Alor Setar, Kedah, December 2011.
. . . .
I cannot emphasize enough how much I've enjoyed reading again lately. Not necessarily books, but magazines for the most part. I've been listening to this podcast a lot, and it dawned on me how print may be reduced to extinction by the emergence of epubs and epdfs that feels so much more convenient and lightweight. I can't say I disagree with this sentiment, but I do believe that print has carved its own very special place in the market. It has become apparent that reading tangible, physical books, or rather the act of leafing through actual pages has become somewhat of a luxury.
I would love to start to become a devoted follower of a magazine again. And with the recent appearance of a handful of beautifully produced magazines, I am really spoilt for choice. But even then, some of the most gorgeous publications fail to satisfy. Magazines like Cereal mag and Kinfolk always leaves me wanting more. The photography is impeccable but nothing else goes beyond that. It always feels too delicate, too graceful for me to keep leafing through the pages.
But that said, I do have two top choices that so far has yet to dissapoint. I am very much enamoured with the raw visual style in Apartamento. The pages almost has a newspaper feel to it, durable and sturdy, I feel so at ease just flipping through the magazine over and over again. And although Monocle has a lot to improve in terms of fact checking, and accuracy of their content, I do have a soft spot for the magazine. I love that it breaks down barriers between countries and continents, and highlights different aspects of that nation, giving you a fresh perspective in replace of all previous negative reservations. I love how it makes the term global not ignite the connotations of foreign, or a wide separated distance, but instead makes it feel accessible, welcoming, and borderless.
