| Title | : | The Monocle Manifesto for a Gentler Life |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0500971102 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780500971109 |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 288 |
| Publication | : | Published January 5, 2021 |
Some of the highlights of this volume include: An illustrated guide to being nice, respecting your neighbors, and controlling your social media rants; practical tips on how to design a house that’s good for you and your family; Q with the people who have decided to take a gentler approach to work and living; and a celebration of locally made food—with featured recipes—as well as the chefs that bring people together. The helpful tips and insights in this guide make it the perfect handbook for anyone looking to slow down and enjoy life.
The Monocle Manifesto for a Gentler Life Reviews
-
Monocle is a slightly guilty pleasure of mine. I’ve been a fan since the first issue of the magazine, which I came to via Tyler Brûlé, whose FT Fast Lane column (latterly relaunched in a Monocle email newsletter format as Faster Lane) fascinated me for years. For the longest time, I believed Tyler to be satirical caricature, and then only grew more interested when I realised he was real.
I’m a Monocle subscriber, but I don’t think I’m the target demographic: I’m never going to spend £435 on a pair of high-end curling boots, nor £750 on a shell jacket, nor £665 on a tweed cardigan, no matter how much they try and push them on readers of their journalism. But I do love reading and listening to their intelligent discussions of UK and world affairs, and I get a little thrill out of knowing that there are people out there who can write hundreds of words of copy on the colour temperature of the lighting on the latest European rolling stock.
So I bought the Monocle Guide to Gentler Living (the name has changed from the pre-publication title on this Goodreads entry) as a bit of COVID escapism, and it was perfect for that. It is essentially a long, themed edition of the magazine, with lavish photography and illustrations, stripped of display-ads and hard-bound. There’s very little detail and substance to any of it, but it does sort of come together to make a coherent set of ideas about slowing down in life. (Think: three paragraphs on why train travel is better than flying, followed by one sentence on each of five “best rail journeys”, accompanied by lovely photographs; some blurb on giving up high powered jobs for “the better life”, with accompanying three-paragraph case studies; a section on fashion with a page dedicated to why one should own a t-shirt—any t-shirt—which consists of a stylish photo of a t-shirt and about fifty words of text).
It’s light, fluffy, and totally escapist. I took virtually nothing from it, but really enjoyed it nonetheless. So much, in fact, that I’ve picked up another of the Monocle books in a recent sale. -
I saw this book in my Facebook feed. The title spoke to me because I've been trying to live a more gentle life. I won't incorporate everything in this book and some of the suggestions I've already implemented but this is a great starting place for those looking to find a life/work balance and attempting to slow down while still being gentle with ourselves.
-
Could do with a tiny bit more explanation of *how* to achieve the lifestyles displayed here, but it's nice aspirational porn nonetheless.
-
If you're a fan of Monocle magazine, then I can't see you not enjoying this. Beautifully packaged, and a good read.
