Like any good friend, a magazine provides you with juicy gossip, perfume samples, and paper cuts when you get out-of-line. Procure a paper pal with today's Groupon: for $7, you get a one-year subscription (seven issues) to Oakland Magazine (a $20 value).

Oakland Magazine's thorough coverage comprises East-Bay dining, arts, celebrities, and schools in a colorful, well-designed package. All-encompassing culinary reporting introduces readers to quirky local chefs, exhilarating new restaurants, and discount eating options, and an extensive dining directory leaves no hoagie unturned. Area students and academic institutions receive their share of ink in the magazine's school section, and an events calendar keeps page-pushers privy to upcoming arts-and-entertainment events and convoluted reverse leap years. Dedicated eco-friendly features provide tips on green-keen business, low-impact living, and fragrant pocket mulching, alongside articles on interior design, local celebrities, shopping, and current events.