Magazines

For women coping with cancer as patients, caregivers, parents, spouses, or friends, Women&Cancer is a godsend. Instead of taking a strictly clinical viewpoint, it concentrates on health and wellness, pairing peer-reviewed articles intended for educated laypersons with less intensive, more personal content. The Winter 2006 issue includes a profile of Judith Giuliani during her husband's battle with prostate cancer, an article on cancer care for children, and a section on colorectal cancer in women. For its decidedly upbeat outlook, Women&Cancer is recommended for most public and hospital libraries.

The difference between Se7en and other sports magazines—including venerable titles like Sports Illustrated and Sporting News—can be summed up in one word: style. Se7en's approach has little to do with player statistics, stringent game summaries, and trade analyses. Instead, it looks to reach an audience of intelligent, professional men by presenting organized sports culture through a more casual, lifestyle-friendly lens. In the profiled issue, articles dealing with David Beckham's marketability, the history of mixed martial arts, and the politics behind the national steroid debate are found alongside wine reviews and clothing advice. For most public libraries.

When Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia invested $8 million in Blueprint, a new lifestyle magazine for women, the company envisioned hitting a publishing grand slam. And why not? Martha Stewart Living posted impressive advertising revenue gains throughout 2006, and the corporation's entire publishing division arguably hit its stride last year. While Blueprint isn't necessarily home-run material yet, there's a lot to like about this full-color glossy: with its emphasis on women's accessories—all arranged according to household area and presented in an exquisitely unforced style—the magazine is perfectly designed to mesmerize chic-on-a-budget shoppers. For public libraries.

Ever wondered how expensive it is for a Jewish family to live in America? Or how a former member of a Christian cult can convert to Judaism? A serious magazine with a healthy sense of humor, American Jewish Life (AJL) looks at culture with an eye toward the unconventional, including numerous Jewish lifestyle and pop culture pieces. The profile of Rabbi Niles Goldstein, best known as the author of Gonzo Judaism, represents a younger, more adventurous Judaism. Despite the slimness (64 pages) of the profiled issue, AJL is recommended for most public libraries.

Activist magazine Deaf Life resumed publication this January after a hiatus. The profiled issue provides exceptional coverage of the 2006 Gallaudet University protests that addressed former provost Jane Fernandes's perceived lack of attention to American Sign Language (ASL) standards, deaf culture, and racial diversity. Profiles of influential deaf people such as Gallaudet president Dr. Robert Davila, poet Laura Redden Searing, and artist Amy Edwards round out this excellent issue. Recommended for most public libraries and some special and academic libraries. [Currently, libraries can subscribe at half price, $30.—Ed.]

This journal from the American Psychological Association presents peer-reviewed articles on "all facets of creative behavior, production, thought, and development," which is to say Psychology Today readers probably won't be interested. While it's certainly not a popular magazine, its articles can be accessible to nonspecialists. The premier issue devotes its pages to aesthetician and psychologist Rudolf Arnheim, covering his contributions to Gestalt psychology as well as his ideas concerning art as a mental activity. Some of Arnheim's concepts will interest artists and arts educators, and the journal has enough general appeal to be included in larger public library collections and most academic libraries.

A spin-off of successful adventure-travel magazine Outside, this one targets male travelers with money to spend and a desire to spend it with style. Such readers are keen on motorcycle trips through Portugal, romantic jaunts to Sicily, and modern African safaris. Succinct yet refined, Go's presentation is commendable: sleek photography complements largely first-person narrative texts, creating an aura of cultured adventure. Go deserves a place on the shelves of larger public libraries.