Buy! No, don't consume! No, buy! Oh God, I don't know.

There's some irony going on at Dwell magazine.

This month's (October 2008*) issue is, according to the editorial (and yes, ok, the main thrust of its features), all about sustainability, with an explicit nod to the notion 'consume less'.

So I chuckled a little that it took me all the way to page 50ish before I found any actual content, but by 135 of 232 I was frankly sick of not being able to follow a feature because every right-hand page is an advert, some of which, for brands I don't know, I simply couldn't fathom.

I understand they have to sell advertising space so they can flog an annual (10 issues) subscription for a bargain-basement 20 bucks, but good golly, that's a lot of adverts. It really clutters things up. It also kind of makes me feel disrespected, a bit marginalised - the reader is less important than the advertiser. Right hand pages are my main focus - of course the marketers want their goods there. The whole magazine is domestic design porn, and makes me dissatisfied in the same way fashion magazines did before I liberated myself from their monthly tyranny. So it's perfect for flogging stuff.

But don't then tell me to consume less. My solution will be to stop consuming your magazine.

*It arrived 27 August. From the USA. Go figure. [Note to publishing pedants: I don't need to fill up my brain with knowledge about why. (Which doesn't mean I don't wish I did know. Though it wouldn't stop my irritation at the fact)]