To feel like there is not one decent women's magazine on the market

[tinierclanger]

They all churn out the same tired old stuff slightly rehashed every now and again, there's no proper journalism, hardly any proper reviews, no insight into anything. They're all so boring!

I don't think there are any good magazines about - the mags are very same-y and have so little of any substance to say and have become so expensive!

It is quite funny just how generic the mags are - when I go to SA, I see the same titles peddling the same sh*t.

'Heat' magazine use to be my guilty pleasure when Mark Frith used to be the editor - use to be quite funny and tongue-in-cheek until it just became very meh!

I would also love a good magazine for my daughter (5) and son (3+) that didn't have to be pink, have fairies in it, glitter or some plastic tat on the front related to some sh*tty TV programme ... any suggestions??

I have a subscription to Prima because I like the stuff in it.

But other than that, it's Filament or The New Yorker for me.

I remember Honey in its final years - brilliantly, ragingly feminist. The directors of whichever publishing house owned it must have been having collective monthly spasms each time it came out.
Mind you, near their very beginnings both Mizz and J17 were quite feisty too. And Smash Hits was great in its early years, reasonably in-depth features on bands and artists and some marvellous juxtapositions: Page 21, lyrics of Feels Like I'm In Love plus pic and dull puff piece on one-hit wonder Kelly Marie but page 23 would have a huge article on Crass and the fuss over their last album cover, or some such.
These days I read Viz and newspapers, occasionally Private Eye but TBH am too skint for magazines. Though I'm another one with a soft spot for Take A Break partly because of the campaigns and the fiction (and not at all because I want to laugh at all the three-horrible-scratters-fighting-over-a-loverat-binman stories).

Totally agree. Haven't bought one in years.

Have a subscription to The Economist, and one to Empire.

Although Empire has gone staggeringly downhill recently. Used to be very unisex, now full of ads for XXX phonelines and crap like that. And there was one recent cover straight off a lads mag; nubile young unheard-of naked with coyly draped hand over norks. I'm surprised - they did a survey and as I recall around 30-40% of their readers are female.

Meh. I'm in a bad mood today, can you tell?!

I do like Fancy Fowl.

I love Vanity Fair

I miss Real ,it was really good.

I used to like Real - I can't be bothered with glossy "oooh look what so & so is wearing" mags, & whenever I feel a magazine urge coming on, the price puts me off!

Yanbu I've felt this way for a good few years now. There was one called "Real" out a couple of years back which was really quite good i think it was fortnightly but you couldn't get it everywhere, it was reasonable too, think around the £1.50 mark or so, it disappeared though

I still like Red, but mostly like the weekend sections in sunday times/observer etc, love 'style' in sunday times, its my fave bit. Also [hgrin] at TAB, the tips page is hilarious & regularly has me in stitches, someone making a absolutely crap lovely gift box/hat stand out of old loo rolls

Haven't bought a magazine in ages, used to be devoted to Cosmo in early 20's, graduated to Marie Claire, now my Mum saves me the magazine from the Daily Mail . DH got Good Housekeeping for me when I had dd2 a few months ago, I found it great and have bought it ever since (I'm "only" 35 btw )

i like health and fitness and womens health- the sporty lifestyle mags but then i love my running at the minute.

My DP bought me Prima once! I think its aimed at the 'mature' market (I'm 36!!) [hangry]

I read: TAB Psychologies, Good Housekeeping and, on occasions, usually when i've managed to stop smoking for more than a day and a half, gone swimming the night before and eaten yoghurt, fruit and sunflower seeds, Top Sante.

I demand the return of Jackie, My Guy, Spare Rib and Disco 45..

I read the Economist, Spectator, Private Eye and Horse and Hound (ie magazine about things that interest me- current affairs and horses) plus Vogue occasionally for fashion and Good Housekeeping at Christmas.

Magazines specifically aimed at women do tend to focus on clothes, celebs etc because these are typically seen as "women's interests". Of course most women are interested in all sorts of things, but I'm not sure a women's magazine is the best place to cover this. If I want to read about current affairs, say, I'll read a current affairs magazine or paper- who wants Grazia's take on the spending cuts or Take A Break's view of the Middle East?

Have you tried Prospect? The LRB? I never seem to manage to finish the latter before the next one comes along, though.

As for fluff, I must say I quite like Easy Living, mostly for its 'My Life in Books' page every month. The people who contribute to that tend not to be totally useless slebs and the books often include what people consider 'difficult' reads and classics rather than simply whatever bright young thing's novel has recently been on Oprah. I have been introduced to some fantastic stuff.

I love Viz.

I will also admit to reading all sorts of shite about X-Factor contestants and the latest fad diets while pretending I feel slightly soiled by doing so.

I bought cosmo a few weeks ago and ended up getting so irritated with the stupid thing I wished I hadn't bothered.

Most infuriating was probably the article about "how to flirt" - heaven forbid, you must never talk to a man, just smile at him and flutter your eyelashes. No sane man is going to find your pathetic conversation attractive, and if he talks to you at all then he's a friend which (for some mysterious reason) is entirely separate from a potential boyfriend.

I can't remember the rest of the things which annoyed me which is probably for the best. The entire magazine was drivel apart from a couple of very moving articles, one on domestic violence and another on FGM. But even those were nothing you couldn't find on any discussion board online.

LRB is fab.

Has anyone got an opinion about 'The Week' (?) - an anthology of newsworthy articles?

My deepest shame is that our family use to read 'Reader's Digest' - good toilet mag ....

I love Prima, I think it is aimed at women older than me but I'm 32 and I've been reading it for about 8 years. It's not as deep and thought provoking as I'd like but I read New Scientist and BBC History and Focus (in the library) for that.

A magazine version of R4's Woman's Hour would be great.

Can cope with Easy Living about twice a year, but it's too repetitive any more often than that. I also like Viz. My mum gets The Week, flick through it sometimes, it's good for catching up as I don't buy a paper everyday but haven't really read it regularly enough to comment.

Agree about the office assumption, I have worked in one, but don't know that many women who do. Even when I did nobody ever dressed like they do in the mags, sensible shoe policy for a start, and where is this endless round of Christmas parties that everyone is going to?

Having read this thread, I finally got around to cancelling my Marie Claire subscription.

When EVE got cancelled, the publisher offered to replace it with Grazia. I declined their offer. If I wanted Grazia I would have subscribed to it in the first place. Wonder if there's any chance of getting EVE back.

i buy heat and grazia every week even though i hate them and then feel vaguely sick after i have read them. grazia makes me feel shit for not having a house like the ones they show in the property bit every week oh and i also buy
"closer" aka jeremy kyle on paper, which conversely, makes me feel better about my life :o

dp bought me cosmo to read last week when i was ill in bed and it was the biggest load of shite ever seemed to be mainly about how to get men to like you and aimed at girls who work in offices and dont have kids yet. (well it probably is). havent read it really since my early 20's when i used to love it and devour it avidly from cover to cover. dont know if its changed or i have changed. probably the latter.

i also like top sante for healthy recipe ideas although i'm only 30 and some of it doesnt interest me, think its probably more aimed at over 35's.

and they ALL seem to be obsessed with how women look after giving birth, ie they are either silly for losing weight too quick or look "fat" even MONTHS after the birth [shock horror]

OMG!

Forgot to recommend The Word....its loosely a music magazine but covers literature, music, comedy, bit of current affairs.

Its editor is David Hepworth..he who set up Smash Hits (back in the day!) but also he did Old Grey Whistle Test (am showing my age now), and now is on Radio 4 type things now.

Writes for The Times/Guardian etc.

ie its an intelligent mag but not too serious.

(their subscriptions department is pants though!)

and yes, Itsjustafleshwound....the Week is good (am an expat so it serves as a useful news round up and LOVE the two property porn pages in it each week )

Women's magazines really underestimate our intelligence. I know they're meant to be entertainment and escapist, but really - what is this collective editorial fear that a reader will be bored if her reading matter isn't wrapped inside a dazzling technicolour layout with a crotch shot of Lindsay Lohan.

(takes out knitting. Mumbles into her cocoa.)