Celebrating Book Bloggers

This post is a day late for the BBAW "Community" celebration day--but for those of you who have stuck with me this long slow summer, you must not be surprised by my tardiness!  As autumn really gets underway, I promise to be a more consistent blogger and reader.

I've been inspired by so many of you that I hardly know where to begin. Some of you write posts full of thoughtful ideas. Some read amazing lists of fabulous fiction, causing me to overload my library hold shelf on a weekly basis. Some of you are stunning writers. All of you make me want to read more books. And sometimes that desire is a disadvantage: too often I pick up another novel rather than pick up this laptop with plans to write a new post!

First of all, thanks to the first book blogger I ever found, Amanda at Dead White Guys. I had been googling to see if anybody wrote about their non-school-based educations and stumbled across her hilarious and clever blog.  Of course, I laughed as I read many of her back posts and then immediately subscribed to her blog and twitter feed.  I do find it a bit ironic that my very first "model" of a classics blog was a brilliant parody of what I had in mind to write.  She mocks overly-earnest readers--but secretly I think she may be one of us herself.

Other classic bloggers I love are Allie at A Literary Odyssey, Rebecca at Rebecca Reads, and Jillian at A Room of One's Own. All three are thoughtful critics who build their posts from a combination of the intellectual and the personal.  Their lovely writing and gentle rigor will completely draw you in.

Amateur Reader over at Wuthering Expectations sets a sometimes-ferocious model for careful reading, heady analysis, sophisticated humor, and patient mentorship.  Emily at Evening All Afternoon, Frances at Nonsuch Book, and Teresa and Jenny at Shelf Love all think creatively, write gorgeously, and bring up issues which leave me thinking for days.

Special thanks go to Lucy at Fictional 100.  Her fascinating book about her beloved fictional friends (the central characters of lasting literature) and her inspiring blog are reason enough to gain her a mention here.  But what I am even more indebted to her for is her unbelievable Twitter support (@Fictional100).  She has asked the right questions, introduced me to thoughtful people, and patted me on the back when I needed it most.

There are so many other blogs I love.  Special mention goes to Thomas at My Porch for giving us a book blog full of insights and analysis but also full of the beautiful stories of everyday life, with real characters living out their own real plots.  PJ Grath gives us something similar--lovely photographs, lots of great book talk, and a deep sense of real life--over at Books in Northport.  Finally, Beverley at Pomo Golightly (a blog I found back in my knit blogger days) keeps me dreaming about a simpler, more honest, and more beautiful world.

Thanks to all of you--and thanks to all the rest of you who read, write, and share your thoughts with me.  You make me a better reader.