Better Homes & Gardens (1-year auto-renewal)

I purchased a one year subscription to BHG in December 2008, because they offered me a great deal while I was looking for a recipe online. After receiving about two months of my subscription, they started billing me for the next full year. Four months away from my renewal date, they informed me they had renewed me "for my convenience" and would be charging my debit card. I promptly canceled my subscription online in November 2009 (would run out in March 2010). From that point on, I received continual bills with threatening implications, like "account overdue" and "pay immediately." All my account information online stated my subscription was canceled and I owed nothing. The bills continued to escalate until in Feb. 2010, I searched high and low online to find a phone number to call. I was informed that the subscription department did not receive information online, and they did not know my subscription was canceled (likely story). I was informed that NOW they would cancel my subscription. OK, I'm finally done with these people. WRONG!!! Today, I get a threatening e-mail saying my account is past due, and pay my bill immediately. When I go online, my subscription is canceled, I owe nothing, I have no subscription activity. What a racket! I will NEVER, as long as I live, subscribe to this magazine again. I'm tired of the bait and switch, shady accounting, and threatening tactics toward a customer who paid their bill on time, and would have renewed if treated with some basic courtesy and respect. BHG, I am SO done with you!

I purchased a 1 yr. subscription to this magazine. After a year i decided not to renew my subscription because not usable content and over advertisements. After returning a bill marked "Do Not Renew",I am being hounded with past due notices!!! Today ,i sent a letter restating my request by certified mail.Maybe this will get someone's attention!!! I also told them i was writing this review on Amazon & sending a copy of the letter to my local BBB. AVOID BHG like a plague. t. Zacharenko

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Better Homes and Gardens is really about easy living. Each issue includes articles about friends and family, gardening, interior design, building, family matters, food, health, and shopping. This is the magazine I reach for between work and errands because the articles are easy to read and brief yet interesting and inspiring. A few feature examples: window box herbs, dieting myths, cooking scones, what's new in family cars, and more. Better Homes also emphasizes family by incorporating activities for children or for the whole family from season to season. Better Homes is a good magazine for holiday ideas, too, with recipes and crafts to decorate your home and enjoy with your children. Although there are more sophisticated home magazines out there, I'm glad I have Better Homes lying around when I have a minute to relax.

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We got these magazines because of the big name attached to it. I thumbed through the magazine and never found any articles. The only thing in it were ads.

I get better information through gardening/decorating blogs and definitely better service as people help each other on these sites. A huge waste.

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This magazine has a lower cover price than some of its competitors, and makes up for it with a massive amount of ads. A few ads contain coupons, for those that like to cut those little things out (unfortunately they are hardly ever for anything I want !). The paper is also a lot thinner than the higher priced home/garden publications, and the photographs do not reproduce that well on it.

On the bright side, there are many nice décor ideas, and simply terrific recipes.

Taking the October 2003 edition as an example, Fall colors and produce are the theme. It has some ideas on how to display gourds, and an article on a community pumpkin patch, from the June planting by 140 neighbors and friends in a 6000 square ft. area, to harvest time.

There are numerous articles on remodeling, "Foolproof Potted Plants", on the joys of having hardy succulents in your home, and a lovely piece with lots of photographs on actor Peter Strauss' gorgeous Ojai, California garden.

The best article of all, is "The Magic of Soup", and some of these recipes are so good they might end up in your family for generations. They are simple to prepare, with easy to find ingredients, and will make a healthy, hearty meal for those frosty days ahead. Also included with the recipes is the preparation and cooking time, and nutritional statistics.

As someone who writes a lot of notes and cards, I appreciate the final page which is about letter writing, and how this vanishing form of communicating is good for the soul.

All things considered, this magazine gives good value, and is meant for those of us who do not live in a mansion or have hours to devote to a single recipe.

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Zoetrope

I discovered Zoetrope through the Best American Nonrequired Reading (BANR) series. A significant number of the pieces in BANR are drawn from Zoetrope so I figured it would be worth checking out. I also subscribe to the Paris Review and McSweeneys and find that I only read about half of each issue before something else grabs my interest. But I have read the 4 issues of Zoetrope Ive gotten so far from cover to cover.

Its a steal at 20 bucks a year. And each issue has a guest editor and a ton of great artwork and design.

I highly recommend this.

The stories I've read in Zoetrope have been generally long with a surprising twist close to the ending.

You can check out zoetrope's website to see what's coming up before you subscribe. They sometimes have famous people (writers, tv producers, etc) contribute work.

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I will say that unlike the other 5 star reviewer here, I actually prefer the Paris Review. But I also love zoetrope. Both are high quality literary periodicals with amazing content. Along with Tin House and Ploughshares, these are among my favorites, and the reason I check my mail!

You can pick up issues at many bookstores or check their upcoming featured authors on their website... but just take my advice and pick up a subscription. If you love quality literature.

This does make a nice break for me in between novels. Or to take a break during a 800+ page novel (or several breaks if you are reading Ulysses!). The selection of content is wonderful and I admire their commitment to featuring high quality short stories.

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I picked this up on a whim. I wish I'd put the money into a book or a twelve pack of beer or an over-due parking ticket.

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Ophthalmology Management

This journal, Ophthalmology Management, is concise and excellent for those of us in private practice who need to be involved in both the business management as well as scientific and clinical aspects of medicine. I cannot remember the last time I did not read an issue from cover to cover. ADAM KOENIGSBERG MD

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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The Absolute Sound (1-year auto-renewal)

TAS reviewers tell you what a piece of audio gear actually sounds like, over time, in a home, and they usually compare the unit under review to other gear as well. Anyone that has owned a highly revealing audio system knows that audio gear from sources like DAC's or cd players to preamps to amps to speakers often have a strong sonic signature. Sometimes the signature is immediately apparent (e.g. Thiel speakers are obviously lean, powerful and highly detailed). Other times it can take hours or days for the character to reveal itself, or the differences will vary depending on associated equipment (e.g. Thiel speakers need a lot of power to reveal their strengths; some other speakers are more efficient and sound fine with lower powers amps).

Even inexpensive gear will have differing sonic signatures, representing the different possible trade-offs undertaken to shave expenses.

The value of such a magazine can be startling. For example, when you try out the "speaker docks" in the Apple Store and I'm a HUGE fan of Apple by the way virtually none of the units in the store are remotely as lifelike or enjoyable as you can get out of equivalently priced gear from Audioengine or M-Audio (e.g. Audioengine 5 or M-Audio AV40). Possible exceptions are the units by B&W in the Apple Store.

Some folks (like me) enjoy comparing gear and reading hobbyist magazines. Others might just want to look up a review for guidance on a quick decision. For either group TAS can be a blessing. Not everyone shares this interest, or cares to rely on the observations of others as input to a decision. YMMV.

Recently I subscribed TAS for two years but all I received was two issues when there are another 5 issues available now! I contacted them many times and the customer service apologized and told me that they send the issue right away, but another two months passed and I received nothing after same thing happened another time I asked for cancelation they did it without trying to find any solution!

It seems that it happens a lot and they are used to it.

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No doubt, this magazine has something to offer when it comes to showing off equipment, and that would be one reason that I would buy it. As far as equipment reviews, they have sold out long a go to the advertisers.

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I have heard several of the components recommended by the Absolute Sound. The reviews seemed right on. Consumer Reports recommends very inexpensive sound systems and says that they sound good. My feeling is that they are terrible compared to the much more expensive systems recommended by the Absolute Sound.

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As a long-time reader I appreciate the depth of coverage this magazine provides. This magazine I believ has better and more-insightful writing the Stereophile which seems to limited of late.

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