Monocle Magazine (Review)

Magazines are my "guilty pleasure" in reading. They don't feel as content heavy as a book, and in the long run, they cost way more than books (even if it's just $2 an issue, think of 52 weeks a year and many years....). Hence, since I value my books more, I try to not read so many magazines (In econs-speak: the opportunity cost of buying books are buying magazines). That, however, is not to say that I don't have a lot of them. I have about ... well, I'm not sure. Betweeen my Japanese magazines (which get their own special magazine case) and the normal English magazine (in their own, smaller case), I have no more space left. Sometimes, I think that my books and magazines are slowly taking over the house (ok, so maybe there is SOME reason for my parents to try and restrict the buying)

Ever since I read about Monocle magazine, I've been interested in what it's about. I heard many glorious things about it, such as it ways about the weight of a small brick (ok, so for others, that was a complaint). And sadly, Kinokuniya didn't have it (at least the Bugis branch). But thanks to my Dad, who went to Holland V for his Birthday supper last month, I saw it at the Magazine Shop.

Looks promising right?

The Magazine shop is a marvellous place. They have hard to find magazines, like Harvard Business Review. When I asked for Monocle, the guy just pointed to a stack nearby, as though they were so common you could find them at any street store. When I saw the issue was about education (remember, I'm still in school), I couldn't resist, despite the $20 price tag (I can buy a paperback for that price!). Needless to say, both my parents thought it was a waste of money.

But I think otherwise. I think I finally found the perfect English magazine for me. Because a lot of the magazines are either too thin (like 8 days) or have too many advertisments (think TeenVogue), I end up flipping through a lot of wasted spaces.

I'm happy to say though, that Monocle exceeded my expectations. Although it's sadly not the size or weight of a brick, it is content-heavy enough, and the article lengths are just write. I also appreciate the top-bars of information tibit. And one of the best parts is that it is a truly global magazine. The news from different parts of the world was amazingly non-American centric (unlike TIME, and to a lesser extent FORTUNE).

If you have the money, buy this magazine. It's almost as good as a book. To use a different analogy, it's like my Zite app (but with the time limitations of the printed page).