While I'm thankful that I no longer have to write essays and read 50 page academic papers on a regular basis anymore, there are definitely some things I miss about university, and being forced to read novels is one of them. When left to my own devices, my reading matter tends to gravitate towards lighter fare (ie. my 10 favourite magazines), but there is something so rewarding about reading an actual book. I was a voracious reader growing up, so reading has never exactly felt like a chore to me, but it's definitely something I'd like to make a bit more time for.
I've made it my goal to aim for reading two books a month: one "modern" (and by that I mean something that's been written in the past decade or two), and one classic novel. Here are the books I've been reading/plan on reading this month; I'll let you know how I enjoyed them in October!
If you've got any great recommendations you'd like to share, please comment away! I'm always looking for new books to add to my reading bucket list.
Modern Pick:
A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout & Sara Corbett
I'd read an article about Amanda, a Canadian, in a magazine a while back, and was intrigued by her story of being held hostage in Somalia for 15 months. This book, her memoir of that time in captivity (co-written with a journalist), has been on my must-read list for a while, and I'm so glad to have finally gotten round to reading it. I'm about halfway through and really enjoying it: it's well-written and a total page turner. I'll give a more in-depth review of it next month once I've finished it, but I think this will definitely be a book I'd recommend...
Classic Pick:
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
This book was a recommendation from my dad, and I can't wait to start reading it. I read one of Forster's other great novels, A Passage to India, in a class on 20th century British fiction a few years ago, and it really stuck with me. It's a pretty weird book, and kind of hard to explain (superficially, it's about an Indian doctor being accused of assaulting an Englishwoman in colonial India, but there's so much else going on), but I loved Forster's understated yet deftly observant writing style. I figure that because I enjoyed A Passage to India despite its overall sombreness simply because of Forster's brilliant narrative style, I'll really love a novel where he's writing about happier themes set against the backdrop of Italy.
I seriously love magazines, and at any given time there's likely to be a huge stack of them by my bed. I don't own an iPad, but even if I did, I know I could never find it in my heart to read the digital versions. For me, reading a magazine is not just about the images and information--it's about the presentation, too. Glossy pages, perfume samples, the pleasing sight of a bookshelf lined with old copies...these are all things that electronic editions just can't give you. (Fun/creepy/weird fact: I can identify a magazine by the smell of its pages alone! And in case you're wondering, Glamour UK has the best-smelling pages).
In anticipation of the September issues (those weighty, 1000-page tomes that will be coming out in a week or so), I thought it would be fun to share 10 of my favourite magazines. They're probably all titles you've heard of, because I'm a mainstream kind of girl, but they're the ones I just find myself enjoying the most. (While those obscure, pretentious high-quality productions may be beautiful to look at, their content tends to make my eyes glaze over).
For a few of my favourites, I like reading both the US and UK editions. Because of my time spent in Ireland and England over the years, I have a fondness for the British editions, and I find it fascinating how the same magazine (Glamour, for example), can have a different feel to it based on where it's from. In general, the writing in UK magazines is more irreverent and self-deprecating, and the fashion more edgy and daring, while the US editions feature more earnest, motivational articles (lots of Sheryl Sandberg kind of stuff), and styles that are more wearable/professional. Having grown up with both cultures, I can appreciate both, and I like alternating my reading between them. What I really miss about magazines in Ireland and the UK are the free presents they come with! Every few months, all the major magazines will have some little freebie attached (like a nail polish or eyeliner, but from really good, Sephora-quality brands). Why can't they do that over here?!
In alphabetical (not preferential) order, here are my 10 favourite magazines:
Allure: This is one I just recently started reading. The focus is primarily on beauty (make-up, hair and the like) with a bit of fashion and health-related stuff thrown in.
Conde Nast Traveller: I like the UK version of this classic travel magazine (the one with two Ls!). It features slightly offbeat destinations that are luxurious but not ostentatious, and the writing is witty and clever.
Cosmopolitan (US & UK): Often portrayed as some sort of bible for ditzy airheads, Cosmo gets an unfair rap in my opinion. Sure it's not highbrow, but it's not all fluff: it regularly features articles about hard-hitting topics in a digestible manner, which I appreciate. Also, of all the magazines I read, it's probably the one that has me laughing the most, which has to be a good thing.
Domino: Published four times a year, this revamped home decor magazine is full of good-looking people with incredible homes. I'm not usually a subscriber to home-related magazines because, um, I don't own a home (much less the kind you buy $20, 000 rugs for), but Domino is just too beautiful and inspiring to pass up.
Elle (UK): Smart and funny; more sophisticated than Cosmo/Glamour, more down-to-earth than Vogue. I love the "My Life in Books" feature in which celebrities list the books that shaped their lives.
Glamour (US & UK): When it comes to women's lifestyle magazines, Glamour is queen. With inspiring features touching on every subject--from style and beauty to health and relationships--it's got all bases covered.
InStyle (UK & US): The magazine that makes fashion relatable, InStyle's glossy pages are crammed with the latest trends and how the average woman can wear them. I love the US edition's tear-out guides to combining colours.
Marie-Claire (UK): The perfect combination of style, beauty, culture, travel...and weird but interesting features (ie. they once had an article on young women's bedrooms around the world, consisting of a photo of the girl in her room with a quote. Random but fascinating).
People Style Watch: More youthful than InStyle, PSW is fun, unpretentious, and very celebrity-influenced (all winning attributes in my books).
Vogue (US): The big one! I must confess, I haven't always been the hugest fan of Vogue. I know some people have been reading it since they were toddlers, but it actually took me a while to get into it. I actually really love it now (reading it just feels like the ultimate in sophistication, right?!), and while I usually prefer the UK editions of magazines, I find that US Vogue has a sufficiently European vibe to it (probably due to the fact that the editor and many of its writers are Brits).
So what are your favourite magazines? And which can you not stand?! ;-) Let me know in the comments!
