This whole Thinking Blogger Award thing has bugged me all day. That's not a bad thing and I'm not ungrateful for Amy's nod in this regard because it's really very nice to be included in someone's list of blogs that mean something to them.
I did some research on the Award and found out that it was started with fairly serious intentions over here and that the intention was that you would follow a few simple rules.
The participation rules are simple:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).
People seem to be treating this meme, which was designed to be the last meme the oringiating blogger ever took part in, with respect, not just as a popularity contest.
So, I'm gonna have a go.
At last count, I have over 100 blogs in my Google Reader list. (Not all of them are listed in the sidebar because I add to my Google list faster than I can get around to adding them to the sidebar.) That's a lot and, like many things in life, there's a blog out there for many moods. Some I read really avidly, some I just dip into once in a while. Some are written by people I now consider friends, some are written by people I couldn't tell you much about except that they knit cool things or live somewhere far away and exotic or have handsome pet turkeys.
Some are stylistically impressive, others are a constant source of inspiration. Occasionally I dip into non-knitting blogs and get to spend some time in a different world, like digi-scrapping, something I might never actually do, but that's OK because I get to watch and learn from someone else.
Some are written by bloggers I feel are a little bit like me, while others make me giggle .
But in terms of the ones that often leave me thinking long after I've walked away from the computer, I offer these, in no particular order, so that you might check them out if you're interested and you don't already know them. I love learning about new blogs from other's lists.
1. Shazmina Bendi. I love Shaz. She's got an honesty about her, combined with wit and healthy self deprecation that makes me think about all manner of things - creativity, blogging, sharing of ourselves. It's all there. And one day, one of my trips to Sydney is going to allow time for us to hang out and drink G&Ts together.
2. Samurai Knitter. I've waxed lyrical about Julie here before. It's a bit of a 'first love' situation. You can't really go past the first blog that made you sit up and go YES!! and is still a constant source of inspiration, amusement and thought provocation on how to balance it all and why we do what we do.
3. Yarnnation. Duchess. The Mum to Be. Personal without intense self revelation. It's a balance I admire and one I strive for. She leaves me pondering often.
4. Yarning to Write. A novelist, mum to a rambling hoard, wife, teacher, knitter, blogger. How much can one woman fit into life? Not enough, obviously. Some ranting, some celebrating, but always the admirable unleashing of a forceful personality to be reckoned with. Love it.
5. Live-Learn-Knit. Amy's a mum in Rhode Island who's doing her thing with lots of thinking. I love her reflections on life and how it ties in with knitting, writing and motherhood. There's always food for thought there.
Interestingly, looking at this list, all of these are knitting blogs (duh, I hardly read any others) but they're also broader than that. The blogs I enjoy the most are definitely the ones that give you some glimpse into someone else's life. I think most knit blogs do it, but that some do it more. And yes, it's a real theme with me at the moment, but I love the connection.
Choosing just a few here leaves out so many. Did you hear this week with all the talk about blogging and censorship there are around 70 million blogs now? That's a lot of writing and hopefully a lot of thinking.
Bells
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