Culture
New York’s 10 best lesser-known bookshops
From West Village stalwarts to hidden living-room selections, this Monocle guide celebrates New York’s independent booksellers, specialist collections and the city’s enduring literary culture beyond the more obvious big names.
Opinion
Opinion
Latest in Monocle Radio
Latest
A Christmas eve forage is the perfect pick-me-up for the season
Mistletoe is a rather tenacious parasite so wresting it from a tree trunk can be difficult. Yet I relish that slightly hazardous Christmas Eve task – usually with my sister leading the charge, Niwaki…
What Christmas television gets right that streaming and TikTok don’t
Christmas television used to be a thing. It was when the heads of channels would splurge on buying the rights to air the latest James Bond film or play all 12 days of The…
Research says there’s a simple solution to improving the world. So why isn’t staying warm a hotter topic?
Can something as simple as the temperature change how we feel about ourselves and the world? Can it boost our mood, concentration and even make us nicer people? Science and a growing body of…
Inside Dib Bangkok: Thailand’s most anticipated museum opening being watched by the global art world
Asia’s cultural glitterati are flying into Bangkok this weekend for the opening of Dib Bangkok, Thailand’s answer to New York’s Moma. Monocle gets an advance preview of the new contemporary art museum.
It’s time to bring the literary café back to the heart of European society
“Most interesting cultural things emanate from restaurants,” Jeremy King told Monocle when he showed us around his newest project in London – the revitalisation of the beloved Simpson’s in the Strand. Yet today, hospitality isn’t geared around cooking…
Ok Go’s Damian Kulash on reinventing the music video and resisting algorithms
Two decades after redefining viral creativity, Ok Go’s frontman reflects on DIY spectacle, analogue magic and resisting Tiktok-era metrics.
Why Egypt is suddenly on the global art world’s radar
With the Grand Egyptian Museum open and Alexandria’s biennial returning, Egypt is positioning itself as a regional cultural force. But its most compelling artistic energy comes from independent voices and overlooked institutions.
How Gorizia and Nova Gorica turned a divided Italy-Slovenia border into a cultural bridge
Once defined by conflict and division, the border cities have reinvented themselves as Europe’s joint Capital of Culture, using art, collaboration and a year of shared events to reshape their future.
Plan a year of insights and entertainment with Monocle’s 2026 cultural calendar
Pick up a fresh new diary and fill the forthcoming 12 months with art, books, design, fashion and more from our rundown of the events not to be missed in the year ahead.
