Woman's own - a wonderful weekly? (Woman's Own)

Member Name: Wee_Jackie_163

Product:	Woman's Own
Date:	07/08/09 (78 review reads)
Rating:

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I have been brought up in a family of very keen 'recyclers' who have the motto "If you are finished with it then pass it on". This applies to everything from old television sets to paperback books, but one thing that regularly circulates amongst my sister and mother and I is magazines. We buy our own, read them, and then pass them on to each other, ensuring that we well and truly get our monies worth from each one!

One such magazine that my mother buys quite regularly is Woman's own, which is available to buy in the UK, for around 90 pence or so. It is a 'weekly' magazine, with a new issue coming out on a Tuesday or Wednesday of each week.

Whilst I would probably only occasionally buy it for myself, I do read it regularly, as a result of the 'passing-on' techniques that have been adopted in my family.

Woman's own is different from other glossy magazines in that a little less attention is given to following the stars. Some magazines that are available nowadays seem to focus on what eyeliner Cheryl Cole is wearing and how so and so was caught in bed with whatshisname, but this isn't really the case with Woman's Own.

Instead, we are dealt little 'snippets' about stars such as Coleen Nolan, Fern Britton and there are of course some soap star stories too. What I find is that this magazine on the whole is aimed at a more mature audience, than some of the more glossy offerings available on the market, and this is possibly confirmed by the 'gossip side' of the magazine being aimed at more mature stars.

That said, it still makes for an enjoyable read if you are interested in reading all the speculation about who is going to replace Fern Britton on This Morning and that kind of thing.

There are also plenty of real-life stories which I love reading. These are generally about such things as women who have been jilted at the alter, or women who have suffered at the hands of sadistic psychopaths or ladies who have lost huge amounts of weight. I find that these all make for a very enjoyable read and the nosy side to my personality is well and truly indulged whilst reading about other people's lives.

The magazine contains quite a lot of helpful advice too. There are ALWAYS recipes in Woman's own with quite a lot of emphasis given on 'quick' meals to prepare or 'meals on a budget'. I seldom cook from recipes any more due to limitations with my mobility, but these still provide an interesting enough read.

There is usually at least one competition where the reader can enter to win anything from a tube of foundation to a cash sum which is usually £50.

Contained nearer the back of the magazine are some of the 'usual' bits and pieces that one would expect to find in a glossy magazine like this one. We have a selection of puzzles such as a crossword and a 'Your Stars' section, where we can expect to read our horoscope for the following week.

There is also a two or three page spread pertaining to 'What's on TV' which not only provides us with the latest gossip from the soaps, but gives a general opinion on many programmes 'on the box'. I do not find this section particularly helpful given that I usually receive these magazines second-hand at least six weeks from their date of issue! That said though, I still find that these opinions are quite well written, adding a touch of humour to the topic in hand.

The content of Woman's Own as a whole doesn't especially stand out to me as a reader, although one thing that I do welcome is the lack of glossy advertisements that can be seen regularly in other weekly magazines. Some of the more 'upmarket' magazines that my sister buys regularly for example have several pages taken up with advertisements for cosmetics or perfume which infuriates me somewhat, as I feel a bit cheated in terms of value for money or 'reading quantities' in these glossies. In comparison, Woman's Own has perhaps only three or four one-page ads, and one of these is generally on the back cover to the magazine.

All in all I do quite enjoy reading this magazine on occasion. It requires only minimal use of my brain, which is fine by me - if I want a 'heavier' read I will opt to read a book or something instead.

I am perhaps being a little harsh in my score as I do feel this magazine is aimed at 40- somethings and above to be fair, but I would still award it four stars. I'd probably only buy it if there wasn't much else on offer though!

Summary: A four star read at a reasonable price!