Every Day with Rachael Ray (1-year auto-renewal)

Rachael Ray's "Everyday" magazine (clearly modeled on Martha Stewart Everyday,but with a Gen X&Y appeal) is a mixed bag of goodies for foodies. It's colorful, fairly kitschy (I'm not surprised Ray will be partying with Perez Hilton at SXSW),the recipes easy to read and follow. It's the food equivalent to PEOPLE magazine with its coverage of celebrities and vacation destinations. Ray has interviewed Dennis Quaid,Jimmy Kimmel, and Barbara Walters on their refrigerator contents. Other celebrities chime in with what they've had for breakfast, lunch and dinner (as if I really care)

There are useful recipes. Ray's macaroni and cheese made with cream cheese, broccoli, and carrots is different and delicious. The lemon pasta is light and savory. The chicken stew made with red wine and dried fruits is hearty and flavorful. However,Ray also comes up with some really unholy food combinations (think of the hamburger topped with mashed potatoes she cooked up with Craig Ferguson) that are reminiscent of the '50s. Gastroanomalies indeed.

"Everyday" is fun,light reading. It's NOT for serious cooks. It IS accessible. It's good for occasional perusing,but not worth a subscription. It's a snack, not a meal.

After buying the first issue of Rachael Ray's new magazine I knew I would have to subscribe after only a few pages. Those pages were not only gorgeous and glossy, but chock full of fun facts, great shopping places for food and utensils, and of course tasty recipes that you do want to make. I have collected way too many cookbooks and food magazines that stand untouched because when it really boils down to it, its all about the food and some of those books and magazines did not deliver in the end. I have since bought some great cookbooks and pay more attention to what's inside then what's on the cover.

Rachael's recipes are not pretentious, and they certainly are interesting enough to engage the reader into trying them out. I've made several of the dishes from the Lemon cream pasta, Mushroom pizza, salmon and pasta dishes, to Sangria frozen pops and some great grilled food. Rachel provides shopping lists of standard pantry ingredients and fresh produce to buy, so its easy to see what you all ready have and what few things I can pick up on my way home to make a fun meal. I love making her recipes and adding them to my repertoire, as its nice knowing you can make a certain dish and its even nicer to whip up an easy dinner or lunch using this magazine.

I also adore the fun articles you can find about restaurants, cheese diaries, wine tasting, outdoor grilling and foods for events. The magazine is really a beauty to read and has more information and entertainment than advertising. I cant stand the regular food magazine I used to get that were half full of Cat litter advertising, along with page after page of useless products screaming in my face.

I hope this magazine will continue to bloom because I absolutely adore it and I intend on keeping every issue instead of tearing out recipes like I used to. Great buy and something you can cook out of with the feeling of a mini cookbook but simpler and prettier.

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Spa Parties and T-shirts that say "Delish" are very much a part of Rachael's magazine complete with pullout recipe cards and travel features. The recipe cards all have shopping lists on the back, so you can grab the cards and head to the grocery store. There is also a handy recipe index organized by categories at the end of the magazine.

The Kids recipe section encourages young cooks to participate in family meals. This issue had a recipe for a delicious tuna salad with roasted red pepper and grape tomatoes. Just for Kids tips give ideas for how to juice a lemon and there are cute kid comments about the recipes.

Everyday with Rachael Ray embraces life and does it with a realistic flair. In the June/July issue, ideas for picnics include shopping lists and recipes for Melon Skewers with Orange-Lime Marinade. Roy Yamaguchi cooks at home with his family and offers recipes like Miso Cod with Buttered Mushrooms.

What I like most about this magazine is the realistic recipes complete with everyone cooking and enjoying life. The pictures are spontaneous and the series of pictures for the Ice Cream Cake are step-by-step heaven. Just when you think this magazine has everything you could wish for, an Everyday Menu Planner appears to give recipes and shopping lists. Grilled Shrimp with Cucumber Salad and Smoked Turkey Panini are must-have recipes for the summer. Peaches resting on a marshmallow meringue are perfect for dessert after the Baby Back Ribs with Jammy Glaze.

This is a magazine about cooks, chefs and Rachael's recipes. The "Ask Rachael" section gives you a chance to send in e-mails to ask Rachael about her life or to have your foodie question answered in the magazine. She also has decorating advice so now you know what to do with the shells you collected at the beach (or you could find them at Pier 1).

What is the best feature in this magazine besides the recipes? "What is in the refrigerator of your favorite Celeb?" I'm always intrigued.

If you collect cookbooks, there are many featured in this inspired magazine. The advertising doesn't seem to overtake the pages and is subtly blended in so it feels very natural and interesting.

~The Rebecca Review

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Love the magazine. But go to a book store and take out one of the inserts to order. It is $12 for a one year subscription.

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I have subscribed to 'Everyday' for two years, and I don't think I will renew for a third. The main reason was that, while extracting my favorite pages of back issues to create a recipe binder, I realized how much of the magazine's content is full-page ads. Serious cooks will not likely be interested in Rachael's Faves, which shows clothing accessories and non-food gift suggestions. The travel section in each issue offers interesting suggestions for accomodations, dining, shopping, and hangouts in the profiled destination. Rachael Ray does try to appeal to readers of many ages, but her many catch phrases and 'Rachaelisms' are tired! 'EVOO' and 'stoup' were clever for about a month, and I have to shrug and roll my eyes at any adult foodie who uses words like 'yummy' and 'sammie' in a written recommendation. Lighten up, you say? Her readers aren't kindergarteners. I'm glad she's proud of her Italian heritage, but she doesn't need to declare it more than once in each issue. For the most part, I like her recipes. They are unpretentious, substantial, and ethnically diverse enough for me. They don't require two dozen ingredients, and they fit into the hectic schedules of most Americans. The photography makes me hungry. Burger of the Month is a great feature, and so is the special recipe for a dog treat. The magazine has undergone some changes in the last several months. Good change: they scrapped B, L, D. A celebrity's spartan daily menu plan doesn't belong in a magazine crammed with high-carb food. The weekly menu planner has also been changed so that all ingredients in the shopping list end up being thoroughly used. Bad change: The entertaining guide in each issue used to feature two great ideas for themed get-togethers, complete with a menu and ideas for ambience and playlists. Now that section just features many quick random tips and reminds me of the how-to-do-anything-better guide in Glamour. I wish $10-Spot would be scrapped altogether, as it seems to annoy so many readers! I understand the purpose of precise cost calculation per serving, but most of us will not go through a whole jar of chiles or chutney before its expiration date. The main thing I dislike, though, is that so much space is wasted by ads. I'll subscribe to a more costly magazine that doesn't have as many; the extra cost would probably be worth it. Time to research...

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Railway Modeller

Well produced, well photographed in color on slick paper.

I have taken this magazine for years.

It has history, model building articles with good sequence photos,

wonderful ads from British sources, and interesting monthly columns.

If you like Brit railways or just want to see how they do it across the pond,

this is an entertaining read.

This is the best magazine for those modelling British railways from the earliest steam to modern day.

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Asimovs Science Fiction

Superlatives are hard to apply in a market as fractured as science fiction. Is "Hard" SF better than "Soft"? What about "Space Opera"? And what importance is placed on exacting scientific accuracy? Therefore, it's impossible to pin down a single magazine as the "best" in the field.

However, for fans of character-driven and sociological science fiction, "Asimov's" must surely be the top of the line. Through the years it has enjoyed a number of skillful and discriminating editors, and has fostered the editorial careers of professionals who now edit other genre magazines. This title has been lavished with awards, including the Hugo and the Nebula, for both its content and its management. It has the longest unbroken publishing history of any SF magazine currently in print. And its subscription numbers have been traditionally the strongest in the genre market.

That said, in the soft SF market of the last decade, the magazine has suffered. As advertising revenues have dropped off and subscriptions have flagged, the number of pages has gotten smaller through the years, and there are fewer stories as a result. The magazine has changed hands twice in recent years. And, without Asimov himself at the symbolic helm, there has been a slight drift in theme.

In spite of all this, "Asimov's" is easily the best buy in SF mags today. With stories excellently chosen by Gardner Dozois that at least stick comfortably within the genre, entertaining and illuminating essays by enduring author Robert Silverberg, and informative, concise book reviews, this magazine covers the gamut of science fiction.

Though SF has suffered in recent years, this magazine remains one of the strongest purchases available to fans and neophytes of the genre. Enjoy with all compliments, and remember, there's another one coming next month.

Regular readers of my reviews are probably getting sick of me mentioning Kage Baker, but I have to credit her for getting me to try a lot of things that I wouldn't normally try if she hadn't been a part of them. Asimov's Science Fiction magazine is another time where this is the case. While I have bought Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine every month for a while now, I would also check Asimov's to see if it had a Baker story. If it did, I would buy it. What I have found, however, is that I have enjoyed most of the other stories in the issues I have bought as well. Thus, from now on I will be buying it every month too.

Much like Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asimov's contains mostly science fiction stories of various lengths (short story, novelette, novella) along with a couple of columns and some cartoons. The difference between the two is that Asimov's contains no fantasy (though some of Mike Resnick's stories have a fantasy feel to them). However, the magazine likes to concentrate on character-based science fiction, so you won't see a lot of "technology first, character second" stories in the magazine. Personally, I think that's a good thing as hard science fiction turns me off. If you're more into the hard sciences, you may find stuff in here to interest you, but there's a good chance that you won't.

Occasionally, there will be guest editorials (they printed George R.R. Martin's Guest of Honor speech from Worldcon in the October/November issue). There's always an "On Books" column, sometimes written by Paul Di Filippo, sometimes by Peter Heck. The authors use this column to recommend books that you may not have come across. Robert Silverberg opens each issue with a "Reflections" column that can cover everything from space exploration to ideas on story-writing. James Patrick Kelly occasionally is featured with an "On the Net" column, examining various science fiction web sites and other online activities. Unlike Fantasy & Science Fiction, there is often some poetry included as well. Finally, there is a calendar of upcoming conventions that covers the world so you can always find someplace to go if you need to get together with a group of fans.

The bread and butter of the magazine, though, are the stories. Each story has an introduction from the editor (currently Gardner Dozois, though that will change to Sheila Williams with the January issue), which may explain the genesis of the story, or just tell us how long it's been since that author has appeared in Asimov's. One of the things about Asimov's that is different is that it often serializes stories that will eventually appear in book form. Allen M. Steele's Coyote series has been serialized over the last couple of years with all of them being collected in two books (Coyote from a couple of years ago, and the upcoming Coyote Rising). Also, Charles Stross' Accelerando has been featured in recent issues. The one drawback to this is for readers who only pick up the occasional issue. For instance, "Survivor" in the October/November issue didn't really mean a lot because I've missed everything that came before it. It does reward regular readers, though.

Asimov's has many writers who write almost exclusively for that magazine, or at the very least the authors submit their stories to this magazine for first refusal. My favourite, Kage Baker, only seems to appear here, with only one story that I know of appearing in Realms of Fantasy. Allen M. Steele is another. Robert Reed seems to be featured everywhere (I swear that guy is churning them out like he's a machine) but he is featured a lot in Asimov's.

The magazine is bound just like Fantasy & Science Fiction, however the cover is thin paper rather than thicker stock, so it will tear a bit easier. This does have the advantage that you can sometimes leave it lying open for reading (though this only works if you're toward the middle of it). It also means it can be rolled up if necessary.

The only other fault I have with it, and this is strictly a personal thing, is that the stories don't always grab me as much as they do in Fantasy & Science Fiction. This is mainly because I'm more into fantasy than science fiction, so this certainly wouldn't be the case for everyone. While the hit and miss ratio varies from issue to issue, I can say that I have never skipped a story in the magazine. Again, that's a benefit of short fiction. You're not going to waste a lot of time on them.

If I had to choose between the two magazines, I would definitely choose Fantasy & Science Fiction. However, Asimov's is certainly good enough that it's easy to make room for both of them. Plus, by picking them both up, I feel like I'm doing my part in keeping short fiction alive. It's only a small part, but every little bit helps.

David Roy

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Asimov's science fiction magazine is one of the premier sources of new short story and novella length science fiction. It also has the occasional serialized novel. Having been introduced to science fiction through Isaac Asimov's own short story anthologies back in the 70's I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed the return to the short story format after many years of "blockbuster novels". The magazine consistently showcases the best new talent. It also has a stable of veteran, commercially successful, writers that use the magazine as a vehicle to return to their roots. Notables such as Michael Swanwick, James Patrick Kelly, Kage Baker, and Tom Purdom to name a few. Asimov's seems to always have nominees in the yearly Nebula and Hugo awards for science fiction.

Most stories are "Social Science Fiction" in which a loose future backdrop is used to tell a character based story with an eventual universal truism revealed. It is rare to find a "Hard Science Fiction" story in which the extrapolation of known science into a future setting plays a critical role in the climax and conclusion of the story. Stories from the early writings of Larry Niven are good examples of such stories. This is a forgivable lapse as most editors would tell you that they would love to see more hard science submissions.

The magazine also boasts one of the best editorial sections penned by acclaimed author Robert Silverberg. He covers topics ranging from strict science to historical recollections of the science fiction genre. He has also reintroduced many readers to lost stories and authors such as Cordwainer Smith with great biographical pieces.

They also have Poems; no offense Mr. Haldeman.

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This is the magazine for the best stories on the market today. A typical Hugo or Nebula awards list usually has several items from Asimov's (although not this year, they're all from sister publication Analog!) Asimov's tends toward "softer" SF than Analog and some stories are more literary or experimental. But I say this in praise, as most of these stories are well worth the effort. Some really do take you to alien places or senses with their language and structure as well as plot (I'm thinking of some of Charles Stross' new entries).

Asimov's is less predictable than Analog as well; other than editor Robert Silverberg's editorial, there are few recurring features, and serialzed novels are rare. So you may get two short stories or five, the rest made up of novella and novellettes. But they will always be well-done, and you'll find yourself looking for those authors' long works after enjoying them in Asimov's.

One change in publication not mentioned here: both magazines have gone to 10 issues a year from 11, with 2 "double issues" instead of one per year. The double issue is always a treat but then one must wait 2 months for the next regular issue!

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Asimov's Science Fiction is currently the best SF magazine out there. You just need to look at the authors that appear there, or if the names mean nothing to you, find out how many of the nominees for the Hugos and Nebulas in the last few years were originally published here. Gardner Dozois, the editor keeps getting the award for best editor year after year. Or, if awards don't convince you, just grab an issue for the best short fiction. You can sample the stories (...) Enjoy!

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HOW Magazine (1-year)

This would be a great magazine for someone who either owns thier own design business, a pro freelancer or an art director who is high up on the food chain in an agency. Not very good for an entry-level design student such as myself. This magazine is first and foremost about the business of graphic design: how to promote your business, attract and retain clients, how to deal with a team of designers.

There are very little, if any, how-to's or design theory covered in this magazine. There isnt even much in the way of showing off of good design examples. Only some examples of "best-of" works that you have to really search for, and there isnt much in the way of advanced critiques of said works.

The "Guide To Self-Promotion" special section for subscribers was probably most benificial for me, because there was a nice little section on resume's and interview tips. However, you will find that most of that info can be found for free on the internet anyways.

As with many other reviewers, I'm a tad disgruntled at shelling out $29.99 for a bi-monthly magazine, 70% of which contains advertisments for different stock-image houses and specialty paper manufacturers. It is very difficult to "flip" though this magazine as every 10 pages or so you will find a paper manufacturer's ad printed on a thick card-stock sample. It is hard to stay concentrated on reading the articles when you are constantly fighting and struggling with the pages to stay open and flat.

I have been buying copies of this magazine in New York City newsstands for years now. I think the first one I picked up was because it contained listings for graphics compatitions. But, I was an evolving graphic artist in Rochester, NY ... educated in Architecture, and teaching myself the rest of what would become my career Graphic Design. Pen & Ink, masking, layouts, the evolution of a logo design ... all the techniques and steps laid out in feature articles which focused on the work of an individual or design studio at the top of their game. And in between were the articles on how to negotiate a contract, how to present your ideas to a client .. how to GET clients.

It's full of images ... less talk. We are, afterall, visual artists and know we learn best through what we see.

This is a worthwhile magazine to get. You'll find something useful every issue.

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HOW is very practically-oriented, not a lot of "look at us, we're graphic designers" [junk] you see in other graphic design magazines. Self-importance is out. Information-importance is in. Each issue has loads of sage advice, and it's all very understandable to all designers, novice to Madison Aveenue.

Great magazine for all graphic designers.

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This magazine really fills the voids that design school leaves behind. I have developed some serious guts in fighting for what I am worth due to this publication. When you are a new designer, you get taken advantage of frequently. College did not prepare me to stand up for myself in this competitive market, and this magazine not only keeps you up-to-date with the latest in the design realm, but also serves as a gutsy, motivational read as well. This is a must have subscription for budding designers. What a relief to read a killer design publication from the midwest!

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I believe that this magazine is a must have for any designer. Especially those that are new to the field. I am a student and I read this magazine from cover to cover and feel that it covers all aspects of the business well. It is written so that even the beginner can understand all of the aspects and use the ideas in their everyday work/projects. I think that this magazine is one of the best references for graphic design on the market that I have found.

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Collegiate Baseball

This is a great read for anyone who really enjoys amateur level baseball. Great articles and great information. I'd recommend this to anyone with a son in High School baseball and beyond.

Sound & Vision (1-year auto-renewal)

This is a pretty good magazine. I notice that they mostly review high end equipment with high end price tags. I might have to look for a magazine that reveiws items more in my price range. I mean common, a projector for $85,000?!

My love of audio (later video) started back in the 60s. I still subscribe to Sound and Vision but it is a pale shadow of Stereo Review, Audio and High Fidelity magazines and their substantive reviews of music and equipment. Likewise the original video magazines are gone as well.

For some reason the British still have great magazines in all categories. Too bad they are expensive and not widely available here.

If you think the equipment reviewed here is expensive check out Stereophile land of $100k speakers and $10k phono cartridges.

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This magazine reads like it's just quoting from press releases. It does not seem to be a neutral or well informed source of information.

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I've been a subscriber for about 4 years now, and love the topic (Home Theater & Audio/Video equipment), but this magazine has undergone a couple format changes that makes it hard to read.

I think they're trying to appeal to a younger group of people who are obviously more interested in convienance 'hand-held' items, than in audio or video quality.

And this magazine suffers greatly for it.

Too many reviews, and too much coverage of (so called) "lifestyle" products to, like hand held app junk and the like, or remote control of house lights (who cares?), etc.

If there's "not an app for it", or doesn't appeal to someone with the attention span of a squirrel, it doesn't get covered.

Then they when down to only 8 issues a year, seems like its never arriving now...summer months? Forget it!

They were better when they concentrated on the hobby itself, comparitive equipment reviews, and the experimentation that makes it fun.

I'm hoping things will improve with this magazine in the future, (because I've got a lot of months left on my subscription!), but if not, then it doesn't get re-newed when the time comes...

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I've been a subscriber of this magazine for over 40 years. You used to get a new issue monthly and I looked forward to each and every issue. Then it changed to 10 issues per year and now it's down to only 8. Of course, the price remains the same. I got so used to not receiving it that it was hardly noticeable when I dropped my subscription. The part the toasts me most is that I paid for a 3 year subscription when you got monthly magazines. Then they cut the number of magazines. What a rip. When I contacted the company they hardly seemed to care, and did nothing to rectify my situation.

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