Bloggers who think, who make me think

Edward Copeland – a man whose site I admire tremendously – nominated me for a Thinking Blogger award – and his words about my site seriously have made my morning.

Thank you!!! Your site is amazing, love all the contributors – and I check in with you every day. I so appreciate your words.

So I already did a Thinking Blogger thing a while back- but hell, I’ll do it again! And choose different folks this time. Lots of people make me think! I love things like this, because it gives me a chance to acknowledge those writers out there who, just by being themselves, and writing about what they want to write about, help me to go deeper, live larger, be more aware. That’s what this is all about for me.

I’ll post the name of the blog, a few words, and then cherry-pick a post – just for fun.

Bloggers who make me think!

1. Confessions of a Pioneer Woman
Where do I even begin. I discovered her maybe 2 or 3 months ago, and have been addicted ever since. She posts like clockwork – every morning. She has also opened up a second blog, for all of her recipes – but seriously, if you have not had the pleasure of “meeting” this woman – go there now, and click around. Her photos are wonderful, her descriptions of ranch life vivid and riveting (horses!)- and her stories from her past, as a ballerina, are sometimes hysterical, sometimes moving – whatever. One of my favorite sites on the ‘net. Check out her photos in this one post alone.

2. The Rejecter.
She describes her blog as: “I am an assistant at a literary agency. I am the first line of defense for my boss. On average, I reject 95% of the letters immediately and put the other 5% in the ‘maybe’ pile. Here, I’ll tell you how to get past me.” I cannot even tell you how valuable this site has been for me in the last 2 months. Seriously. Here’s a post she wrote about “credentials” – but that is just one of a bazillion. LOVE that site.

3. Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule
It’s hard to cherry-pick just one post out of this site – one of my favorites on my blog-roll. Dennis’ writing is so detailed, so good – that I often print out his posts to be read in a leisurely moment, so I can savor it. Also, the comments section over there is to be admired. I ALWAYS read all of the comments – just wonderful commentary. Like – here’s his whole post on summer drive-in season. Then there are the quizzes. I live for the quizzes. They are hard, they take work – and they are always worth it. He also started this series called Faces I love (here is the latest version) – and I have just fallen in love with the idea, and done a bunch of them on my own. (Like here. And here! And here) Fun! So anyway. If you’re not checking in with him, and you are also a big film fan – then I say to you: what are you waiting for??

4. From the Archives
Weird, I read her every day – but I hesitate to link to her, because I know the issues she had when a bunch of strangers suddenly came to her, through various links from high-traffic bloggers – and those people were so unpleasant and horrible that she closed down for a couple of days. It’s difficult – when you have a blog where you speak frankly and openly – as though you’re in an intimate situation, to people who love you and who know you … and suddenly some random person shows up and completely doesn’t get it, doesn’t have the patience to try to understand, and who blaze in with judgmental language, words like “idiot”, etc. etc. Who raised such people? There’s that. Her comment policy is one of the best on the web. Smart smart woman. Her posts are heartfelt, diverse (we go from relationship posts – like this latest beauty, to water-management posts), funny – and VERY well-written. Example. I get a lot from her blog. I know Megan doesn’t like compliments – neither do I – at least not too much or too often … so I hope she doesn’t mind me saying that I love her spirit, her writing style, her thought process – and I enjoy checking in with her to see what she’s thinking about. This post had a big impact on me. A lot of that sentiment goes along with what I’ve been up to lately, and what I mentioned in my post about growing my nails, and toxic people. There’s been a sea-change. Anyway, love Megan, love her voice, and love that she makes me think, and contemplate things.

5. The Elegant Variation.
One of the best literary sites on the web. And that’s kinda final. Go there – and follow the links. The links they find are so worth it. Goldmines, all of them.