Electric Flight (1-year auto-renewal)

I bought a subscription of this for my father-in-law as an early Christmas gift in November of 2009. I was told though that he wouldn't receive a copy until March. I was a little miffed at the late start, but let him know it was coming. By the third week in March of this year he still hadn't recieved it. I called the company and they said it should arrive in a week or so. Now, in the second week in April, he still hasn't gotten it. Once again I called them to find out the problem. This time I was told that they had cancelled the subscription because delivery of the magazine had failed. They had cancelled it without notice or refunding my account. After 10 minutes on the phone I finally got them to reinstate the subscription. Now I'm supposed to expect the July edition in May. Aka wait at least another 6 weeks to receive something that is already late.

My father-in-law loves the magazine, but frankly it's hard to appreciate something you never receive. If it doesn't show up in the coming weeks I'm cancelling the subscription and sending him a very apologetic card.

After purchasing the subscription it seems to take forever to get your first copy(but no matter how you order a magazine it seems this way). The magazine is excellent. It concentrates on smaller RC airplanes, especially electrics.

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Expensive magazine (over $3.00 per issue) geared to the new flier. Lots of advertising embedded in the articles. You would be better served by logging on to rcgroups.com or wattflier.com to get good solid articles and unbiased reviews from the people who bought and fly the planes. Oh yeah, the half dressed teeny-boppers on many of the covers makes you wonder what time zone (60's perhaps) the editors live in!

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I ordered a subscription for the Electric Flight magazine online and have yet to receive an issue. I believe the magazine would be something I would enjoy reading but I wouldn't know. If I had any suggestions to offer, I would never order online again for a magazine subscription as this seems to be a waste of money, time, and effort.

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Mostly agood purchase guide, but I guess not one builds much these days unless they are experts. The hobby used to be mostly builders.

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Olive Magazine

I would love to subscribe to Olive, but I can't justify it. I understand the subscription includes airmail, but STILL! I can buy single issues at a store near my home, and even at retail prices, 12 issues cost less than does a subscription.

But, to give you an idea how good a magazine this is, every single month I deliberately make the trek to the store to buy a copy.

If you were looking at a marketing description, Olive would seem like Real Simple, or a magazine of its ilk, but somehow I find it more satisfying than those perfectly nice publications that I never find anything that makes me say, "Let's make that this weekend." I'm not sure how to describe the reasons why.

Olive could be subtitled "Food, Wine, and Travel for busy people," because it emphasizes tasty meals without fuss. Each issue has a section with 5-10 dinners you can get on the table in 30 minutes; plus a "weekend cooking" section for the dishes you're willing to fiddle with; plus a section on cooking what's fresh in the market right now. (The issue I picked up today has three recipes that feature peas, for instance.) It ranges from exotic Thai curries to fish and chips. There are also restaurant reviews and travel (more "travel for foodies" -they expend some energy telling you where to eat).

I have cooked at least one dish from nearly every issue, and every single one of them has been a winner. These aren't necessarily "company cooking," though some of the recipes certainly qualify. However, their "fast food" section is exactly what I want: a real meal that's feasible in the middle of the week. Among my favorites is a chicken-mushroom-wine stew in pastry. It really DID take a half hour, start to finish, in part because it instructs you to use store-bought puff pastry. And man, was it tasty.

That would be enough... but the fun extra is that this is a British magazine, put out by the BBC. When they do taste-tests of tea or chocolate or ketchup, the brands are what's available in the UK. Although I recognize a few brands, the results aren't terribly useful; but I think it's a hoot. (What can I say? My idea of a cool thing to do on vacation in a foreign country is to go grocery shopping.) Nor are most of the restaurant reviews likely to be relevant; but then, a NY Times restaurant review isn't going to help me, either. I can still enjoy it.

I can't imagine you'll spend this kind of money without seeing an issue. If you've seen a copy and wondered if its quality holds up... I assure you, it does. The only food magazine that I think is of equal quality in the U.S. is Fine Cooking, and it has a different angle.

I came across "Olive" when I was in London this past May (2005). It was a free supplement to that month's issue of "BBC Good Homes", so I wasn't expecting much originally. Am I ever glad I didn't just toss it in the bin as I would normally do!

"Olive" is devoted to cooking that is, as my title suggests, simple, elegant and healthy. Great editorial photography makes that food look great, and all its' recipes use readily available ingredients. Each recipe is short, telling you what you need and how to prepare it, and not much more. Sidebars or runners at the bottom of the page contain info related to the recipes, such as how to cook the perfect steak (i.e., "bring the steak to room temperature; use a very hot pan" and "oil the meat not the pan"). Under the section "Fast Food", one of these recipes was for Mini Wellingtons, has only 5 ingredients and is ready in 30 minutes. Another section details how to make a signature Nobu (the famed sushi restaurant in NYC & London) dish, Cod with Miso, and the recipe isn't at all intimidating (although obtaining some of this dish's ingredients might be difficult unless you have access to an Asian market or similar online site). GI Diet followers can also benefit from "Olive" as nearly all the recipes contain GI-related nutritional information. Chef Gordon Ramsay also edits a column and shares his favorite tips and recipes.

The only reason I give "Olive" 4 stars instead of 5 is because many recipes contain both metric and imperial measures. However, conversion info for the metric measures is easily available online. "Olive" also uses British stove/oven indications, such as "heat the oven too 200C/fan 180/Gas 6" but I was easily able to convert these to Fahrenheit.

So why subscribe to "Olive" instead of an American cooking magazine? If you are like me, American Cooking magazines can be frustrating, in that recipes are often (and unneccessarily, IMO) complicated, and better suited to those who cook for the purpose of entertaining large groups of people. Many healthy cooking magazines don't contain GI Index info, and fail to present it in an easily understood way. Many cooking magazines 'on this side of the pond' also are chock-full of ads, and you have to get through them before you can get to the recipes or information that prompted you to buy the mag in the first place. "Olive" is clean, uncluttered, and appeallingly presented. What's not to like?

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This magazine is by far the best food, travel magazine out. A bit on the expensive side due to it coming from BBC in England but worth every pound...dollar.

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This magazine flies off the shelf in my epicurian publishing company library. The staff loves itboth foodies editors and non-editors alike. Your only challenge will the need of a scale to measure dry ingredients.

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So my sister-in-law (in the UK) has raved about how good this magazine is, but I just can't justify spending $130 for a subscription. BUT, it's available as an iPad app for $22! And yes. Great magazine. So this is more of an FYI than anything. :)

Southern Lady

Every time I get Southern Lady, it's like springtime any part of the year. The photographs are so beautiful! It includes articles on decorating, food, fashion and stories of southern women and just a general positive appreciation of life in general. No horoscopes, male bashing, scantily clad models or errant life advice just uplifting articles and photographs.

My absolute favorite part of the magazine are the articles about women who are entrepreneurs and fortunately, there are at least two articles like that in EVERY issue. I get so excited about that part of the magazine. If they ever drop those type articles, I will drop the magazine. But I don't think they will because I think those women make the magazine special and set it apart... especially because the articles do not mention any of the financial gain of the women, just their love of doing what they do.

It is so wonderful and inspiring to read about others who got creative and decided to do something for others, their families and themselves. I think the magazine's premise is not about being from the south, but is about enjoying the beauty and joy of life that can be found in the south.

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2009 Update: It's almost Thanksgiving and I just got the holiday issue. I don't know what has happened over the past two or three years, but the quality of this magazine has gone down since I first wrote the review. You will probably still enjoy it, but I don't feel it is worth the price anymore. It seems to have a lot more ads and a lot less articles and photos of substance. I attribute this to the publisher adding more magazine titles in which they expound on certain themes that used to abound in their magazines a few years ago such as: Tea Time and Sandra Lee Homemade among others. I used to collect this magazine and loan them out to friends as they contained a wealth of treasure, but the past year especially has been pretty ho-hum.

Ephemeral visions of Royal Albert pink rose-patterned teacups, antique Spode teapots, vintage lace, and antiquarian books; snippets from my past four trips to England and France appear fresh in my mind with each issue I receive in the mail. Catering to the feminine lady who dances to a softer beat; who enjoys being a woman and all that that entails, this magazine is a respite of pure bliss. I often save my still-unopened newest issue for over a week until I can find that perfect little island of quiet time and alone-ness.....perhaps with a silver tea tray, a gathering of storm clouds outside the French door, a pretty needlepoint pillow, delectable candles on my pretty table. "Southern Lady" is a jewel, a rare find today.

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Someone got me this as a gift. At first I tossed it aside but later on a cold, rainy day I picked it up again and was enchanted. This magazine is truly like taking a mini vacation. Every single article is either restful or inspirational. It's a little bit of charm and grace in a world that is frequently neither.

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this is a "lovely" magazine! Can't wait to read it each month. It slows me down and makes me want to dream a little!

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Ephemeral visions of Royal Albert pink rose-patterned teacups, antique Spode teapots, vintage lace, and antiquarian books; snippets from my past four trips to England and France appear fresh in my mind with each issue I receive in the mail. Catering to the feminine lady who dances to a softer beat; who enjoys being a woman and all that that entails, this magazine is a respite of pure bliss. I often save my still-unopened newest issue for over a week until I can find that perfect little island of quiet time and alone-ness.....perhaps with a silver tea tray, a gathering of storm clouds outside the French door, a pretty needlepoint pillow, delectable candles on my pretty table. "Southern Living" is a jewel, a rare find today.

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National Wildlife

National Wildlife has followed the trend taken by most other nature magazines in the past decade the trend of pessimism. Mother Nature knows there are serious problems for wildlife associated with human society, but I need the occasional pleasant break to keep me out of the depressed state seemingly held by these magazine editors. As recently as ten years ago, National Wildlife and others ran detailed articles about the fasnicating lives of our wild neighbors. Since then, the magazines have gone from a nature documentary format to one of "bad news monthly." With our increasingly urbanized human population, this may be the only way to sustain interest in wildlife and their plights, but I fear it is turning some of us away. While I don't think National Wildlife should shy away from political and lifestyle issues, I do think they should lighten up a bit. The photographs are still beautiful, and the animals are still fascinating. I hope the NWF doesn't lose sight of why we became interested in wildlife in the first place.

I agree with the previous reviewer that National Wildlife is often pessimistic. Sadly, I "get it for the pictures," so-to-speak. The photos are truly beautiful, and they have a yearly contest and issue with photo winners.

In most of the articles, however, it seems the writers are trying to convince everyone that humans are ruining the planet. Probably all readers of National Wildlife already know this, but are interested in learning more about national wildlife . . . which is the name of the magazine, after all. You can't just jump in and tell everyone they're endangering animals and then hope they'll care about it--people need to have vested interest in something to really care about it. They should tell the readers how to do direct things such as birdwatch, start a pond, or plant a wildflower garden. They should educate readers on the habits and lives of various animals, and then let the readers know that the animals are in potential danger. If they make nature FUN for readers, then we'll realize what a loss it would be in our own lives to suddenly be without it. As the saying goes, "you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." National Wildlife needs to use a lot more honey and a lot less vinegar.

National Wildlife as an organization does try to encourage people to get involved with positive steps, such as through their national campout, Certified Wildlife Habitats and accompanying book (Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Backyard Widlife), etc. It would be nice to see this positive mentality carried over to the magazine itself.

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National Wildlife Magazine is a very nice publication for those with an active interest in wildlife protection and general nature conservation. It offers some very good articles on wildlife and the constant struggles animals face as they fight for survival in a world increasingly dominated by humans.

National Wildlife Magazine seeks to inform and educate and its articles include stories about success stories and challenges as well as the occasional article or department that offers up animal trivia and facts. One article may include a story about the loss of habitat for wild cats while another may talk about the brute size and strength of a rhinoceros. Whatever the story, this magazine is right there, informing and educating its readers about the wild and wonderful world of animals.

Advertisements are part of this publication and this fact may surprise some who read this publication for the first time. Many nonprofit organizations publish magazines but a good percentage of these magazines are completely adfree. This magazine has a few ads, but they cover only about onefifth of the pages in each issue. There are few enough of them that they do not take away from the magazine's enjoyment.

Besides the articles, another excellent feature of National Wildlife Magazine is the photography. In fact, I would bet that some people try to get their hands on this magazine solely for the purpose of looking at those amazing photographs of animals in their natural habitat. The photographs are impressive and memorable, with some of them depicting an animal standing still or lying down in the wild and others showing an animal chasing and catching its prey, in high speed detail. Every issue is loaded with these amazing pictures of animals and it isn't surprising that so many readers mention the photographs among their favorite parts of the magazine.

Wildlife continues to struggle for survival and National Wildlife Magazine is one of the better nonprofit publications that bring this information to your home. It is not an easy magazine to find, but I recommend grabbing and reading a copy if you can. It rates among my alltime favorite wildlife magazines.

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Scooby-Doo! Magazine

My grandson has had this subscription for 2 years and he loves it.

The ordering was easy and I am not computer literate. It usually takes forever to place any ordersut this was easier than most.

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The Beer Connoisseur Magazine (1-year auto-renewal)

Very little content for the price. Overly sized so that it won't fit with any other magazine stacks. There are interesting articles sometimes but it's just not enough content for the price and at only 4 issues a year, why do they even bother? I'll stick to Brew Your Own and Zymurgy.

they have a 4 week shipping window for the issue and then a 1-3 week shipping window for the delivery of it. I understand that it is a quarterly magazine, but I have received one issue since Oct 2012. They said that I should get my issue any day and that was on May 30. It is June 14th and still no magazine. I am not impressed with their delivery schedule at all. The magazine its self is nice, but not very big to take 4 months to produce. THe recipient was happy with it, but not happy that he has to wait all of this time for another issue.

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I subscribed to this product recently. Like others, I will stick to Brew Your Own. I find BYO has much more useful info and articles that cover a broad range of beer related issues.

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I purchased a 2 year subscription to this magazine last July through a deal website (groupon, livingsocial, crowdsavings, etc.). I think the articles are well written and I even enjoy the write ups in the beer review section. What I don't like is it is close to going on 10 months and I have only ever received 2 issues. I contacted the magazine late last year to inquire about why I had not received the fall/autumn issue. They ensured me that I will get all 8 of my issues that I paid for, but they didn't have time to create a fall issue. They didn't say it was behind, they just said I will get a winter issue, which showed up at the beginning of January. Overall the magazine is written well with good content, when you can read it. I didn't think by signing up for 8 issues, it would wind up being a 4 year subscription. Oh well, I'll keep waiting BC mag.

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So, I learned about the magazine through a friend and I subsequently learned about good beer through The Beer Connoisseur. This was a legitimate increase in my standard of living and I would recommend this magazine to anyone suffering from bad beer syndrome.

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Claviers Piano Explorer

This magazine is designed for piano students not teachers as the other reviewer mistakenly thought. It is a 16-page publication with interesting bios of composers and music history to spark students' interest. Although intended for piano students, many of the articles feature information that is of interest to students who play other instruments. My kids love the puzzles and games that are based on the articles. If you know a young piano student, get them this great magazine.

I'm writing as a teacher who gives this to my students. The cost of the magazine is covered in my annual Registration Fee. My students really enjoy Piano Explorer. I use it to supplement my teaching. It has compositions from other kids in it, it will have a composer listed every month, with recommended pieces to listen to. It has practice tips for the kids, recital tips, and some theory. I have really enjoyed using this for my students year after year. It's light easy reading for kids. My answer to the person who said it was too short, it's only $5.00 per child for the year (which is a great price) when you have a studio of 10 or more students to give it to.

It's great, when you as a teacher tell a student something multiple times, they don't get it, and SUDDENLY, VOILA! There it is in the magazine giving you credibility!

I do wish, however it had some jazz articles in it. It's mainly classically based.

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Received the magazine in good condition. My piano playing son is very excited about it. It has a good variety of content. Only deficit is that it is only a few pages.

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You must be kidding me! This is not a magazine, just a few pages of easy-reading articles. It is literally 3 to 5 pages. When I first got it I thought it was some kind of an ad or something.

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Young Rider (1-year auto-renewal)

I received a subscription of this magazine for one year, and although it has its good points, there were enough bad points to cause me not to renew. The magazine has tons of beautiful, full color posters of beautiful horses and ponies. I really enjoyed the quizzes and short stories, as well as some of the features. But my problem with this magazine was that it seems to lean towards the well-to-do little girls riding Welsh Ponies that are trained to show every weekend. I haven't read an issue yet that didn't contain an article about 'winning lots of ribbons in shows.' There is no focus on the other side of horsemanship: caring for your horse, keeping up your stable, and health care. It is simply assumed the 'young riders' will hand their lovely ponies away to their grooms and saunter off to hang their ribbons on the walls of their bedrooms, which will, presumably, also have the mega posters featured in each issue of the magazine.

This magazine is excellent! Offers horse care tips whether you own a horse or not. Helpful riding tips. Answers horsey propblems. You can win neat horse stuff. For kids who ride and don't ride. For begginers all the way up to advanced. I LOVE THIS MAGAZINE. I can't wait for the next issue to arrive.

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This is PERFECT for girls who love horses and own one or don't own one. Good articles, and lots of pictures. I have posters from the magazine all over my room!

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My 6 year old horse-loving daughter adores this magazine! She can read the articles and stories--they are well written and interesting and not too old for her, and she loves the games, quizzes and, of course, the pictures! She likes it so well we are going to get her a subscription of her own, as we have been having trouble finding it in the horse stores. It is wonderful someone makes a great magazine for the younger horse-lovers!

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I purchased subscriptions to both "Ask" and "Muse" for my daughter (9 years old) and am thrilled at the lack of advertising in those magazines. I subscribed to "Young Rider," as my daughter is very much a horse lover. I was dismayed to find it full of advertisements. And not only that, but poor quality ads, irresponsible ads perpetuating gender stereotypes (e.g., males do not wear pink) and blatant consumerism ("From hoof to toe, wear the brand.") While I'm using the magazine as a means for teaching media literacy, we certainly will not be resubscribing. As to the content, it does seem informative, especially for a beginning rider, though the writing is not particularly compelling. And the articles are hard to find amidst all the marketing, making it visually confusing. While my daughter picked up her first issue of "Ask," sat down and did not get up until she'd read it cover to cover, she picked up "Young Rider," glanced through it, tossed it back down and has not yet returned to her first issue. And this is a child who is horse crazy -not much of a testimonial for a horse magazine!

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Elle - French Edition

Just like kecksburg65, I ordered a subscription back in Dec 03 and 3 months later have received nothing but grief. I submitted a customer service request weeks ago, and got no response. When I got them on the phone, they told me they now expect that nothing will be delivered until at least 6 months after the order date.

I don't know if this is just the worst customer service I've ever experienced, or if these guys are just unbelievably bad with units of time. Magazine Express claims they'll get back to you in 5-7 days, well, it's weeks. Amazon's claims delivery in 4-6 weeks.. wrong again.. it's months.

At least this gives me an opportunity to learn about reversing charges.

I ordered this back in December 2003 and as of March 2004 still have not received any issue. The Magazine Express service that coordinates these subscriptions provides no customer service and Amazon won't do anything about it either. Don't bother ordering this unless you just want to throw money away because they will bill your credit card and give you nothing in return. Amazon doesn't care about providing customer service on this and all Magazine Express is interested in is your money.

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It's hard to add something new to what's already been said. I placed this order as a gift back in October of 2006 and here it is almost the end of February of 2007 and STILL no magazine! Amazon tells you to call Magazine Express which handles the magazine orders. However the Magazine Express customer service is a joke at best, and they do NOTHING to try to correct the problem. They promise to check into it and call you back, but they never do. And like the others have said, Amazon doesn't provide customer service on magazine subscriptions either. Obviously neither Amazon nor Magazine Express care about helping customers with problems. I guess I'll end up like the customer "ggruschow" and end up learning about their cancellation and refund policy. If THAT exists. Just an awful, awful, awful experience...

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LIKE OTHER PEOPLE I'VE BEEN VERY UPSET WITH EXPRESS MAG

IT TOOK MONTHS BEFORE I'VE GOT 1 MAGAZINE THEN I HAD TO CALL THEM AGAIN AND AGAIN... THEY SENT ME 3 TIMES THE SAME MAGAZINE THEN NOTHING ! DO NOT BUY THIS

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Esquire (1-year auto-renewal)

The cover on my last issue featured Sofia Vergara in Agent Provocateur's black lingerie and I still didn't bother to renew my subscription. It was too little, too late for a magazine that initially drew my interest as I smarter alternative to Maxim and a more coffee-table friendly alternative to Playboy. Alas, after a one-year subscription, Esquire failed to capture me.

I purchased my Esquire subscription with the same expectations I had for GQ, magazines known more for their abundant advertisements and cologne samples than for an unique, interesting take on men's interests. Esquire pushes well beyond my limits. The April 2012 edition (my last) makes a perfect example. The table of contents appears on page 25; advertisements packed between it and the cover:

Bvlgari

Giorgio Armani

Ermenegildo Zegna

Dolce & Gabbana

Calvin Klein

Woodford Reserve

Lincs DC & Co

Newport Beach Film Festival

Hugo Boss

Luminox

Moontower Comedy & Oddity Fest

Buick

That's 24 pages of advertisements before you reach the first editorial copy. And if you think that's an unfair representation, let me share that the next 20 pages includes ads for JC Penny, Tommy Hilfiger, Triumph, Canali, Salvatore Ferragamo, Ford, Breitling, Hickey Freeman, Gucci and Citibank. Within the next 20 pages, there are two more pages thinly spread with a table of contents, a staff listing, and only four pages of content, one of which carries the staff listing jump.

So, in the first 45 pages of Esquire, there are less than four pages of actual content.

Only one article, "Miracle" by Craig Davidson, was of the quality that I'd come to expect from Esquire. The nine-page piece (two pages serve as bloated title art) explores the medical advancements of synthetic hormones to delay age-related conditions.

The Sofia Vergara cover garners two thumbs up from me. However, only three more pictures of her appear in the magazine. Three! That's reason enough to fire an editor, maybe a couple. I can only take so many pictures of shaggy, bearded, brooding men hawking shoes, watches and cologne. If you are going to put Sofia Vergara on the cover, at least have the decency to treat your readers to a longer layout, at least a half dozen pages.

What's left is a choppy, increasingly juvenile collection of short articles and humor that illustrates how much Maxim and the other Laddies infected the entire men's magazine industry. The April 2012 edition included these one-page, puddle skippers:

Levi's made and crafted

Mad Men's fifth season

New books by Stephen King and John Grisham

How picky are sperm banks?

Keyboard shortcuts we need

In summary, Esquire is at the 1977 Elvis stage of life. I look back on the old issues with the same fondness I once held for Men's Health, Playboy and GQ. For a magazine approaching its 80th anniversary, Esquire needs some of those synthetic hormones to ward off its bloated visage and marked decline in quality features. Someone forgot being entertaining and smart are not mutually exclusive. Simply, today's Esquire is shallow and Maxim-esque.

Rating: Two stars.

In their memorable October 2008 issue, Esquire celebrated their 75th anniversary. To commemorate the event they published an experimental limited-edition of the issue that featured something called electronic ink, with moving words and flashing images. My copy wasn't one of the lucky ones, but it was proof that this venerable publication wasn't behind the times.

This had been a magazine that I had previously bought the occasional issue to read in airport terminals while traveling, or in lobbies while waiting to keep an appointment. Had often thought about subscribing, but for one reason or another hadn't done it. I subscribed during one of those opportunities here on Amazon when the price was too good to pass up, and am glad that I did.

The magazine: their 200-page December 2008 issue had the expected plethora of ads, but also had some excellent recipes for chili, of all things, along with an amazingly creative gift guide. There was an interesting article about how Jaguar had been sold by Ford to India's Tata Motors and the effect that it would have on that carmaker. The issue also celebrated the innovators who are leading the way to a better world for all of us.

The March 2009 issue listed the top fifty songs that we should be listening to, and the diversity of their choices was surprising. No spoilers here; just look it up, even online, as they have a great Web presence to compliment their written articles. They offered suggestions on how we could create and maintain a better, greener environment, not just in a philosophical sense but with some innovative product suggestions as well. From that article I now know about Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap, a 100% organic product that has been around since WW II. We learn something new every day.

I have no problem with their ads, as here in this digital age they contribute to keeping the cost of this publication down. Their articles are tight and concise, often filled with more humor than one might expect from a magazine that's been around for so long.

Check the deals here. It's as good as it was in your father's or grandfather's day, only far more up to date... and actually even better.

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I first picked up a copy of Esquire a few years back at an airport, read it cover to cover to the flight, and haven't looked back since. It is a great magazine for men who are past the frat boy humor stage of their lives and are looking for something with more substance. The magazine's writers are top notch and regular segments like Answer Fella, Funny* Joke From A Beautiful Woman, and a sex column written by Stacy Grenrock Woods are always fun to read. The magazine regularly contains interesting articles on cocktails and recipes, restaurants and bars, movies and entertainment, sports and US and world news. And of course interviews with gorgeous and intelligent women, including a highly creative interview of Halle Berry by Tom Chiarella where Miss Berry writes the article and Mr. Chiarella annotates it. This is just one example of Esquire's creative approach to journalism. Sure, The Sexiest Woman Alive (where the woman so annointed is revealed piece by piece in different issues) may be tired (and to some, sexist), and some of the writing gets a little too tongue-in-cheek at times, but I have not yet found another men's magazine for which I would pay for a subscription.

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Each issue of Esquire is like this: 30 pages of ads for expensive clothing, cars, cologne, and stuff like that before you even get to the table of contents. Then, in no particular order, you have an article about a celebrity you have absolutely no interest in, a feature about some clothing company or gadgets or something like that that you think is a really long ad (but isn't. Well, not officially.), a pictorial of some female celebrity you have never heard of, and one or two readable articles (these usually come in the form of short fiction or humor). Oh, and a lot more ads.

If you're thinking about subscribing to this because it's cheap and you just want something to read on the toilet or whatever, don't do that to yourself. Just spend a few extra dollars and subscribe to Mental Floss. If you want to have forgettable pop culture rammed down your throat and ads for all the latest gadgets and clothing so you can buy all that stuff so then when people come over to your swingin' secret agent pad they can look at your stuff and go "Damn, this guy's as cool as the people in magazine ads," then you should totally subscribe to this.

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This is not just a magazine for men. I'm a woman and I enjoy the articles in this magazine. I recently read an article about a foreign journalist who wrote about a serial murderer who may have been the murderer himself. That was fascinating. There are also really good in-depth interviews of interesting men. I've also found good leads for books to read, music to listen to and movies to watch. My husband has me buy his clothes so even all the clothing ads are not wasted on me. I am enjoying ESQUIRE a lot more than most women's magazines.

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Northwest Fly Fishing (1-year auto-renewal)

Beautiful photography and pretty good writing are the hallmarks of this magazine. It focuses on locations rather than on tying, equipment, or other issues. Those of us who live in Washington and Oregon are lucky to have a magazine of this quality dedicated to our area. I get more out of "Northwest Fly Fishing" than any of the half dozen other fly fishing publications I susbcribe to.

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