Customer Reviews

Opinionated: Voices and Viewpoints on America and the World

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I greatly enjoyed reading the first issue of Opinionated. Imagine the Sunday political roundtable TV shows but instead of smart people trading soundbites, you get smart people explaining themselves coherently. Mind you, they are still out to persuade and Opinionated drops any pretenses on that score; each essay is labeled "Liberal", "Conservative", "Independent" or "World View" - Opinionated readers will not need the labels though it does lend an air of sporting competition to the proceedings. Individual essays are brief, provocative, and tightly written. In just five minutes you are exposed to a point of view, perhaps opposite to your own, that must be taken seriously. And the authors take you seriously, too, as the writing has an intellectual edge; not to worry there is plenty of schoolyard finger-pointing to keep you entertained.

If you are looking for new perspectives and good fodder for conversation at cocktails, without wanting to labor through a long article, Opinionated will fit the bill nicely. And if this concentrated bulletin of thought helps us boil down the complex issues and decide what we really should be doing to improve the country right now, then Opinionated will have served a truly useful purpose.

I have recieved four issues of Opinionated so far, and must say that I have enjoyed reading each issue. The columns are well written, and some will even add a smile or chuckle to your day. I have read just about every column included in each issue. Each column is typically a five minute investment in time, so you can digest them throughout the week between responsibilities if you are a busy person like me.

The one thing I will mention is that the publication is slanted to the left (or at least all the issues have been so far) in the amount of content provided. There are always more liberal views expressed than either conserative or independent, and liberal submissions are always presented first. I don't mention this because I'm some kind of ultra-conserative, far from it, but I thought it was a valid observation.

I'm not sure I'm going to continue with this mag after the initial trial. The selection of content is good. The "World View" columns tend to be liberal in view, giving the magazine a bit of a liberal bent. But that's not why I rated this magazine 2 stars.

I rate it two stars because of its lazy organization. Reading the mag in article order results in a tiresome repetition of viewpoints. First, there's the Liberal opinions. Then the Conservative opinions. Then the International opinions. In each group of opinions there are usually two or three themes common to each philosophy. For instance, Education, The War on Terror, World Financial Institutions, Obama, Bush all had opposing viewpoints represented - but spread out throughout the magazine.

Rather than feeling I'm first reading in one echo chamber and then moving to the next echo chamber, it would be far more interesting to read these articles by the theme of their content. I'd much rather read a collection of articles organized topically, forcing arguments against each other and truly engaging the reader.

Frankly, the editorial layout of this mag is just plain lazy and completely uninteresting.

The opinions are fine. The writers are good. And I like the opportunity to read opinions that normally wouldn't make the feed of my RSS Reader. But seriously, is there any lazier way to lay out this type of magazine?

I'm enjoying Opinionated much more than I thought I would. I am so turned off by the "pundits" on Sunday morning talk shows; and the extremely smart columnists whose rather nasty comments turn me off; but Opinionated is balanced and the essays are thoughtful and I can read them whenever. In fact, I won't ever have to look at television again and am quite looking forward to that.

This is a wonderful addition to the Kindle
family...the serious commentary of people
on the left-center-right on the issues facing
this country today...a non-partisan platform
like the C-SPAN cable channel but in a printed
form that we can read while we go about our
busy daily lives.

While I have mostly enjoyed reading the opinion pieces, after 6 months I decided to cancel my subscription. It takes too much time out of my reading budget. I have learned a lot about opinions on the left and right, but over time the authors have become too predictable and I found myself skipping more and more of the text.
I may pick up again at a later time, but for now I am taking a break. I still wish the magazine success.

I shall add my enthusiastic vote for Opinionated. I enjoy being able to read articles from all shades of the political spectrum, from Jesse Jackson to Cal Thomas. The Kindle is simply the perfect vehicle for this type of magazine.

I must confess, I do not understand those who will only read articles that agree with their own narrow political viewpoint. It reminds me of Sir Leicester Dedlock in Charles Dickens' "Bleak House": Sir Dedlock will only read the newspaper issued by his own political party. Needless to say, he derives immense satisfaction by finding that he agrees with everything written in the paper (or, rather, that the writer agrees with what Sir Dedlock thinks).

In other words, Sir Dedlock is so intellectually shallow that he must have continual positive reinforcement of his own viewpoint. He does not understand the concept of reading what the `other side' has to say, and is even outraged that there is an `other side'. Dickens makes it clear that if Sir Dedlock ever by chance happened to read an opposing opinion, Sir Dedlock's world-view would probably collapse, or his head explode.

I may not always agree with the logic or positions taken by Jackson, Thomas, et al, but they do (or should) make you think about the `other side'. Bravo, Opinionated!

I thoroughly enjoyed the first week of Opinionated - overall good commentary and a wide range of views. Unfortunately the editor selects nearly the same authors week after week after week. Some of the authors even get double duty in the same edition. After the fourth issue, I found myself skimming certain content of overexposed writers regurgitating their stale views.

This could be an outstanding read if it provided more variety.

A great collection of columnists from across the political spectrum, all in one place. The world view section also gives you an idea of what writers based outside the US are saying, particularly on issues such as the world economy. This was the first magazine I subscribed to on my Kindle, and I have never regretted it.

Opinionated exceeded my expectations. I love discourse, and to have such well written perspectives from all sides is a treasure.