• Best Life
    The fear of emasculation will keep a man from saying many things. ("Where do I find the low-carb beer?" Or "Check out the pecs on Howard!") Alas, I am a Mets fan, and long ago (Sept. 30, 1:30 p.m.) surrendered any pretense to manliness. Which means I'm free to confess the following: Men's magazines make me feel bad about myself. So where is a regular Joe with hopes of bettering himself to turn? Allow me to suggest Best Life -- the only title in the category that doesn't leave me feeling like a socially awkward hobo.
  • Better Homes and Gardens
    Better Homes and Gardens tracked $402 million in advertising dollars for January-June 2007 -- more than any other magazine except for People. So what's the secret to BH and G's success?
  • Aromatherapy Thymes
    History says that Cleopatra seduced both Mark Antony and Julius Caesar with herbal perfumes, including lavender, jasmine, and rose. According to "Rome," the HBO series, Antony, a hunka hunka burning love, is exiled to Egypt by the newest Caesar, think Doogie Howser with an S&M fetish. There, he falls for The Divine Miss C. It's a shame the launch issue of Aromatherapy Thymes didn't put Cleo on the cover. Nothing trumpets the success of aromatherapy like doing the horizontal shuffle with beefcake.
  • Runner's World
    My name is Amy, and I'm a runner. Why didn't I start reading Runner's World sooner? The name intimidated me. I used to think of runners as hard-core athletes clocking hundreds of miles a week and participating in countless races a year. Could a novice like me relate to the super-charged content in this pub? As Molly Bloom would say, "Yes, yes, yes."
  • Relix
    By all rightsRelix magazine should have gathered up its hemp-flavored toothbrush and dolphin-safe Birkenstocks and headed home sometime around 1995. So imagine my surprise to find Relixnot only still among the living, but looking remarkably better than I remember it. What started out as a black-and-white bimonthly concerned itself almost exclusively with the Grateful Dead has become a glossy, full-color affair that stays true to the interests of its audience without becoming a -- wait for it -- relic.
  • Modern Dog
    As much as I value the companionship of dogs and cats, I am sad to say that I don't usually hold the magazines written about them in such high esteem. After subscribing to several, I quickly realized that the writing was substandard and the topics began to repeat pretty quickly. There have been some new titles out that are better (Bark immediately comes to mind), but still aren't quite what I'm looking for -- a well-written, informative, but most of all, FUN dog magazine. So when I saw Modern Dog on the newsstand, my heart soared.
  • Time Out New York Kids
    The goal of Time Out New York Kids isn't to keep kiddies in the loop. It trumpets the mega-events parents can schedule for the fruit of their loins. This month has 500. 500!. It's going to take more than a Bloody Mary to motivate the average parent; amphetamines, stat!
  • Battle Of The Conde Nast Cannibals: GQ Vs. Men's Vogue
    Does the world really need -- and will guys really read -- two men's fashion magazines? Perhaps. But if they're both published by Condé Nast, won't they cannibalize each other? You gotta wonder just how different the two mags really are -- and if, in fact, Men's Vogue is a worthwhile addition to a fashion publishing empire.
  • The Land Report
    The readers of The Land Report take the lyrics of "Pippin" to heart: "I've got to be where my spirit can run free, got to find my corner of the sky." The sentiment is classically American -- if by American, you mean non-urbanites who can live without ethnic cuisine and regular pilgrimages to Broadway. Of course, in the case of "Pippin," Charlemagne's son is searching for his true calling. Here, it's strictly bottom line. Wealthy people are buying up acreage in the U.S. faster than Ahmadinejad can deny gay life in Iran.
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