Good magazines

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I'm looking for a magazine or two to add to my reading list.

For a hint, I've been reading the WSJ but I cancelled for two reasons: too much regular volume and $200 a year was too much for me.

I *really* enjoy the storylines and articles in the Journal (the stuff that isnt "todays news redux") far more than the usual daily paper. I'd like to find that sort of content in a weekly or monthly magazine. I was hoping the Journal had a magazine with excerpts, and I could have sworn I had seen such a thing, but a cursory view found nothing. I know smartmoney is published by the WSJ but their content is very investing oriented and while I like that, i'm more interested in the general stories.

Any suggestions? I'm currently reading some sports crap and a couple of foodie/cooking magazines, and smartmoney.

As a suggestion of where I've found some good bargains, I went to www.shoppervalues.com and bought my mags there. I found a lot of freebie magazines (most not that good but some not so bad), and verrrry cheap rates on the magazines I regularly read. The Sporting News in fact was way cheaper than any other sub rate I'd seen. I think it was $17 a year instead of the 30-40 they try to charge you directly.

The "catch" is that you agree to let them spam you once a week with an offer.

This didnt bother me much. I create a 'spambucket' email account on hotmail about once a year and use that for any web sites that insist on an email to sign up. When the spam becomes too unmanageable, I make a new one and stop using the old one. I'm not even sure these guys are sending me anything.

They took my credit card, the subs started in about 4-6 weeks. Two of the subs were renewals to mags I already got, and the expiration dates on the sub labels changed within a few weeks to the new dates.

 

[Cut-Throat]

TH,

Read Berstein's Book first - The Four Pillars of Investing" - He will tell you that all finanical journalism is not worth reading - I believe him! I now mostly read it for the humor!

Then you can focus on the important stuff like the Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Issue!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Actually thats what I *am* avoiding. I'd like the WSJ minus the financial crud, in a weekly format!

I also discovered that overstock has some good subscription deals, ebay has some excellent deals if you dont mind dealing with ebay stuff, and an outfit called netmagazines allows you to build 'packages' of subs for good rates.

 

[Nords]

Re:  How about these?

Business Week.

Family Handyman-- be careful with letting others read this if there's a honey-do list in your household.

Scientific American-- no, really, skip the biological stuff about "T-1 helper cells" and stick to the engineering & science articles.

Netsurfer (http://www.netsurf.com), especially if you can talk them into a free issue or two.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I'll have to check out family handyman, since I end up doing a lot of my own stuff.

I used to read business week some time ago. May be what I'm looking for. An example story I read in the Journal that is what I'm looking for is the interview they did with the iraqi who has set up his own mini business providing power from his personal generator to other businesses on the block every time the power goes out (which is a lot). Interesting to get a view into his and his neighbors lives and how they're coping with things that are going on around them.

Not entirely human interest stuff, but more than where the DOW is going, the size of alan greenspans briefcase, and the like.

 

[prbob]

TH Have you considered the online WSJ? I believe it runs $79 a year and contains many of the articles in the printed version. Disclaimer, I have not used it, just thinking about it right now. Big debate is whether I want to be sitting in front of the pc to read it.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Thats the catch here. I do about 2-3 hours of reading on the pc per day. I spend about an hour reading in a chair out on the patio, and while I have a laptop with a wireless card in it, I like having a paper item in my hand at least part of the time.

Not to mention even at $79 I can get about 4-7 magazine subscriptions for a year at discount.

 

[Whakamole]

I check FatWallet's forums to find free magazines which are frequently offered. Many are uninteresting to me, but I've also gotten Kiplingers, Men's Journal, and a few other quality magazines through them.

 

[BigMoneyJim]

Google News

Well, it's another online suggestion, but the price is cheaper:

Google has Google News which seems to give me access to content that would otherwise require a subscription. I'm not familiar with Wall Street Journal content, but after Scott Burns' column in the Dallas Morning News went pay-per-view I searched Google News for "Scott Burns" and found free places to read his columns. Try searching for your favorite columnists or regular article names.

I'm not sure if you can get what you want, but it's worth a try.

 

[Martha]

My husband likes the Economist. I like Business Week. We have dropped Barons and Kiplingers and USA Today.

 

[yakers]

Absolutely recommend The Economist. I have had a subscription for 25 years and there is no other magazine like it. It covers news, financial markets and has major theoretical economic discussions. It is a "second opinion" to domestic news reporting, particularly of foreign events and has very deep reporting ("spies"?) on financial and political developments. Some 15 years ago the LA Times had interviews with all the major CEOs they asked, among other things, what magazines they read. The only common magazine (other than the WSJ) was the Economist.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Any good leads on getting a cheap subscription to the economist? I'm seeing $99 a year. Isnt listed on many of the discounter sites. Fairly spendy.

 

[TheFIREman]

It's an expensive magazine and one that does not readily discount. But pound for pound it is probably the best value around. Not light reading, though.

 

[intercst]

TH  Have you considered the online WSJ?  I believe it runs $79 a year and contains many of the articles in the printed version.  Disclaimer, I have not used it, just thinking about it right now.  Big debate is whether I want to be sitting in front of the pc to read it.

The on-line version of the WSJ is only $39.95/year if you subscribe to the print version.

You could ask someone who gets the print edition to sign you up, then reimburse him for the $39.95.

You also get the on-line version of Barrons included for free with the $39.95 fee.

Everything in the print edition (except the ads) is in the on-line version in addition to lots of articles that don't appear in the paper.

intercst

 

[John Galt]

Although an insatiable reader, I only subscribe to/buy the Sunday paper. Nothing else other than what I get as a result of belonging to various organizations. Even there, since ER I have
cut back (memberships) to those I will be in for life. I read free on line, go to the library, visit Barnes and Noble, or pick up free stuff where I can.

John Galt

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Well sounds like the good papers/mags are 'spensive and not to be discounted. Since I'm now a cheap #$@# I cant see myself spending over a hundred bucks a year for a magazine or two hundred for a newspaper. The Economist does list an extraordinary number of articles on their web site for free reading. The Journal appears to require registration and payment to read any. Maybe it'll take me a few more years to get used to it, but theres so much free content online to read that I still cant imagine paying for any of it. Born in the midst of the "to hell with profit, get eyeballs" mindset I guess.

I wonder if the library will let me leave one of my sling chairs somewhere in the building and allow me to read their magazines and papers out back in the sun without making me check them out and back in again...

We're having a heatwave here in californias central valley. Its been in the upper 70's all week. We broke 120 year old records yesterday with a mark of 82. I even put in my whole house fan already and its not usually until late April that I do that. I've been getting in a lot of reading outdoors. Halfway through "The millionaire next door", although I have to admit I "got it" after page 35 and now halfway through I'm about bored with having "dont buy dumb stuff and live well within your means" hammered into my head. I mentioned to the wife that I'd have liked to have seen this book in my 20's when it would have mattered more. Her reply "you wouldnt have paid attention". Probably right. At least some of the demographic information is interesting, but seems to me the book can be summarized in about 10 points, including the interesting parts.

The "Four Pillars" are on the table and ready to enter the batters box. I've grown so tired of hearing people say that its a 'must read' that at this point I must read it. My review should be available shortly...by the 30th at the latest because thats when its due back...