WG 2009-01: Bloggy favorites, worthy of an award!

***One of the hazards of pre-scheduling my posts is that I miss things that don't get advance announcement, and then I have to play catch-up. Yesterday was officially DeLurking Day across the blogiverse! Well, let's go ahead and observe it here today instead - please come out of hiding and leave a comment, whether you do so regularly, or you rarely (or never) have before!****
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Welcome to the return of Weekly Geeks! We took a break for six weeks to give us time to honor Dewey, regroup and decide how to proceed. It takes a village to keep Dewey's projects going - and that's just what this blogging village (blogage?) is doing. Although there will be different facilitators every week, this is the place to come for the Weekly Geeks theme, Mr. Linky and comments, so add this page to your favs.

This week's Weekly Geeks assignment is brought to you by Terri/teelgee:

In the spirit of the amazing community building that Dewey was so good at, tell us about your favorite blogs, the ones you have bookmarked or subscribe to in your Google Reader, that you visit on a regular basis. Tell us what it is about these blogs that you love, that inspire or educate you or make you laugh. Be sure to link to them so we can find them too.



This is going to be one of those "two-birds-with-one-stone" posts. Carrying out this week's WG assignment also gives me an opportunity to acknowledge a blog award that requires passing it on to other blogs - this post is in lieu of a formal awards ceremony.

This here blog was recently honored with the Prémio Dardos (the Darts Prize) by My Friend Amy, and by NoBS of NoBSBookReviews and I Meme It. As recipients of the award themselves, they chose 15 blogs to share it with.


What's this prize all about?

The Prémio Dardos is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.

I'm honored - thank you so much!

(Speaking of community building, as host of The Friendly Book Nook and founder of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, I think Amy deserves recognition as a stellar community-builder herself.)

Like some other Weekly Geeks, I do most of my blog-reading via subscribing to their feeds in Google Reader. I currently have over 275 feed subscriptions (and that's after editing them this weekend to drop some dormant ones - but although I mention my GReader additions in the Saturday Review every week, I won't publicize the subtractions). There's no way to visit that many every day and have time for anything else, but I do try to stop by and comment when I can.

I sort my GReader subscriptions into folders related to topic, and three of those folders are categorized blogrolls. The Prémio Dardos is supposed to be awarded to 15 other blogs. In selecting them from my blogrolls, I'll probably exceed that number - and I understand why people say it's so hard to decide who to choose for blog awards!

It's a Major Award! (well, I don't know about that...)

When I'm not blogging here about Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness, I'm part of the Mom-blogging community as a contributor to the Los Angeles Moms Blog. I maintain one blogroll for the personal blogs of my fellow contributors, and I'll single out a few of them here:

I've been reading SoCal Mom since well before the Moms Blog - appropriately, Donna was the very first LA Moms Blogger! My reading of It's All About Balance pre-dates the Moms Blog as well - in fact, I'm partly responsible for roping April into it in the first place. Speaking of roping people into things, I think there's potential to turn Nouvelle Blogger's Karen into a book blogger - she already participates in Teaser Tuesdays regularly, and she has excellent and eclectic taste in reading material. Joining this group also introduced me to the sometimes controversial and never boring Jessica Gottlieb, and to the frequently-linked-here Anna Lefler - Life Just Keeps Getting Weirder, and Anna keeps getting funnier!

The "General" section of the blogroll belongs to blogs that don't fit into another subgroup. Some of these blogs talk about news and share opinions on issues and current events, some of them talk about pop culture, and others are personal blogs that discuss pretty much anything and everything. It's hard to play favorites here, but among the personal blogs, these are just a few I try not to miss:

Liz of The Park Bench is keeping the world safe for nerdy women, and we are grateful. Pam shares daily slices of life, work, football, and other dispatches from Here, There, and Everywhere; Patois posts a mix of creative writing, personal stories, and the periodic Bruce Springstten anecdote at Whee! All the Way Home; and Daisy's tales of classroom and kitchen are reminders that Compost Happens. But lest you think I only read women bloggers, I'll also mention Chris of Rude Cactus (who probably has no idea this blog exists) and Mike of Everything Under the Sun (who is one of my most regular commenters, and vice versa). By the way, the guys do talk about books every now and then; Chris usually mentions his "weekly read" in his Friday wrap-up posts.

The fastest-growing blogroll I have is devoted to book blogs - go figure! Since I am nowhere near as prolific a reader and reviewer as many members of this group, I am both humbled and honored to be considered part of the community. My favorites among this group not only post informative and insightful book reviews and thoughtful commentaries - they mix in a dash, or a hefty serving, of the personal too. Some of my favorites may already be on your list, too, but let me spotlight just a few:

The (deservedly!) very popular Literary Feline (Wendy) of Musings of a Bookish Kitty has been one of the longest residents of my books blogroll; her review format influenced my own, and she's a wonderful commenter too. The thoroughness and thoughtfulness of the reviews at Caribousmom (another Wendy), Natasha of Maw Books Blog, and Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit stand out for me, as does the topicality of some of the selections Heather at Book Addiction talks about. Scobberlotch isn't the typical author's blog; Karen Harrington has jumped into the book-blogging community with both feet, and it's great to have her. As far as that dose of the personal goes, Trish of Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'? is well-known for it, and Betty and Boo's Mommy of The Betty and Boo Chronicles mixes it well with her more bookish posts.

I've mentioned more than 15 prize-worthy favorite blogs already - please feel free to check out the blogrolls for others! Also, thanks to Jessi of casual dread and (An) Unfinished Person (formerly known as Just a (Reading) Fool) of the eponymous blog for mentioning me and The 3 R's in their Weekly Geeks posts this week!

If you'd like to give some of your favorite blogs a shout-out, feel free to leave a link or two in your comment - you're de-lurking to leave one, aren't you? Better yet, do your own post about them, and then go sign the Mr. Linky for this week's Weekly Geeks post!