I’ve always been an avid reader.

As a child, when I got my 50 pence pocket money each Saturday, I’d run round to the corner shop near my grandad’s house and treat myself to comics. The Beano, Dandy and Whizzer and Chips were my favourites (with a Curly Wurly  or a packet of Spangles thrown in for good measure).

Then, when I was a little bit older, I moved on to comics for girls – Bunty and my all time favourite Misty. I so loved Misty – it was full of spooky, mysterious stories that really captured my imagination. In fact, I still have some of the annuals that Santa brought me for Christmas !

Fast forward to my teenage years and by now I was discovering the world of the glossy magazine. Misty was replaced by Just Seventeen, eager as I was to learn all about makeup and fashion and boys.  From there I progressed to Cosmopolitan and as I entered my thirties, Red Magazine , which was just new on the market at the time.  I bought Red on a regular basis, attracted by the lifestyle images of beautiful clothes, dreamy interiors, exotic travel destinations and delicious recipes. If I bought a sophisticated magazine, surely I could be sophisticated too.

At some point later on, I fell out of love with the woman’s glossy. I’m not sure exactly how but I came to realise these magazines just weren’t for me.  They didn’t really reflect my interests and I was never going to make any of those recipes. There was a good chance my local supermarket didn’t stock the ingredients anyway. And I was frustrated by the amount of advertising content – for brands that I wouldn’t be buying any time soon.

As someone who loves to snuggle up on the sofa with a good mag and a cuppa, I struggled for a while to find anything worth reading.  I can’t have been the only one though and in response to a demand for something different, there have been some lovely independent magazines coming on to the market that are much more my ‘thing’, – that celebrate creativity, crafts, plants and flowers, independent shops, interiors, handmade and vintage,  all beautifully photographed, inspirational but achievable. The kind of things I sometime share on my blog.

Here are just a few of the ones I enjoy reading  or have just recently discovered…

Betty Magazine – ‘Empowering and unifying women with a youthful state of mind and a nostalgic heart’

91 Magazine – ‘Inspired homes, lives and loves’

The Simple Things – ‘Taking time to live well’

Oh Comely – ‘ a curious, honest and playful independent magazine’

The Gentlewoman – ‘a fresh and intelligent perspective on fashion that’s focused on personal style – the way women actually look, think and dress’

Lionheart Magazine – ‘super wholesome inspiration for the embracing of life as we have it, as well as the potential within it. Will make you feel peachy good’

I am sure there are plenty more I could add to the list, maybe there are some you could recommend. Hopefully the ones I’ve listed might be of interest to you, if you are looking for something a little bit different. I’d love to hear what you think.

In the meantime, enjoy your Sunday. I am off to make some coffee and snuggle up with the latest copy of 91 Magazine which the postman dropped through my letterbox yesterday morning. That’s the sort of post I always like to receive 🙂

(this picture is taken from the 91 Magazine website as per link above)