Herbivore, a new magazine covering 'vegetarian culture' with humor and panache, has a sensibility closer to Punk Planet than to Vegetarian Times. Its first two issues included interviews with vegan cartoonist Dan Piraro, rocker Ian Mackaye, and the proprietors of a store selling non-leather shoes and other 'vegan fashion' items, plus articles on 'cruelty-free beer' and activist Miyun Park's account of overcoming shyness to advocate for the welfare of factory-farmed chickens. To subscribe: $15/yr. (4 issues) from 5254 NE 32nd Pl., Portland, OR 97211; www.herbivoreclothing.com

Time Is the Problem is the best zine I've read in quite a while. Editor Jim Lowe's philosophical musings and anecdotes, many describing incidents in New York's Central Park, strike responsive chords in me. Lowe writes about a stranger who seemed to know what Lowe was thinking, a shared experience that transcended words. Zine creators are often smart, but rarely so wise. To order: $3/sample from Box 152, Elizaville, NY 12523

Since its 1992 founding, Soft Skull Press has published an array of books by people imagining and creating their own lives. Recent titles include: Fly's Peops: Portraits and Stories profiling the likes of Loisada squatters and zinesters such as Aaron Cometbus; the seventh annual edition of The Zine Yearbook; Josh MacPhee's Stencil Pirates, a global survey of street stenciling; and How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office, co-edited by William Upski Wimsatt and Adrienne Brown. For more information: www.softskull.com or 718/643-1599

Rethinking Schools, longtime proponent of public education reform, has recently changed from tabloid to magazine format. The revamped model looks a lot like The Progressive inside (art director Patrick J.B. Flynn served at that magazine for years), but its editorial content continues to focus on 'teaching for equity and justice.' To subscribe: $17.95/yr. (4 issues) from Box 2222, Williston, VT 05495; www.rethinkingschools.org

Seeing Ourselves As We Are

Magazines for people born this way