The Idler - Magazine

I've always had a healthy scepticism when it comes to 'how to' books. All the nonsense in lifestyle magazines never appealed to me: I thought it best to leave the likes of OK and Hello to my wife, since I was always more than happy with my life. Then, last year, I was diagnosed with cancer. After surgery, chemotherapy and a real struggle in getting myself back together, I happened upon a book by Tom Hodgkinson ('How to be Idle') which appealed, since I thought I'd always been a bit lazy anyway and that the book (which led to the magazine) would be my kind of read. The book helped me to realise that I was not, in fact, the 'chilled out' character that I thought: I ...  Read the complete review

The Idler is a magazine/book that is issued quarterly through subcription or by purchasing individually from amazon.com. This quite amusing magazine extolls the virtues of idleness (in the pursuit of self-fulfillment) and counter-culture in the wake of the mundane, 'daily grind' of working life. Written primarilly with men in mind- there is a kind of 'boys club mentality', it claims to educate the intelligent individual in the art of self-sufficiency, 'loafing', and living the bohemian idyll. I personally dont care if this mag is largely aimed at a male audience, since firstly Im not always up for your prissy girly reading material (Ive also been know to look at ...  Read the complete review

The Idler is one of my all time favourite magazines, or in this case 'mook' as the publishers like to call it (half magazine, half book). It's a hefty (300 page) A5 paperback which is only published 4 times a year. This is quite fortunate really, as it takes an age to battle through, and I generally end up reading a third, skim reading a third, and giving up on the other third. A 60% success rate doesn't sound too good I guess, but the main reason for my failing to get to grips with it is the sheer size of it. You loose place so easily that you eventually stop thumbing through, by which time the next one's out anyway. It's ...  Read the complete review