"I found a way to read more than 5000 magazines for $14.99. It's called Readly."

When I was in high school, your position in the school bus hierarchy was solely dependent on the number and quality of magazines you could yank out of your backpack and share around.

Now, more than 15 years later, my eyes still seek to devour the stories and ideas found in magazines, whether it be from their glossy pages or from within their eye-popping websites – even though my make-up collection has progressed past whatever free mascara was taped to the front.

Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw once said that when she was low on cash she would chose to buy Vogue instead of dinner because it “fed her soul more” and while I don’t endorse that particular form of consumption (no amount of seasoning will make those pages taste like a delicacy) it’s a craving I very much understand.

Magazine subscriptions, both the physical copies I gleefully discover in my letterbox each month and the websites where I happily fork over cash to access the members-only sections are non-negotiable when it comes to my monthly budget. I always figured it was worth it.

My bank balance, however, does not quite agree. At the beginning of this year, I forced myself to have a long hard look at the numbers and came to the conclusion that I needed to curb my exorbitant habit or face not being able to pay my electricity bill.

Which is how I came to start using Readly, an “all-you-can-read” digital subscription service that’s taking off in Australia after first starting in Sweden in 2013.

Through the app, I now have unlimited access to nearly 5000 national and international magazine titles, all in one app and for the nifty price of just $14.99 a month.

(Yes, that slight wailing sound you can hear in the background is my bank account crying quiet tears of joy and relief…).

 

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Inside this months issue of @CosmopolitanUK … ???? Check out what is hot in beauty right now ????Get the best tips on how to speak up for yourself ???? The secrets of a stag night revealed Read it on Readly now ???? #cosmo #cosmopolitanuk #cosmopolitanmagazine #magazine #sex #glow #summer #jessicaalba #beauty #makeup #†rends #beautyfails #fails #fashion #summerglow #obesessed #cover #celeb #fashionhunters #dupes #style #yourstyle #picoftheday #datenight #loveislandmakeover #makeover

A post shared by Readly (@readly) on Jul 11, 2019 at 6:44am PDT

When I first logged into Readly I was offered the chance to select my favourite categories of magazines, allowing the app to curate a range of titles that I was interested in right off the bat, while also being served up a slew of alternative title options via the homepage and ‘popular categories’ section. Leading me to discover some new publications I probably would never have chanced picking up off the shelf and opening my wallet for.

All the local titles that are usually part of my ongoing magazine diet are readily available on Readly, including ELLE Australia, The Australian Women’s Weekly, Harper’s Bazaar and Frankie, the publication that’s like a balm to my soul.

Thanks to my Readly app, I can still read the cultural criticism and in-depth profiles found in Vanity Fair, flip through the dreamlike digital pages of Vogue, catch up on trends from Cosmopolitan and swing from dating advice to accessories thanks to Elle.

Apart from lessening the strain on my wallet, Readly has also ignited my love for a series of magazine titles that had fallen ever so slightly off my radar.

While waiting for my morning take-away coffee last week, I opened up Readly and clicked through the pages of  OK! magazine and indulged in a few celebrity interviews and scandals while I waited for the barista to call my name.

On my lunch breaks I like to give my mind a reset from my workload and always open Readly with the expectation that it will offer me up something interesting to read while I take a break from my hectic day, even if I’m not quite sure what I’m in the mood for.

Which is how this week I enjoyed Scarlett Johansson discussing the Black Widow movie’s long path to fruition in Total Film magazine with a side of reheated pasta, and reading up on the natural wonders of Japan in National Geographic Traveller while nibbling on my sweet potato and chicken salad.

And while lying in bed on a lazy Sunday morning, I was pretty much able to plan out my new dream living room aesthetic, thanks to reading through interior design, art and architecture magazine Belle.

The thing about magazine consumption is that while the way we consume magazine content may change over the years, our need to ingest the content itself is at an all-time high, since we’re constantly being served hits of new information via our social media feeds and used to new information always being at our fingertips.

Not to mention the fact we’re currently all at home looking for ways to pass the time.

Many magazine publications are now pivoting to make themselves even more digitally friendly than ever before. Grazia for example, which is one of my go-to publications on Readly, is an interactive digital magazine designed specifically to be read on your iPad and iPhone.

According to Readly CEO Maria Hedengren, who happens to be a powerhouse in the global technology industry, smartphone usage is increasing, digital content consumption is on the rise and the "all-you-can-read" subscription model is becoming the new standard.

“As Readly has launched around the world, we have seen the evidence: people are willing to invest in quality content and a convenient reading experience. We believe Australians are on the same page,” says Maria. “With millions of articles, Readly opens up endless opportunities to indulge in passions, discover new interests, learn or relax. We have quickly become the go-to-place for discovering high quality content and verified journalism and a counter pole to planless flickering and scrolling social media on the mobile” Hedengren said.

With Readly, I've also been able to share the love around a little bit because you can access one account from up to five different devices, meaning it's also a good investment for families, with plenty of kids' titles also available on the app.

Now that I'm self-isolating in my apartment alone for the foreseeable future, the Readly app and its 5000 titles are helping to keep me company.

Mamamia readers get one month free on Readly, you can sign-up to Readly via www.readly.com/mamamia for just $14.99 per month.