

The current "swimsuit issue" is a blast. It's not exactly titillating, but it is stimulating. The sight of Einstein and Eleanor Roosevelt in swimwear is enough to turn your attention to the articles.

There's no magazine I'd recommend more highly.

I have subscribed to "Mental Floss" from the very beginning, and now look forward to each new issue anxiously. Founded just a couple of years ago by two former college roommates who wanted a fun, hip, urbane magazine to make them smarter with style, "Mental Floss" has become a huge success, and is one of the few new magazines that debut each year that is actually prospering.

Each issue is loaded with information on interesting topics, from how common (or very uncommon) things work, to odd and unknown histories and biographies that you will not find anywhere else (and if you did, certainly not in as condensed and succinct a form as you will find here.) Without exception, the writers are literate, knowledgeable, and good humored.

The things that you don't know will amaze you after reading this magazine. Try "Mental Floss", and I am willing to bet that you will be hooked. I know I am.

Buy Mental Floss Now

There are magazines you read for specific how-to texts, like how to fix your kitchen sink. There are magazines you read to stay up to date with the latest news in the world, your field, or a given region. Then there are magazines like Mental_Floss, which is more like a "News of the Weird" magazine version release. These aren't brain puzzles to improve your memory a la Brain Age. They aren't research pieces that will test or challenge your mental ability. Instead, they are quirky factoids.

What is yelling "Geronimo" all about? Just what is a "Vegemite Sandwich"? There are all sorts of odd things covered here. Sometimes they touch on science, world politics or human relations but often they're related to pop culture, the things you hear every day and never really thought about.

It's intriguing that how you react to this magazine is probably based a lot on what you have read until now. If what you've been reading has been mainstream newspapers aimed at the "lowest common denominator", or the Dummies series of books, you'll be greatly refreshed by this! This magazine doesn't assume you're a dummy with a dead brain. It assumes you want to learn, to grow, to find out the "why" behind the things in your world. It's aimed for people who pop onto Wikipedia when they hear about a new, interesting item on the news ... or people who jump onto IMDB to see what else an actor was in when they watch a movie. It's for people who are intrigued by those connections and backgrounds.

On the other hand, Mental_Floss generally provides a surface read. It's the perfect bathroom magazine but for those who already get mentally challenging magazines, they might be let down by a magazine that is explicitly named Mental_Floss. This doesn't provide in depth or rigorous details on anything. If the academic magazines are at college level, Mental_Floss is more like the fun high school underground newsletter that tackles intriguing issues that might otherwise be ignored. Now, before you start to clamor that most newspapers write at a 5th grade level, that is in fact untrue! Here's a factoid for you :) The New York Times writes at a 12th grade level of vocabulary and comprehension, while most other newspapers fall between 9th and 10th grade. The 5th grade stat came from the 1700s and 1800s.

Still, every magazine has its target audience and its purpose in life. Mental_Floss isn't there to provide in depth education. There are other magazines for that. Instead, it gives you great tidbits on things that many people care about things that are *super* to use at cocktail parties, networking events, dinners out with your boss or employees. Instead of getting into a discussion about religion or politics, and perhaps starting the third world war, you can give info on a topic that will intrigue most people there, and often impress them.

Definitely a magazine that just about every age group will enjoy and that is very "useful"! If I have a real issue with this magazine, it's that it only comes out every other month. It'd be great if they could get this onto a monthly schedule, with more intriguing facts to keep us fresh and full of new information.

Read Best Reviews of Mental Floss Here

Let me start off with I subscribe to at least 15 magazines covering a range of subjects. Mental Floss is the only magazine that I save and leave out for guests. The reason I save it is that is a very quick read that can be read while people have a few moments to spare. The articles are short and don't provide much depth. However it is enjoyable to read something that requires no brain power to process. Mental Floss is a great magazine that you can sit down with and read in one sitting. It even occasionaly brings a smile to your face. I suggest you give it a chance but don't expect to much.

Want Mental Floss Discount?

I just recieved my first copy of mental floss and I havent been able to put it down. In one sitting I found out the meaning behind common nursery rhymes, the origins of conflicts in Rwanda and East Timor, and realized the importance of physicists. Mental Floss is different then Time, Newsweek etc. because it puts information and knowlege out there in a way that wont bore you to tears. I can feel my brain expanding everytime I turn the page and feel much more confident in global news and relive prior events, fads, and trends that I soon would have forgotten (rubix cube?). I really am eager to keep getting new editions. Maybe in a few years, I can finally send for my MENSA exam.

Save 17% Off

Mailbox - Grades 2-3 Edition

Just like the other reviewer mentioned, the Mailbox magazine is a good source for the occasional great classroom idea. However, they were warning me it was time to renew right after I got my first issue with almost the whole year left in my subscription. The renewal request flurry escalated to phone calls every week that continued up until I finally demanded they stop calling me. Given that my school may ask me to go up or down in grade-level classroom instruction for next year, how would I know to which magazine I should subscribe that far in advance anyway?

If you don't mind all the renewal notices and calls, it's a good source of ideas, especially when you need something in a hurry.

I love this magazine for teachers by teachers. The pictures and instruction ideas for current monthly topics are wonderful. I couldn't live without it. In our school we share, save and steal this magazine from each other. The best part of the magazine is it is teacher friendly with minimal planning so that teachers can use the ideas easily. Mailbox prepares worksheets and easy instructions for tons of projects. I don't think there's anything like it out there. If you teach children, they'll love you for subscribing. It's the cat' pajamas. Bonnie Gaynor

Buy Mailbox - Grades 2-3 Edition Now

I am disappointed that my first issue of Mailbox 2-3 will not arrive until November. I ordered in July, and I was hoping that the arrival date would be, at least, by September.

Read Best Reviews of Mailbox - Grades 2-3 Edition Here

I've had this magazine for the past year and have used several of the tips, activities, posters, etc. However, I have also gotten endless emails from Mailbox promoting products and asking me to renew way in advance. This continues though I asked them to stop. For the last three or four weeks, they've been calling me on the telephone every day. This continues though I asked them to stop. The few good ideas in each $6 issue are nowhere near worth the trouble of dealing with this harassment.

Want Mailbox - Grades 2-3 Edition Discount?

I was going to buy this as a gift, but after reading the reviews I have decided it's not worth the spam and daily phone calls. However, I searched around some more and found out that Amazon sells this for the exact same price as retail (even though they claim you are saving money off some higher price). So, if you want to avoid the harassment but pay the same price, buy it directly from the distributor but use a fake phone number and a throw-away email address. That's what I may do.

Save 16% Off

Entrepreneur

Well over half the magazine is advertisements, very few articles from which i've learned nothing at all. I would recommend taking a look at their website (entrepreneur.com) instead of subscribing to their magazine. Their website contains better articles that can be more helpful than those found in the magazine.

It's funny because I didn't realize how useless this magazine is for me until i read some of the other reviews here. I'm about half-way through an already paid for 2-year subscription to this magazine. I always make sure to keep my copy of each issue because somehow it feels like it holds some important information that will propel me forward as an entrepreneur. I have their website listed in my Favorites. Cause I'm a big time businessman who gets a magazine called "Entrepreneur" for entrepreneurs like myself. Yeah right! The truth of the matter is the magazines are perfectly stacked and in mint condition because as soon as I've flipped through it once, subconsciously I realize there's nothing of value there. A lot of ads with get-rich quick schemes. A list of 500 franchises. Blah blah blah.

Business 2.0, Wired, Inc., Fast Company, Investor's Business Daily, The Wall Street Journal. These are the business magazines and newspapers that give today's entrpreneur a thorough guide to "the jungle".

Entrepreneur? Just a fancy-sounding title. And soon to be a stack in the recycle bin.

And as far as motivation goes, I get more by flipping through an issue of Robb Report than I have ever gotten by reading any one article in Entrepreneur.

Buy Entrepreneur Now

I have read this magazine on and off for a several years and wanted to add my 2 cents. Yes, the magazine does have many ads for business opportunities. But this is exactly something I want to read and evaluate, the marketplace of business opportunities. Many of these are franchise opportunities, which is exactly where the first time entrepreneur should start. The articles are generally well written and many will obviously be useful, but not all. The value of each article often depends on where you are in the business creation process. It was not until I read the E-Myth Revisited that I understood the value of these franchises. This magazine slices and dices the franchises by many metrics to help you find one where you are most likely to both succeed and be happy. The magazine is easily worth more than the price to any person seriously starting or building a small enterprise. Hope this has been helpful to the entrepreneurs out there.

Read Best Reviews of Entrepreneur Here

This magazine is great just for keeping the spirit. It's filled with many success stories. But hardly any of those success stories include the details that led them into success. It's also extremely geared towards franchising. Every other article, and every other ad is about franchising. I have a one year subscription and at this point I'm bored. I'll keep the subscription, but it's highly unlikely that I will renew next year.

*** Though one should check out their web site at entrepreneur.com. You will find that it is the total opposite of the magazine, and will prove to be a great wealth of information.

Want Entrepreneur Discount?

My biz partner and I were excited to receive our first mag from this group. We were sorely disappointed. Most of the articles are not new information, but "rehashed" info widely available. We read it cover to cover for about 4 months, then cancelled the subscription. There are better sources out there and this is not one of them!!

Save 80% Off

Getaway

Getaway has wonderful artices on Southern Africa, focussing on destinations in South Africa. Very good articles on everyhting from luxury bush camps to rough hiking trails. Particularly enjoy readers' comments on places to go and others to avoid. As a South African, I always read it for relevant articles before heading off to explore our beautiful country, from the Kalahari Desert, the world's oldest, to the Game Farms bordering the world famous Kruger Park, Getaway does them justice.

Caijing = Business Finance Review

Caijing is arguably the best Financial news (bi)weekly in China. Caijing raised its fame through the investigation of several scandal in China stock markets around 2001 and I paid special attention since. Its reports are well balanced and deep into the subject. The editors especially made a conscious effort to dance the fine line, despite the shackles. They are so far one of the most outspoken news media in mainland China. And the price on amazon is about right. It would cost you $260 to subscribe from publisher directly. I cannot comment on the delivery though since I haven't tried the amazon subscription (our library carries it).