Me and The Monocle

 

If you have read this blog before, you know that I like books.  There is something about magazines though.  Maybe it's their ever changing content.  Maybe it's the ease at which they can be picked up and put down.  Either way, it's pretty rare that I become a loyal follower of a magazine.  I've been a on again off again follower of some magazines.  Model Railroader and Radio Control Car Action certainly fit that bill.  I enjoy what's inside, but sometimes it seems like I've had enough.  I pick up one issue every 3 months or so.  Either something catches my eye or it doesn't.  I either read it at the library or scan through the issue at the bookstore.

For a magazine to inspire loyalty, it really has to speak to me.  Kansai Time Out was one such magazine.  I loved it, and I still feel bad that it is gone.  It has been replaced by the free Kansai Scene....it's good, but it isn't the same. It really isn't.

There was a time when I really loved Outside magazine.  It was well written, and regardless of the topic, I poured over every word.  One friend described it as the only magazine that could make anything a visit to the fishing hole seem epic.  I have not read it recently, but the last time I was quite sure that the honeymoon was over.

Most recently I have come across a magazine that fascinates me.  It is called the Monocle.  I cannot pinpoint exactly what I like about it.  It's all about a higher end life that seems so remote from mine. It's about the environment.  It's about quality over quantity.  It's about a lack of clutter and a more minimalist life.  Even as I read what I have written, I am not sure that I have actually hit it.

I've read two issues and really enjoyed both of them.  It's got a lot of pages, so I keep them around on my coffee table to flip through them on Saturday mornings when I am sipping coffee.  It's still early days, and I don't know if I will in fact become a loyal follower.  So far I enjoy it, but it will take at least half a year before I know for sure.