Magazine Love and Hate

You're on Page 1 of 3
Go to
  • When I was in my late teens/early 20's, I was a "COSMO" girl. I grew out of that phase when adulthood smacked me upside my head (there's only so much "The Sensual Massage He's NEVER Had Before" kind of articles one can take.)

    But now, after a weekend frenzy of recycling and trashing, I completely denounce the following magazines because I'm sick of "The SECRET of a Flat Belly!" and "Top Five Exercises to Reshape your Tush!" and "The Trick to Losing Those Last 10 pounds" and "100 Power Foods You Should Be Eating" and etc...

    So bye-bye forever!!!!
    HEALTH
    WOMEN'S HEALTH
    FITNESS
    SHAPE
    SELF
    PREVENTION

    I had already given up REDBOOK because I'm so sick of "How to Improve Your Sex Life When You Have Kids and Career" or "The Best Beauty Routine for You!" or "What He Really Thinks of Your Friends" or '5-minute Hair Styles" or "What's Your Fashion Personality?" quizzes and type of articles.

    Wavering on GOOD HOUSEKEEPING because they usually do have a couple of really good articles, but I swear... it's mostly the same old same old every month, "Decorating on a Budget!" (seriously? who has $1500 just lying around for some new throw pillows and a stupid looking lamp sitting on a table that has NO storage use at all, and Martha Stewart blahblahblah, and since when is $1500 "decorating on a budget" anyway??)

    MORE Magazine used to be really good but it's seemingly headed down the Redbook path and seriously, how many everyday (mature!) woman types (like me) actually WEAR that kind of "fashion" they tout so vehemently??

    I occasionally do still enjoy READER'S DIGEST. I will pick one up in grocery line from time to time (if I'm bored) but I won't subscribe again. And I love the pics in National Geographic and mostly enjoy the articles. OPRAH never thrilled me with her show but I LOVE her magazine. It's a keeper (for now) altho I do get tired of the constant beating over the head with that "Is There Enough Gratitude In Your Life?" articles & the POSITIVE THINKING & HAPPY RITUALS crap. I also don't care for Vanity Fair ads & so forth, but their articles are REALLY good.

    I have never been into Home & Gardens, Family Circle, Vogue, Woman's World, etc.

    But then ...there's my most very favoritest maggie of all time!!!! THE SUN. It's completely 100% reader supported - NO ADS. EVER. Nope, not one single ad in the entire magazine. EVER. It's somewhat pricey ($40/year compared to Fitness at $8.00/year) but the articles are REAL and engaging and the one interview they do per month has always piqued my interest. It may be too "artsy" for some people, but I truly enjoy it. As soon as it comes in the mail, I absolutely devour it from cover to cover.
  • Reading Cosmo makes me think that magazine reporters must think women are complete idiots. Are there women out there in their 20s and 30s that sincerely don't know how their lady bits work? And what about single women? All of their articles are geared towards women who have a mate (or someone to have sex with). And what about some fashion advice for someone who's over a size 6?

    The only reason I get these magazines anymore is to look at the pictures (I love high-fashion photography), smell the perfume samples, and every now and then snag a healthy recipe because the rest of it is unrealistic rubbish.
  • I always want to like magazines, especially the girly/fitness ones, but I can't really come around to them. I'm currently getting Marie Claire, Elle, Shape, and Self (I went on a subscription binge and then wound up not being able to exercise for 9 months...) and they mostly lie around unread.

    I like Dwell (design, architecture) and Bon Appetit, as well as Harpers. I used to like Cooking Light, but I got tired of all the convenience foods they were pushing. No thanks!
  • I don't really read any magazines these days.

    Sometimes I like LUCKY because it seems geared toward "real" people who aren't exclusively high-fashion. My interest in magazines these days is pretty much "oh look, cool clothes."
  • Quote: Reading Cosmo makes me think that magazine reporters must think women are complete idiots. Are there women out there in their 20s and 30s that sincerely don't know how their lady bits work?
    I know, right?
  • I used to buy the Weight Watchers magazine, but stopped because 1. It was too expensive, and 2. It made me depressed to flip through ad after ad for Weight Watchers products that we can't get here in Canada! (There's A LOT we don't get here.)
    And unfortunately, I have a slight addiction to Us magazine because I like gossip. haha.
  • Im not much of a magazine reader, but will indulge in Cosmo for plane trips. My mother is a STAR Magazine a-holic. She can't live without her gossip. Personally, I'd rather browse blogs and websites from my iPad then read a magazine.
  • I am forever in the checkout lines rolling my eyes at these magazines! I remember picking one up in middle school because I saw all my friends reading them and I couldn't take the writing style so I threw it in the trash.

    The only ones I read now are Game Informer and Popular Science. I'm a geek, I know!

    Quote: Personally, I'd rather browse blogs and websites from my iPad then read a magazine.
    Same here Love reading blogs on my iPad.
  • The only mag subscription I have is to Science magazine.

    Hooray for geeks! :P
  • I love the feminist publication, B!tch Magazine (apparently I can't use the real word, so you will have to use your imagination).
  • I used to read Women's World each week. Same old same old each week though.

    I do like a newsletter called "Nutrition Action."
  • I read a lot of Women's World and First but the articles all started to sound a like. I still read People, Marie Claire, and Oxygen. I travel a lot so I'm always grabbing a newspaper or magazine as well as reading on my Kindle.
  • Yes! Magazine is awesome! Full of real people doing things that are important to civilized societies, like forming communities, bartering their skills, and finding simpler ways to find fulfillment. Every month, I drop what I'm doing and read it ... And always come away feeling just a little better about being a human being.
  • Quote: I love the feminist publication, B!tch Magazine (apparently I can't use the real word, so you will have to use your imagination).
    I used to get that maggie, but did not re-up my subscription after it ran out. It just didn't sing to me.
  • Quote: I read a lot of Women's World and First but the articles all started to sound a like.
    EXACTLY!!