What's Hot What's New

The good, the bad and the ugly. You'll find them all here. Each week you'll get my take on the intriguing, and sometimes peculiar, titles to recently hit the newsstand.

Death + Taxes Cover Price: $3.95 www.deathandtaxesmagazine.com Benjamin Franklin said there are only two things that cannot be avoided: death and taxes. If you're a music fan, then add one more thing to that list: the new magazine Death+Taxes. But be warned: this isn't Rolling Stone; you won't see Britney Spears on the cover; you probably haven't even heard of some of the bands in its pages. But this new title is extremely well done. The writing is conversational and really appeals to the personal relationship of music with its listeners. The photography isn't a bunch of liner pictures taken as PR material for hyping an album; the pages of Death + Taxes are full of in-your-face concert shots taken only inches from the sweating, screaming and reverberating of live music. And this content is increased by a purely clean design. The copy is terse, offering mental breathing room and the photos are large, symmetrical and lack the clutter of freshman titles. Overall this new launch is well-done and just like its namesakes, you can't avoid this forever.

ShopSmart Cover Price: $4.99 www.shopsmartmag.org Consumer Reports has been a trusted name in the world of consumer satisfaction and product testing. And with the launch of ShopSmart they have brought there expertise to the realm of shopping. Carrying a promise of "No hype + No ads + Just great buys!" ShopSmart covers everything from coffee makers to paint to treadmills with the aim of letting you decide the best product for you before you get to the store. In the ever-increasingly busy world we live in this new launch is a time saver in that you no longer have to search for reviews or satisfaction reports on what you want to buy. Now all you have to do is pickup ShopSmart and read what has already been collected. So if you like shopping, this is the best gameplan you can have for a successful outing at the mall.

Successful Woman Cover Price:$5.95 www.successfulwoman.com More and more women are staring home-based business and working to balance family and work. If this sounds familiar then Successful Woman may be a perfect new launch for you. Successful Woman is designed to give working women the tools they need to succeed in all areas of life. Each issue profiles a company run by women that has succeeded and has made its owners' dreams come true. Along with these profiles are encouraging stories and information on how their realities can become your own. It isn't an easy road to success, and Successful Woman is a great guide to help you find your way.