Boundary Waters Journal

Great magazine, and I read it upon arrival, and can't wait for the next one. Excellent pictures and stories of wilderness camping and fishing

I read each issue cover to cover as soon as it arrives. Great tips for my next treks, interesting stories on people, new ideas on where to go, how to travel, what to pack, new and proven gear, old gear that still works, how to fish. I've sent gift subscriptions to new Eagle Scouts with whom I've trekked the BWCAW. I can't say enough good about this magazine!

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Outreach : Ideas Insights & Stories

The magazine does address its goal of reaching out, but I was surprised to see it had so much emphasis on worship style, and has a surprisingly strong bias towards contemporary worship forms, even in articles that aren't specifically worship related. I would have greatly preferred if the magazine focused less on worship, and more on actual missional, evangelistic outreach ideas to reach and connect with people in our communities and world.

If you are a part of a very modern church that utilizes ever-changing signs and banners, a rock band, and powerpoint in worship, then I highly recommend this magazine for youit will honestly help you do what you are doing in a more Godly way.

If your church is more traditional or orthodox, this magazine will still have some good ideas sprinkled throughout, but be prepared to be slightly put off by regular insinuations in the articles that you're doing something wrong in your worship.

I'll continue to read the magazine, but don't think that I'll save past issues or share them with others as much as I had hoped.

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Radio Times - London Anglia and Midlands Edition

The best price on the UKs best source for Radio & TV news, events & listings, published by the BBC. If you got The Telly in the UK as we do and watch on your sling box as you travel, this is a must-have. It lets us decide what to watch or record on our PVR. Best of all Amazon's price is THE best we've found!

Shutterbug (1-year auto-renewal)

(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)In many respects, Shutterbug is the mirror image of Popular Photography & Imaging. The strength of Popular Photography is its quantitative product reviews. Shutterbug does little if any measuring when they review a product. Further, I have never once seen a review in Shutterbug that was anything less than gushing. The writer will go on and on about the strength of the product and never compare it critically to other similar products on the market. I realize that magazines are reluctant to offend potential advertisers but some shred of integrity toward readers would be greatly appreciated.

The relative strength of Shutterbug is reflected in more general articles regarding photographic technique. This is the area that Popular Photography badly stumbles and this magazine definitely manages to perform at a higher level of competence. Unfortunately, these articles are still pretty basic and repetitive. Any decent entry level book on photography would contain 99% of the advice you'll ever find in Shutterbug. So while the articles are better than the reviews, it's hard to say that they alone make it worth the price of a subscription. In the final analysis, I can't recommend Shutterbug to eithe beginners or advanced photographers.

UPDATE: Shortly after posting this review, I flipped through an issue of Shutterbug at a local store. It looks like there has been a change in editorial policy as a product review took the tone of a true critique rather than being a puff piece as they so often did in the past. There still wasn't quite as much meat as I would have liked but this is definitely a step in the right direction for the magazine. Amazon does not allow reviewers to alter the number of starts given once a review is published or I would probably bump Shutterbug up a notch to 3 stars. It still is far from great, but I appreciate the fact that they've improved a bit.

If you see Shutterbug on a news stand you might think it is a typical photo mag for amateurs. The usual heavy emphasis on product reviews and how to articles. In fact the content is very much biased towards professionals. Lots of stuff beyond the interests and capabilities of the average non-pro photographer. e.g. If you want to submit stuff for their challenges they want prints.

However there is a lot of good in it for the rest of us. It is certainly educational.

For my money the best part is in the recommendations of web sites of top class photographers. A real source of inspiration.

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I recieved my first issue of Shutterbug after about 7 weeks from ordering it. I was disappointed in the mag. as almost all of it is ads, ads and more ads. As far as I'm concerned it should be given away for all the advertising they recieve in it. The articles they had in this issue were about very high end equipment that 99% of the readers would not be able to afford or use. Most of the ads do not even contain prices for the products, making them useless for shopping and comparing anyway. I did like the low price that amazon had for Shutterbug though, I would have really been mad if I had paid cover prices for it.

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I have been subscribing to Shutterbug for a year and received my last issue recently. I will not be renewing it for a few reasons. I guess the main reason for my non-renewal is that this magazine is heavy into product reviews. My goal in reading a photography magazine is to get helpful tips with the equipment I already have. I am not interested in page after page after page of the latest/greatest equipment that I won't be buying for awhile if at all.

The second reason for not renewing my subscription is there are WAY too many ads in this magazine. I got tired of flipping past two pages, five pages, ten pages of advertising to find the next article. Much of this magazine reads like a yellow pages for camera shops.

Finally, I found that most of the articles simply did not apply to my enthusiasm for photography. For me, the articles were too tech-focussed. As mentioned earlier, I really was looking for articles on helpful tips and such.

I just started a subscription to PC Photo so we'll see how that goes.

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This is a very basic photography magazine that is best read quickly in the store and put back into the rack.

The camera and lens reviews on the internet are superior and the magazine is bogged down with a ton of advertisements.

Conclusion: save your money.

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In These Times

Very informative magazine that scrutinizes a wide variety of political topics and current affairs, from American homeland to the remotest jungles abroad, all with their own unique perspective and viewpoint that runs moderate to left.

The writing and topics are engaging, current, and well researched and the editors not afraid to call things as they see fit.

Put down the Cosmo for later, and read a few articles you won't find on the TV mainstream news. after all.. knowlege is power.

If you are looking for an informative monthly on the left In These Times (ITT) offers thought-provoking commentary and articles that are pithy but not skimpy (a characteristic I sometimes find of the weekly The Nation).

Most importantly, ITT reports on labor every issue, an important component of the left, that is often neglected by other magazines of the left.

In These Times is a magazine that may be harder to find in a library. If you are interested, I suggest first visiting their website which allows you to read portions of the current magazine without paying anything.

The price for the magazine is very reasonable, and I personally find the magazine content more diverse and interesting than The Progressive.

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Definitely an interesting read, no matter what you think about the points of view expressed. Good magazine to read on a cold night.

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My fiance got me a subscription for my bday (I asked four it) and I love this magazine. It is very informative and covers a lot of issues. The magazine contains a great balance of different issues from different places. I like to read the articles about world news because I see less and less of that in the main stream media. Enjoy this wonderful magazine!

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I just finished my first issue and am not so crazy about it. I consider myself pretty liberal, but this is waaayy left of where I'm at. It's not that I disagree with any of the positions the magazine takes, its just that it is very slanted in its opinion (and it is pretty much ALL opinion) and seems targeted toward people who are active activists. I like to be informed, but I prefer to hear all sides of an issue so I can make an informed decision. I was hoping for a news magazine that goes a little more in depth than, say, Time Magazine. But this doesn't seem so much a news magazine as it is a progressive/liberal opinion magazine. It is well written, but not what I was hoping for.

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Humanist

The HUMANIST is published bimonthly by the American Humanist Association. A recent issue contains articles, book reviews, editorials, news and Letters to the Editor. The subjects include such topics as the commercialization of society, multilateralism, nuclear weapons, the Just War Doctrine and the environment. Some of the contributors are Ralph Nader, Gregory D. Foster, Douglas Mattern and Eugene B. Kogan.

I am definitely not a humanist but I still enjoy reading this publication for its alternative viewpoint. It is highly readable and contains very little waste.

I have received three issues of the Humanist as of this review. I have read most of the articles in two of the issues, and am currently working my way through the third. Inside every cover of the magazine is the following definition of humanism, "Humanism is a rational philosophy informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion. Affirming the dignity of each human being, it supports liberty and opportunity consonant with social and planetary responsibility. Free of theism and other supernatural beliefs, humanism thus derives the goals of life from human need and interest rather than from theological or ideological abstractions, and asserts that humanity must take responsibility for its own destiny." Not surprisingly, I would say that the articles I have read fall nicely in line with this definition.

The magazine covers many different topics. Here are the titles of a few articles that I particularly enjoyed: "Moving from a War Economy to a Peace Economy," by Mary Beth Sullivan; "The Bible According to Thomas Jefferson," by Peter Carlson; "Going Anti-Postal," by Michael I. Niman; "Black Churches and Blue-Eyed Jesuses," by Sikivu Hutchinson; "Biblical Scholarship and the Right to Know," by Bart Ehrman; and "Terra Instabilis: Are we Headed toward a New World Disorder?," by Jon Harrison. As you can see, there is a wide array of topics covered. Each issue also has worthwhile book reviews.

I particularly enjoyed the article about the Postal System. The author, Dr. Michael I. Niman, who is a professor of journalism and media studies at Buffalo State College, makes the point that the Founders looked at the Postal System as fostering democracy, as it offered cheap rates to publishers. In other words, it aided in providing free speech. He goes on to say that we are one of the only countries that does not subsidize our Postal Service. We stopped subsidizing the Postal Service under President Reagan's tenure. Dr. Niman advocates the Postal System offering a reasonably priced internet service, which would be similar to the reasonably priced service it provides with first class mail. He makes the case that there are things that can be done to make the USPS profitable again. The reason I liked this article is because it introduced me to ideas that I had never been exposed to before, nor would have thought of on my own.

Another article that I thought was exceptional is entitled, "Terra Instabilis: Are We Headed toward a New World Disorder?" by Jon Harrison. He looks at the predominantly economic crises in Europe, China, the Middle East, and the U.S. He looks at the specific problems that each of these regions face, and how these region-specific problems could impact the whole, since there is such economic interdependency in the global economy. I particularly like what he says about the problems the U.S. faces. He says, "The economic dilemmas America now faces are politically driven. That is to say, past political choices---to run up massive deficits, to encourage consumption over investment, to impose a free trade regime on a playing field tilted against the United States---have landed the country in its current economic situation." I could not agree more. Unless these specific trends are reversed, I think there is little hope for our country's future. With respect to "free trade" he says, "Both parties adhere slavishly to the current free trade regime, which has devastated U.S. manufacturing...." My overall point about this article is that he questions issues, issues like "free trade," in a way that is rarely done in the major media.

Overall, I am glad I subscribe to the Humanist. In all likelihood, I will renew my subscription. I find it to be worth reading.

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Classic Trains

I was born much too late to see steam engines in anything but excursion service. That said I love seeing all the pictures and reading about what it was like long before I was born. Being from Chicago I also constantly see pictures of sites I have visited or can recognize. This magazine is a bargain at its price.

This is one of the best magazines for fans of railroading on the newsstands. It contains many advertisers and resources for all aspects of the railroading lover's hobby. We have been getting this magazine for some time now. It is a great resource for ideas, available products and railroading news.

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Cottage Magazine

I've been getting Cottage for the last 6 years and have fond this magazine to be an excellent resource for any recreational property owner.

The great thing about Cottage is it's based in Western Canada and the features are often close to 'Home'

Some of the regular contributors are Shell Busey's column, Inroads new products and Rural route letters from the readers.

Solar, off grid and sustainability just a few of my favourite topics. The tool review is always a favourite.

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