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Hobby BlogsBlogs are great for people who are passionate abouttheir hobbies. Simple blogging software makes it easierfor folks to gather and share information and createcommunities. Blogs help people organize activities,share anecdotes and instruction, and connect with oth-ers who share their enthusiasms. We have broken downthis chapter into general topics such as food, garden-ing, crafts, shopping/fashion, music, gaming, andbooks. Sports are covered in Chapter 5, “Sports Blogs.”

Food—Consuming and ProducingFood blogs are a mouthful. Some folks lovingly recordthe pleasures of the table, whereas others like to ferretout fine-dining experiences. Others, still, like to docu-ment their discoveries in the kitchen. And, luckily, wealso have people who work in the food industry to giveus a glimpse behind the kitchen doors of famousrestaurants and packaged goods companies.

Bloggers Who Love to CookAs a rule, bloggers who cook also love to eat. The fol-lowing blogs are mostly by people who love to cook andblog about their adventures in the kitchen; however,they also like to discuss dishes eaten outside their ownkitchens, such as in restaurants. Don’t be confused. No

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matter what topic these bloggers post on their site, each delicious itemwill leave the reader hungry for more.

101 Cookbookshttp://www.101cookbooks.com

Heidi Swanson started this blog in 2003 with the plan to cook a recipefrom each cookbook in her collection. The site has expanded to includemusings on life, travel, and food, but it still includes recipes.

Blogs That Cook Web Ringhttp://www.ringsurf.com/netring?action=info&ring=blogsthatcook

Reading this web ring, a site that links to a lot of websites that share acommon theme, is an efficient way to learn about all the blogs devoted tocooking. The ring is composed of 31 different blogs by people who sharetheir adventures in cooking and eating.

Butter Pighttp://www.poubelle.com/butterpig

Tom is the “amateur” cook who spent three months at the CulinaryInstitute of Arts just for fun, learning to cook.

I Heart Baconhttp://www.iheartbacon.com/index.php

I Heart Bacon may wear its true desires on its sleeve, but this site also fea-tures news and reviews about the Seattle and Pacific Northwest food scene.

Lovescoolhttp://www.lovescool.com/

Kelli Bernard and Andrew Lin pour their passion for baking and makingpastry into this site. They describe the Lovescool blog as their “documen-tation of a journey to discover what sweet things are out there, why peo-ple love them so much, and perhaps what it takes to start something new.

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And the fact of the matter is, the world would be a lot better if it was justa touch sweeter.”

Murray Hill5-In My Kitchenhttp://www.murrayhill5.net/blog/inmykitchenblog/

Deb Byer’s blog is delicious. How can you not love a blog whose front pageshares this New York Yiddish proverb, “A nickel will get you on the subway,but garlic will get you a seat.” That sense of playfulness shows in all ofDeb’s posts as she tries to share her passion for cooking and food in anhonest manner. Ms. Byer always includes photos of her latest creations.

Prepare to Meet Your Bakerinahttp://www.bakerina.com/

The blogger known as “Bakerina” works for a packaging company by dayand bakes things her way at night. The blog documents Bakerina’s self-described “bread baking disorder.”

Meathengehttp://meathenge.com/

Dr. Biggles loves to grill meat and take pictures. He’s married the twoobsessions in his blog, Meathenge. Meathenge is devoted to document-ing the many ways to prepare and cook all types of meat. Dr. Biggles’sphotographs are mouth watering.

Kitchen Confessions—Blogs By People in the FoodBusiness

Angry Waitresshttp://shashamac.blogspot.com/

Site owner Shannon writes about her life as a waitress in Brooklyn withguts and passion.

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Club Lifehttp://standingonthebox.blogspot.com/

Written by an anonymous bouncer at two of New York’s popular night-clubs, this blog features addictive stories about handling drunk and dan-gerous patrons, who are often involved with the mob.

Eggbeaterhttp://eggbeater.typepad.com/

Shuna Fish Lydon is a pastry chef in the San Francisco Bay Area who alsofinds time to blog. His writing is so infectious that you actually feel likeyou are in the kitchen with him. He gives details about what qualitiesmake an ingredient or dish special. He also makes sound effects whendescribing different cooking methods. For example, Shuna informed read-ers that salt-cured bacon makes a “tssss” sound when it is fried in a castiron skillet. This blog is also a great place to learn what it’s like to work insome of the most famous kitchens on the West Coast. Shuna shares sto-ries about working for many famous Bay Area chefs such as ThomasKeller of The French Laundry and Traci Des Jardins of Jardiniére.

Cake making, like architecture, is about structure and ratios. Math,science, intuition, magic, flavour. Those who push envelopes in cakeand pastry making are engineers who understand tongue stimulatinglogarithms. It’s difficult to hit the nail on the head, especially whenyou get into desserts with more than a few flavors and textures.

Shuna Fish Lydon, March 15, 2005, blog entry called “Out The Door,the Slanted Door takeout! and grapefruit cake from Miette.”

Farmgirl Farehttp://www.farmgirlfare.com/

If you’ve ever fantasized about giving up city life and moving to the coun-try, this is the blog for you. Susan runs the blog Farmgirl from her farm in

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Missouri where she teaches cooking classes and writes food articles.Each day she posts new pictures from her farm and shares recipes andanecdotes about life in the country.

Knife’s Edgehttp://knifesedge.typepad.com/

A riveting blog written by a chef who owns and operates a restaurant inNorthern California. This blog gives you a glimpse into what it’s like to runa restaurant. After reading this blog, visitors will learn how chefs set theirmenus for the day, how chefs search for the freshest ingredients, andwhat it is like to run a kitchen and prep food in a busy restaurant.

Movable Feasthttp://www.movable-feast.com/

Blogger Louisa Chu works in Paris as a professional cook and food jour-nalist. She has been a correspondent for “Good Food” on National PublicRadio station KCRW since 2002 and worked on Anthony Bourdain’s TravelChannel show “No Reservations” as field coordinator/fixer.

PX Thishttp://www.pxthis.com/

PX This (Diary of a Potted Plant)—a hilariously blunt journal (and print ondemand book of the same title), by Abbe Diaz, who used to work as ahostess at some of Manhattan’s most famous restaurants, such as JeanGeorges Vongrichten’s Indochine. Diaz’s journal provides insiderManhattan restaurant gossip and commentary of celebrity culture.

Shameless Restaurants.comhttp://shamelessrestaurants.com/la_home.php

Restaurant industry workers unite to share their war stories on this site.You will never look at your local chain restaurant the same way again.

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The Waiter Ranthttp://waiterrant.net/

A bitterly humorous journal written by a waiter who works for an Italianrestaurant he calls “The Bistro.” This site lets you know what your serveris really thinking. Waiter Rant has been called “the Godfather of all serv-ice blogs.” Who can resist stories like the one Waiter Rant shared about apushy woman, intent on scoring a prime reservation at the last minute,who insists that she needs to be accommodated immediately because herdining companion is diabetic.

Blogs About EatingBlogs are an excellent way to record life’s little details, especially detailsabout what you ate when and why. These blogs are devoted to capturingeach pleasure in the act of eating.

Amateur Gourmethttp://www.amateurgourmet.com/the_amateur_gourmet/

Adam Roberts, a lawyer turned playwright, writes about his misadven-tures in eating on his blog. The site is a mix of New York City restaurantreviews and anecdotes about the author’s efforts at cooking.

Candy Bloghttp://www.typetive.com/candyblog/

Candy Blog is very sweet. It’s sweetness comes not just from the subjectmatter but also from the innocent pleasure the site owner, Cybele, takesin writing reviews of the latest candy and chocolate.

Cheese Diarieshttp://www.cheesediaries.com

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Ann Pinckard started the Cheese Diaries to document her curiosity aboutcheese and culture. Now Ann and five other contributors post reviews,news, and stories about their efforts to explore the world of making andeating cheese. Who can resist a blog whose motto declares “Let us seekout the strange, the rare, the elusive. We will not be daunted by the stinkyor the oozy, nor will we shy away from the unknown; rather, let us revel init! Let us find joy of flavor and texture in the most unlikely packages. Andmost of all, let us always be relentless in discovering, exploring, learning,and sharing with one another.”

Chocolate & Zucchinihttp://www.chocolateandzucchini.com/

A well-loved blog about food, cooking, and eating by a French woman inParis named Clotilde Dusoulier. She writes in English, mastered while liv-ing and working in California for several years. Clotilde’s blog is consid-ered one of the best blogs on food in the blogosphere. A softwareengineer with aspirations to be a food writer, Clotilde has used her blogto obtain food writing assignments in the mainstream media such as theLos Angeles Times, National Public Radio, and the New York TimesMagazine. Her writing is delicious and satisfying. Reading her blog makesone feel vicariously French.

Food Porn Watchhttp://foodpornwatch.arrr.net/

Despite the X-rated name, this site is a directory of food-related blogsand websites. It is an excellent way to find interesting blogs on your own.

Gastropodahttp://www.gastropoda.com/

Regina Schrambling, a New York-based food writer, shares quick bitesabout food, politics, and national restaurant news.

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Hedonistahttp://www.sashimidesign.com/hedonista.html

Hedonista is a funny little blog written by “Miss Ginsu,” a food journalistwho has culinary school training. She once worked as a line cook at Tabla,a fancy restaurant in New York City, where she currently resides.

A Life of Spicehttp://mbhide.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Professional food writer Monica Bhide shares insight into Indian cooking,recipes, and cross-cultural observations on her blog.

Yum!http://deepfry.blogspot.com/

The author of this blog calls herself Deepfry and lives in Oregon. Sheloves to write about food that she’s eaten, seen, or dreamed of. Her sto-ries about her inability to make Jell-O will make you laugh.

Foodies Blogging About Restaurants

Bay Area Biteshttp://www.kqed.org/weblog/food/

Several writers contribute to this blog focused on restaurants in the SanFrancisco Bay Area.

Food Critic Watchhttp://foodcriticwatch.arrr.net/

Created by the folks of Food Porn Watch, this directory lists all blogs andwebsites that focus on restaurants and other food service establish-ments. These sites focus on restaurants in a specific city or region.

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Gastronome in Traininghttp://www.gitnyc.blogspot.com/

NYC-based blog about restaurants in and around the city.

Hot Platehttp://thehotplate.typepad.com/

Livingstone Fisher likes to write about restaurants and food. Most of therestaurants listed on this blog are located in New York City.

Slicehttp://sliceny.com/

Billing itself as America’s favorite pizza web log, Slice is devoted to clip-ping news and sharing reviews about pizza from all over the UnitedStates.

Strong Buzzhttp://www.andreastrong.com/brain/brain_view_brain.php

Andrea Strong, a New York food journalist, posts about her latest restau-rant finds in New York City.

Watch Me Eat a Hot Doghttp://www.watchmeeatahotdog.com/

A great single topic food site, this blog collects info and reviews about allthe great hot dog stands in America.

Drink Up: Blogs About Beverages

Beer Advocate.comhttp://beeradvocate.com/

A full-service website for beer fans. The site also hosts some blogsdevoted to beer.

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Contrarian Quarterly: Food and Drinkhttp://elissa.typepad.com/cq/food_and_drink/index.html

Journalist Elissa Meyers shares her views on wine, good eating, travel,and politics.

Lenndevourshttp://lennthompson.typepad.com/lenndevours/

This is the site of a wine-obsessed blogger based in Long Island, NY.

Vinographyhttp://www.vinography.com

An excellent wine blog that provides reviews on diverse wines and com-mentary about wine news.

Wine Blog Watchhttp://wineblogwatch.arrr.net/

Prepared by the same people who own Food Porn Watch and Food CriticWatch, this site is a directory of blogs that focus on wine and other bever-ages.

Feedsters—Food Media Blogs

The Food Sectionhttp://www.thefoodsection.com

Josh Friedlander scans the web for food-related news that he posts onthis blog. The Food Section also publishes food event listings located inNew York City and displays a gallery of food-related photos submitted byreaders.

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Saute Wednesdayhttp://www.sautewednesday.com

Based in San Francisco, Bruce Cole blogs about the latest food-relatedstories every Wednesday. The site takes its name from the fact that mostlarge newspapers publish their weekly food sections on Wednesday.

Tips on Tableshttp://www.tipsontables.com

Tips on Tables is a blog devoted to sharing the work of Robert Dana, aNew York Telegraph restaurant reviewer whose work includes descrip-tions of all the famous New York hotspots and restaurants of the 20thcentury.

Food History and Society BlogsThese blogs are devoted to the deeper meaning of food and eating.

Food Events in Historyhttp://www.foodreference.com/html/historicevents.html

Food History Newshttp://www.foodhistorynews.com

This site posts articles about the latest research in food history and theanthropology of eating.

Food Museum Bloghttp://www.foodmuseum.typepad.com/food_museum_blog

This blog is part of a nonprofit organization called the FOOD Museum.The blog clips stories about every aspect of food, including news, foodhistory, growing, marketing, cooking, food safety issues, school lunchreform, and nutrition.

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GardeningGardening is information intensive as well as labor intensive. Gardenersare constantly looking for information about ways to improve their gar-dens, fight pests, or find the best plants and seeds. Many gardeners alsoadopt a scientific approach by carefully monitoring and recording theirobservations in journals. It is natural for garden diaries to migrate to theWeb.

Garden Diaries

Anything But Sproutshttp://anythingbutsprouts.blogspot.com/

This is a London-based blog about puttering in a garden in the city.

The Bookish Gardenerhttp://www.bookishgardener.com/

Chan Stroman, who lives in Madison, WI, maintains this thoughtful blogthat lets her jot down her thoughts on the books that she is currentlyreading and record happenings in her garden.

Daily Musehttp://www.soulofthegarden.com/home.html

The Daily Muse is a work of art. Tom Spencer maintains this monthly jour-nal about his garden and life in Austin, TX. The blog is supplemented withgorgeous photography shot by Tom.

Fluffius Muppetushttp://fluffymuppet.blogspot.com/

A gardener in Britain blogs about her efforts to keep her “MuppetGarden” going.

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Garden Djinnhttp://gardendjinn.typepad.com/garden/

Garden Djinn is a well–written and informative gardening journal kept byan anonymous blogger who lives in Michigan.

The Good Earthhttp://thegoodearth.blogspot.com/

Musings from a mother and gardener in Indiana.

Green Girlhttp://nc.startribune.com/blogs/greengirl/

This blog is part of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. It is a blog started byJaime Chismar, the startribune.com web designer and a first-time gar-dener. The blog is an excellent example of how traditional newspaperscan harness the interactive nature of blogs.

Hoe Hoe Hoehttp://www.hoehoehoe.blogspot.com/

Jim and Barbara record their efforts to grow vegetables and herbs on aplot allotted to them in Britain. They share stories about their yield andplans for new plantings.

Our Patch of Greenhttp://ourpatchofgreen.blogspot.com/

Asha Thiruchelvam lives in London and blogs about her life gardening onthe weekends. She shares her doubts and successes about keeping hergarden in shape.

Plot Bloghttp://plotblog.blogspot.com/

Clive Scoggins also lives in England. He blogs about his garden in Surreyand gives readers a taste of true English country life.

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Pumpkin Souphttp://allotment.humanlint.com/

This blog is not about soup—though the owner does feature recipes. Theblog is about growing organic veggies and such.

Perennial Passionhttp://perennialpassion.blogspot.com/

Zoey lives in Michigan and blogs about her passion for gardening. Shekeeps this blog as a journal to record her many passions, which includetablescaping, flower arranging, and decorating.

Real Dirthttp://realdirt.blogspot.com/

Laura P. blogs about her life in the Midwest where she lives on a farm.She often posts beautiful photographs of local flowers growing on herproperty.

Ruralityhttp://rurality.blogspot.com/

This is a blog about living in the country by Karen, who lives in Alabamaon a farm with her husband and animals. She also runs a natural soapbusiness called Natural Impulse.

Rural Life 2.0http://rurally.typepad.com/

David Hollis, a gardener and book author, collects links related to living inrural areas, sustainable agriculture, and fly-fishing.

Southern Seedlinghttp://southernseedling.blogspot.com/

Trixi in Atlanta shares her thoughts about life and gardening.

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Tangled Branches Cultivatedhttp://tangledbranches.com/blog/index.htm

This blog is a true diary of natural events happening in a small garden innorthern Virginia. The blog’s author faithfully records visits from birds,pests, and insects as well as closely observes the cycle of life in the gar-den.

Through the Garden Gatehttp://blog.lib.umn.edu/maasx003/garden/

Jackie lives and gardens in Minneapolis, MN. She writes vivid tales about theflowers in her garden, the food on her table, and the thoughts on her mind.

Urban Wildhttp://urbanwild.diary-x.com/

This is a straightforward blog that shares tips on creating an edible land-scape in Vancouver, BC.

Seeds and SproutsThe secret lives of plants are explained in these blogs.

Prodigal Gardenshttp://www.prodigalgardens.info/weblog.htm

This web log documents a year in the life of an herbalist in the Midwestwho offers information on useful plants and wild foods. The site owneralso provides how-to information on harvesting medicinal plants and cre-ating medicinal recipes from them.

The Flower Spothttp://www.flowers-spot.info/

More of a website, the Flower Spot houses useful articles on growing andplanning a garden.

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Pollenatrixhttp://offpollen.typepad.com/pollenatrix/

This website is about orchids and other plants written by a Canadianresiding in Germany who is interested in the environment.

Dishing the Dirt—Blogs About Soil and PestsThe following blogs focus on the health of soil and ecosystems in general.

Invasive Species Webloghttp://invasivespecies.blogspot.com/

Dr. Jennifer Foreman Orth maintains this blog about the various waysinvasive plants have affected natural ecosystems around the world.

Remineralize the Earthhttp://www.remineralize.org/index.php?page=zine

This website documents the worldwide efforts of folks dedicated toreplenishing the earth. Their online magazine is full of helpful hints andwell-written articles about various efforts to revitalize tired soil.

Invisible Gardenerhttp://www.remineralize.org/index.php?page=zine

Andy Lopez, the host of the radio show “Don’t Panic, It’s Organic” has awell-organized website devoted to organic gardening and natural pestcontrol methods. The site also has an Organic DataBank only available toregistered members of Andy’s “Inorganic Gardener” club.

Soil and Health Libraryhttp://www.soilandhealth.org/

This site is a specialized library containing works about holistic agricul-ture, holistic health practices, and information on living in a self-sufficientlifestyle.

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Soil Biology Movieshttp://www.agron.iastate.edu/~loynachan/mov/

Cool website that features full-motion capture films of life in soil. Thesefilms were produced by Professor T. Loynachan and are housed on aserver at Iowa State University.

Can You Dig Ithttp://can-u-dig-it.blogspot.com/

Tamara uses this blog as a gardener’s journal to record her efforts to runan organic garden.

Designing Your GardenGardens are a great opportunity to reconfigure nature. Blogs devoted togarden design are helpful to a variety of plant lovers.

Container Gardens for Rooftopshttp://www.arts4all.com/elca/

This website explores ways to make urban gardens using regular materials.

Gardens for Every Bodyhttp://www.fse.missouri.edu/gardenweb/

Gardens For Every Body provides information about gardening for peoplewith mobility problems. It has a resource page for getting equipment tohelp people in wheelchairs or walkers enjoy their gardens.

Muck N Mirehttp://plantsnrocks.blogspot.com/

Ki writes this blog from New Jersey. The blog examines the ways one fam-ily landscapes their garden with rocks and Asian-inspired shrubbery.

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BooksBook people on the Web are a passionate bunch. Many book bloggers areopinionated and good writers, so their sites are a pleasure to dip into.

Book News and Publishing Gossip

Beatricehttp://www.beatrice.com/

Ron Hogan runs an invaluable blog about the book industry. He alsoincludes original interviews with interesting writers.

Booklusthttp://storms.typepad.com/

Patricia Storms runs this site from her home in Canada. The blog featuresher cartoons and comments about books and the literary life.

The Elegant Variationhttp://marksarvas.blogs.com/elegvar/

Mark Sarvas blogs literary news and reviews from a West Coast perspec-tive (see Figure 4.1).

Grumpy Old Bookmanhttp://grumpyoldbookman.blogspot.com/

Michael Allen lives in the United Kingdom and provides literary news andreviews from a British perspective.

The Literary Saloonhttp://www.complete-review.com/saloon/index.htm

This blog provides news about upcoming books and tracks U.S. and inter-national publishing gossip.

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Figure 4.1Mark Sarvas writes The Elegant Variation from Los Angeles, providing aWest Coast perspective on the book world.

Just a Readerhttp://adelaide.typepad.com/justareader/

This is a quirky blog that posts quotations from books that the blogowner is currently reading. We like it because it shows how blogs can beused as a quotation diary and help book lovers track down passages orsentences that they really liked.

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Maud Newtonhttp://www.maudnewton.com

Maud Newton, who lives in Brooklyn, created her blog to avoid workingon a novel. She regularly posts the latest book news and literary scene inNew York City.

Moby Liveshttp://www.Mobylives.com

Dennis Loy Johnson founded his web log, Mobylives.com, in 2000 after anumber of newspapers cut their coverage about books. He posts clippingsfrom newspapers in the United States and abroad and writes a weeklycolumn about the book business.

Moorish Girlhttp://www.moorishgirl.com/

Moorishgirl.com, run by Laila Lalami of Portland, OR, focuses primarily,though not exclusively, on fiction from the Arab world and South Asia. Herother site, www.complete-review.com, dedicates a specific blog to litera-ture in translation.

The Reading Experiencehttp://noggs.typepad.com/the_reading_experience/

Daniel Green’s blog is mandatory reading for fans of serious fiction. Hewrites honest book reviews and commentary that are read by everyone inthe book business.

Tingle Alleyhttp://www.tinglealley.com/

This blog covers book news and reviews in a more personal manner. Thetone of the blog is conversational and funny. Tingle Alley’s author coversbooks you want to read rather than the books you should be reading.

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FAKING IT

Should you find yourself in the midst of a group of book lovers whoblog, here is a handy cheat sheet of a few book blogs that you canmention in the conversation, and everyone will just nod their heads inagreement.

Beatricehttp://www.beatrice.com

Ron Hogan posts literary news and reviews on a daily basis.

Booksquarehttp://www.booksquare.com

An opinionated site that shares literary news and writing tips forauthors as well as readers.

Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mindhttp://www.sarahweinman.com/confessions/

Sarah Weinman is a columnist for the Baltimore News. Her blogfocuses on crime and mystery fiction.

Galleycathttp://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat

Galleycat is a blog about the book business maintained byMediabistro.com, a website and portal for writers looking for profes-sional development workshops and media job postings. Many bookbloggers claim that they don’t respect the site, yet everyone seems toread it.

The Litblog co-ophttp://www.lbc.typepad.com/blog

Several influential book bloggers got together to create a collective forusing all their sites to promote worthy books that may not receive

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mainstream media attention. The venture, called The Litblog co-op,tests the perception that book bloggers can influence purchasing pat-terns among book buyers. The venture is too new to yield conclusiveresults, but the endeavor is an exciting development for using thepower of blogs to help authors market their books.

Blogs by Published Authors

Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noisehttp://www.therestisnoise.com/

The music critic of the New Yorker maintains this blog to clip interestingarticles and excerpts from his book-in-progress.

Buzz, Balls & Hypehttp://mjroseblog.typepad.com/buz_balls_hype

MJ Rose is an author on a mission to expand the ways books are pro-moted in the U.S. Her blog is an excellent resource for writers seekingways to promote their work.

House of Mirthhttp://housemirth.blogspot.com/

James Marcus is a writer, translator, critic, and editor who lives in NewYork City. He posts interviews with his fellow authors and provides a viewinto the life of a working nonfiction writer.

Backstoryhttp://mjroseblog.typepad.com/backstory/

This is a chatty blog run by MJ Rose that lets writers share stories aboutwriting and their experiences publishing a piece of work. Backstory is anew and innovative way to find out about new books.

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Neil Gaimanhttp://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/journal.asp

The author of Neverwhere and other fantasy/horror novels keeps anonline journal.

Snark Spothttp://jenniferweiner.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Weiner, author of Good in Bed and In Her Shoes, keeps in touchwith fans though her frequently updated blog.

Southern Comforthttp://www.livejournal.com/users/karin61/

Writer Karin Gillespie, author of the Bet Your Bottom Dollar series, blogsabout her life writing books and marketing them.

Blogs by Book Business Insiders

Agent 007 on Publishinghttp://agentoo7.blogspot.com/

Agent 007 is a book editor who has become an agent. The anonymousblogger shares his/her perspective on the book trade, working withauthors, and silly query letters.

Book Angst 101http://bookangst.blogspot.com/

An anonymous blog by a New York book editor, Book Angst 101 may notbe frequently updated, but it provides writers a look into the mind of edi-tors and publishers. You can learn a lot about the current state of thebusiness by reading older posts.

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Flogging the Quillhttp://www.floggingthequill.com/

Editor Ray Rhamey runs this blog, which is dedicated to teaching writershow to produce better work and how to market the finished results suc-cessfully.

Forewordhttp://www.ospreydesign.com/foreword/

Foreword is a blog about book design. It provides fascinating informationabout the details of book designing and typography.

Fresh Eyes: A Bookseller’s Journalhttp://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/shire15/

Bookseller Robert Gray gives readers a view inside the inner workings ofa bookstore. He has been a bookseller and buyer for the NorthshireBookstore in Manchester, VT since 1992.

Miss Snarkhttp://misssnark.blogspot.com/

Miss Snark is a literary agent specializing in mystery fiction. She lives inManhattan. She shares her thoughts about the industry and gives bluntadvice to would-be writers hoping to score a publishing contract.

Book Review Blogs

Beatrixhttp://www.artsjournal.com/beatrix/

If you want to know what all the book reviewers are saying about a partic-ular book, head to Beatrix, a spin-off of Ron Hogan’s Beatrice blog.Beatrix covers the book review sections found in most of the daily news-papers in the United States.

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Complete Reviewhttp://www.complete-review.com/

This site covers reviews of new and older books.

Book Budshttp://dadtalk.typepad.com/book_buds_kidlit_reviews/

Anne Boles Levy, a journalist and a mother, provides parents with inform-ative reviews about the latest children’s books. This is an invaluable sitefor the busy parent or well-intentioned but childless adult looking to buya child a gift.

Readervillehttp://www.readerville.com/

Readerville is a forum for book lovers to discuss the latest books, shareliterary gossip, and organize book groups. You have to register and paydues to participate.

MusicThe blogosphere was made for music enthusiasts. They love to talk abouttheir favorite bands, share music files, and post concert reviews. There’s ablog about every type of music, it seems: pop, classical, world, country,and modern. The best part of blogging is that visitors can actually listento the music under discussion. In many ways, peer-to-peer file sharingand iPod culture are just the same as blogging—relying on multimediainstead of text.

Indeed, music complements blogging so perfectly that an entire bookcould be devoted to this topic. The following sections list some brief linksto blogs that will help you find your way into the musical world of blogs.Use them as a departure point for finding other blogs.

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Popular Music

News and Reviews

Ambitious Outsiderhttp://www.ambitious-outsiders.com/lowerindex.html

Chris S is based in Los Angeles, so many of his reviews and event listingsare tied to southern California, but he also posts reviews of albums andtracks TV appearances by his favorite musicians.

The MP3 Blog Aggregatorhttp://www.mp3blogs.org/

This blog is an aggregated feed of sites posting about MP3s and music,updated hourly. This is not a definitive list of all MP3 blogs, only thoseadded to a list.

Music for Robotshttp://music.for-robots.com/

MP3 fans flock to this well-written MP3 blog that identifies and postsMP3s by unknown musicians or independent bands. Very cutting edge.

Stereogumhttp://www.stereogum.com/

Stereogum is an opinionated group blog out of New York City devoted toreviewing the latest music available in MP3 file format.

Mash-up Blogs

Mashup Townhttp://mashuptown.com/

This noncommercial site lets visitors post or listen to music mixedtogether from various records and sounds.

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Music91

Mashmix.comhttp://mashmix.com/xoops/modules/news/

This site shares news about the latest mash-ups available on the Web andshares some files for listening.

Music Biz Blogs

Band Weblogshttp://www.bandweblogs.com/

This site is a collection of blogs created by musicians to promote theirbands and music.

Dead Air Spacehttp://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/

This is a blog by the members of the Radiohead band that they are keep-ing while on tour.

BANKOFKEVhttp://www.bankofkev.blog-city.com

The official blog of Kevin McKeever. Harmony Gold’s OperationsCoordinator for Robotech.

Boblog: A Quiet and Uninteresting Lifehttp://modulate.blogspot.com/

Bob Mould, ex member of Husker Du, shares his thoughts about the cur-rent state of music, life on the road, and his life on this blog.

The Bizzo—Indie Music Industry Tipshttp://quikonnex.com/channel/page/coreystewart-bizzo/434

This site focuses on information for indie musicians keen on marketingtheir work to a larger audience.

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Music Reviews Blogs

Blues Bloghttp://the-blues-blog.blogspot.com/

Curious about what’s happening with your favorite blues musician? Checkout this blog that clips news and reviews for blues fans.

Cahl’s Juke Jointhttp://cahlsjukejoint.blogspot.com/

Let Carl Abernathy’s blog inform you about the latest news in rock, blues,and jazz.

Cocaine Blunts & Hip Hop Tapeshttp://www.cocaineblunts.com/new/

Hip hop fans can find the latest reviews and news on this blog by a radioDJ named noz.

Jazz & Blues Music Reviewshttp://jazzandblues.blogspot.com/

This blog reviews new and old albums covering jazz and blues.

Filesharing Reviewhttp://www.filesharingreview.com

A blog about the latest information on peer-to-peer (P2P) applicationsand file distribution.

Fluxbloghttp://www.fluxblog.org/

Fluxblog showcases the creator’s passionate reviews about music.Fluxblog also hosts one of, if not the, best blogrolls for pop-related blogs.

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Mississippi Blues Newshttp://blues.ms/

This blog covers the world of blues musicians in Mississippi. MississippiBlues News is an invaluable resource for people keen to keep track of aregional scene.

Moist Workshttp://moistworks.com/

This well-written group blog covers a variety of music styles, from pop torock to hip hop. The site features reviews and MP3 files.

So Many Shrimphttp://www.somanyshrimp.com/

A group blog about hip hop and the urban rap lifestyle.

Soul Sideshttp://www.soul-sides.com/

A funk audio blog by Oliver Wang (a.k.a. DJ O-Dub) that lets users listento MP3 audio files while reading reviews and essays about a particularartist or style.

Portable Music BlogsInternet technology is always changing. Each year brings a new wave ofinnovative ways to listen to music files. 2005 is the year of the podcast,which is a cute way of referring to music files in a digital audio formatthat one can download to listen to on any digital media player such as anApple iPod or MP3 player; hence the name podcast, as in iPod broadcast.

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CC Mixterhttp://ccmixter.org/

This site, affiliated with the Creative Commons copyright movement, pro-vides music files that have been cleared for reuse, downloading, and sam-pling. Visitors can check out new music, upload their own work, and tradetips on how to share music legally.

Podcast Bunkerhttp://www.podcastbunker.com/

This portal finds digital audio files all over the Web and posts only fileswith the best audio quality. This site is a good introduction to the bestand most popular files being downloaded today.

Podcast Alleyhttp://www.podcastalley.com/index.php

This site is a directory of audio files available for download on your digitalplayer. The directory organizes available files according to categoriesranging from food shows to music/radio shows created by amateurs.

Classical Music

Performers

Adaptistrationhttp://www.artsjournal.com/adaptistration/

Drew MaManus writes about managing orchestras on this blog, hosted byArts Journal.com, an online magazine.

Violinist.comhttp://www.violinist.com/blog/

Several classically trained violinists blog from this site and share informa-tion in its forums and newsletter.

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Oboeinsighthttp://www.oboeinsight.com/

Patricia Emerson Mitchell is the principal oboist with the Opera San Josewho shares her thoughts about her life as a working musician and thestate of classical music, in general. Ms. Mitchell is also a professor atUniversity of California Santa Cruz and writes about her experiencesteaching music.

Think Denkhttp://www.jeremydenk.blogspot.com/

Jeremy Denk is a concert pianist who blogs about his life on the road.

Enthusiasts

Adantehttp://www.andante.com/magazine/

This is a site devoted to classical music. Music lovers can find everythinghere: info about the latest releases, concert schedules, and reviews.

Iron Tongue of Midnighthttp://irontongue.blogspot.com/

Lisa Hirsch maintains this classical music blog. She also writes a columnfor the San Francisco Classical Voice, an online journal.

Magnificat Websitehttp://magweblog.blogspot.com/

This blog is devoted to information and insights into early music.

Prima la musica, poi le parole: opera bloghttp://primalamusica.typepad.com/

Sarah Nobel blogs from her home in New Zealand about local opera newsand performances.

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Sandowhttp://www.artsjournal.com/sandow/

Greg Sandow writes about the future of classical music and new works inthis blog, which is hosted by Arts Journal.com.

Vilane Fillehttp://vilainefille.blogs.com/

Music writer Marion Lignana Rosenberg, a multilingual writer, broad-caster, and translator, is based in New York and shares news about opera,Verdi, and classical music.

SummaryDo you have a passion that’s missing from this section? Don’t worry; wemay cover it in Chapter 11, “Pushing Boundaries of the Blog Format,”which focuses on ways to find blogs that correspond to your mood.Chapter 11 also provides tips on additional search tools to help you findblogs tailored to your tastes.

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