• Town & Country
    Ivanka Trump looks like an ancient Egyptian cat on the cover of this month's Town & Country: almond-eyed, long-necked, and a bit superior. She is, after all, the rising star of an American dynasty, and as such, she's a great cover subject, particularly fitting for the kind of old-school, upscale magazine that might as well substitute a dollar sign for the ampersand in its logo.
  • American Heritage
    Give the folks behind the revived American Heritage credit: They haven't dumbed it down. Maybe they deemed the mildly jaunty attitude of the previous incarnation of the history magazine, which had suspended publication in May 2007, inappropriate. But after reading the two issues published since AH mounted its comeback in late winter, I got this squirrelly feeling afterward that an old white guy was intoning, "There will be a test."
  • Tattoos for Men
    Few status symbols have undergone such a change in status over the past 15 years as the tattoo. What was once a mark of the rebel has morphed into a symbol of, well, you name it. Middle-aged moms have pictures of their kids inked on their shoulder, marketing executives have Zen symbols etched into their back, and seemingly any woman who went to college in the early 1990s has a Yin Yang or dancing bear lingering somewhere. Thank God there are still fans of Insane Clown Posse to keep covering themselves with bleeding skulls and exploding snakes and stuff.
  • Coastal Living
    Billed as "the magazine for those who love the coast" -- and who doesn't? -- Coastal Living targets subscribers who lust after water views and beach-house makeovers. Now, I'm no expert on home repairs, but last time I checked, it takes Discovery's CEO salary to underwrite a Sausilito, Calif., re-do. Like new, only better.
  • Dance Magazine
    I've always wanted to tap-dance with the light-hearted verve of Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor in "Singing In The Rain." But few can match those step masters -- especially if, like me, you begin classes at, um, an advanced age. During a short-lived attempt at formal tap training, I shared my enthusiasm for great movie dance scenes with the teacher's assistant. It was empowering to talk shop with a professional dancer -- as if I were actually part of the larger community. I found that pleasure again when reading Dance Magazine. I also found -- against my perhaps stereotypical expectations …
  • Wondertime
    When the choices are slim, I sometimes end up looking at parenting magazines in waiting rooms. I usually end up feeling like I'm reading something in a foreign language and conclude that maybe I'd just have to have young kids myself to "get" those articles. Enter Wondertime. I remember reading the magazine and thinking, wow, this is actually interesting. The tone is decidedly upbeat, but it's hip, too.
  • Guitar World -- The Video
    According to an article in the business section of the May 26 New York Times (what did you do with your Memorial Day?), Guitar World magazine has shaken things up by finding a way to sell DVDs on magazine racks. Basically, the publisher wraps a DVD, a cardboard insert and an instructional booklet in plastic, so the whole thing looks like a magazine, except it costs $10. It's in this spirit of innovation and the dumbing down of America that I introduce DVDs to Magazine Rack. Who knows, maybe next week I'll review a bar fight.
  • Ocean Home
    Hint: when you see the words "Maui" and "luxe" on a magazine cover, don't ask price. If you do, as J.P. Morgan famously noted, you can't afford it. Should you fall into this category, think of Ocean Home as real-estate porn. Every home is shapely, and if it could talk, would scream pleasure palace. I could see Anderson Cooper in one of the Ke Kailani digs in Hawaii, hair carefully brushed, floating in the infinity pool and miraculously, never getting wet. I know he loves to tout his Third World adventures, but where does he get his Ralph Lauren chinos …
To read more articles use the ARCHIVE function on this page.