The Ladies' Home Journal has been a staple in our household on and off through the years. It's a solid magazine with good articles relating to lifestyle, decorating, fashion, cooking and issues relevant to women.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Table of Contents is broken into categories:

Your Self - personal living articles (ex: dealing with stress and fear, healthy attitudes)

Your Style - beauty, makeup, skin care, fashion

Your Family - marriage, children, money

Your Home - decorating, party tips

Your World - personality profiles (ex: Sally Field, Dr. Phil, Valerie Bertinelli, Hilary Swank)

Your Health - diet, health matters

Your Food - recipes, including recipes and food discussions with celebrities


MY EXPERIENCES

The articles in this magazine are easy read. I enjoy the upbeat slant to them such as how to improve your life through better more-fulfilled living. This is not a body-mind-spirit publication, though. The magazine leans more toward beauty and fashion, and less on the metaphysical. Also, "Ladies' Home Journal" does not include exercise routines.

It's easy to browse through this magazine, though the ads are cumbersome and many. Frequent short pieces are sprinkled throughout the publication. Their prime focus is on beauty/make-up.

A helpful feature in each issue is "Can This Marriage be Saved?". The pieces offer perspective through both parties' eyes, and the feature ends with "The Counselor's Turn". Names and details are changed, but the stories are based on true events.

I also enjoy reading the articles that highlight animals. For instance, in one issue is a great piece about a deaf dog that was abandoned and taken in by a woman who taught the dog sign language. Another example of an inspiring article is about a yearly non-profit pony auction, and a family who is keeping one woman's dream alive (through the Feather Fund) to help families financially adopt a pony. By the time I finished reading the article, I had tears brimming in my eyes.

One of my favorite parts of this magazine are the down-to-earth articles the visit with a celebrity. These snap-shots of their lives are honest and insightful. They don't focus on the glitz so much as home life and personal choices. Yes, their careers are also discussed, but in a personal way rather than in generalizations. And there is no sensationalism. Some of the review is also written in a Question-and-Answer format, which is a nice way of breaking the paragraphs for easier reading.

While "Ladies' Home Journal" includes color photographs, this is not a magazine known for photography. There are a few pictures of the celebrities being profiled, and the main articles usually include one photo. The smaller bits throughout the magazine that focus on beauty and fashion seem to hog most of the photography.

Even though this magazine includes some recipes, it is not a cooking magazine. Typically, there are between six and ten recipes per issue. There is a special recipe index located in the Table of Contents at the front of the magazine, so that you can see right away what recipes are included in each issue. The recipes concentrate on homey foods such as chicken, pork and beef dishes, pizza, sandwich wraps, salads, vegetable dishes, desserts such as cakes, tarts and pies. You won't find "diet" recipes or recipes that use uncommon ingredients. Each recipe is accompanied by a color photograph and nutritional information.

This magazine is loaded with advertising. It is often difficult to find the content of the magazine for all the advertisements! Typical advertising is targeted toward women and includes: beauty, fashion, shopping, food, medicine, pet products and some travel ads. The magazine is often littered with postcard advertising or stiff pages of advertising. A pet peeve is that sometimes a "fragrant" piece of advertising is included in the magazine. This drives my sinuses crazy.


SUBSCRIBING

A year subscription costs $12.97. However, there are often deals where you can get one year free, so only pay $12.97 for 24 issues.


SUMMARY

The Ladies' Home Journal is a good magazine for leafing through, while enjoying a few of the feature articles. It is not a magazine I read from cover to cover. I enjoy the mix of content, though I can see where this publication would not be for everyone. Browse through an issue on the newsstand or in your library before committing to a subscription.

I hope you found this review useful.

Enjoy your day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com


Please read my other reviews:

Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine (recipes)

Simple & Delicious Magazine (recipes)

Country Extra Magazine

Country Weekly Magazine

People Magazine

Entertainment Weekly Magazine


Copyright 2008 Dawn L. Stewart


Recommended: Yes