Magazine Opinions, Anyone?

[taffimai]

I don't have enough United miles to actually do anything with them as far as travel goes, so I'm going to use them for some magazine subscriptions. I know I definitely want Out, The Advocate, and Wired but I'm not sure whether some of the others are any good. Thoughts?

[Poll #1353092]

ETA: Stupid "s" key. And I can't edit polls.

Comments

[kivrin.livejournal.com]

The New Yorker is good, if they offer that. I don't really know enough about the ones listed, other than Entertainment Weekly which I used to enjoy but haven't looked at for years. I have looked at a few issues of New York Magazine and felt like it was not good - just a festival of $500 purses and the like.

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

I really wish the New Yorker was on the list -- I really like it. But alas, no joy. Thanks for the information on New York Magazine, I was actually considering it.

[kivrin.livejournal.com]

I checked and it is Bon Appetit that my love-to-cook friends get, not Gourmet as I thought... so I highly recommend Bon Appetit!

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

Ah, but here's the question: would it be a good magazine for someone who can barely make scrambled eggs but would love to learn more?

[kivrin.livejournal.com]

I think so... there are recipes that call for esoteric equipment and ingredients, but also simpler ones. And browsing the magazines at their house definitely inspired me to be more ambitious about cooking, though I still find it intimidating.

A book I would really recommend for taking-the-first-steps-beyond-scrambled-eggs is Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything. It's a great step-by-step reference that includes everything from "what does this vegetable look like and how do I know if it's gone bad?" to "make Thanksgiving dinner."

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

I'll add it to my Amazon wishlist, thank you!

[miriam-heddy.livejournal.com]

My husband, who has his MBA and is a generally clever person, says that The Economist is a really smart, well-researched magazine with a global perspective.

He did say that if you're American, the general Libertarian, anti-regulation slant might be annoying, and the fact that it doesn't have individual bylines for each article may be a problem for you. But it has excellent global coverage and analysis, and it's far smarter and more global than are Newsweek and Time and the like.

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that's very helpful! My only problem with the Economist is that I find it a little dry for airplane reading, which is what I primarily use my magazines for. So, strangely, I prefer something like Fast Company which wraps up humor and business into a nice little airplane-friendly package.

[miriam-heddy.livejournal.com]

Oh, I should also say that I generally avoid giving money to women's magazines like Elle and Allure and W because I think they make their money off the backs of women. Their articles and advertisements are all there to sell products which, for the most part, send out a consistent message that all women are flawed and that, if we buy the right product, we might become acceptable.

To me, that's a good reason to boycott the lot of them.

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I get that. How weird is it that I feel less guilty buying Maxim than Vogue?

[chaos-by-design.livejournal.com]

Maxim probably has hotter women in it. :p

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

Well, yes.

[miriam-heddy.livejournal.com]

Totally not that weird. I mean, Maxim has its problems, too. But at least the magazine's function is to sell products and women to men rather than to sell self-hate to women.

[shinetheway.livejournal.com]

The Economist rocks, in so many ways. Plus, as a bonus, if you can get it free/cheap I would totally do that and buy the others outright, because a regular subscription is something insane like eighty dollars a quarter.

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Yeah, it is a good value, that's true. But see my comment to miriam_heddy above.

[chopchica.livejournal.com]

Cook's Illustrated! Body and Soul! Vegetarian Times (although that one might only be appealing to vegetarians :)). EATING WELL (it's like tasty food porn!).

I've gotten all of those for years and am always happy when they show up.

I know a lot of people like Gourmet, but I've never read it myself, so I am no good source here.

If you like Wired and they have it, you might want to check out Make. My husband is deeply in love with it.

ETA: Also, Plenty and Good are pretty interesting and fun reads.

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, none of those are on the list! Very frustrating. There are a few on the list that I didn't post, but they're "Cat Fancy" and "Cigar Aficionado" and the like.

Also, I'm deeply impressed at the culinary expertise. I need to figure out how to feed myself in some way that does not involve exclusive use of the microwave.

[chopchica.livejournal.com]

Hmm, actually, if you're willing to eat some vegetarian meals, Vegetarian Times is extremely inexpensive and great for a beginner level! There's all sorts of, five ingredient recipes and meals in under 30 min - and they're all really tasty *and* healthy.

ETA: Huh, that was supposed to be a reply to the comment thread. LJ, why so strange?

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks!

[hllangel]

Go for the New Yorker.

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

Alas, not an option.

[hllangel]

That is much too bad. :(

[saraid.livejournal.com]

hey, i prefer people to et, but i don't see any of the really good ones here - popular science, nat geo, smithsonian --- are those even choices?

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

Nope. Why would they give away free subscriptions for airline miles if they're really popular?