The Old Hack

I thought it was time I linked to some other blogs. Beauty, I know, is in the eye of the beholder, but there is just so much out there that is downright ugly. I searched for 'writers' blogs' and spent a couple of hours trolling through all kinds of promising titles which delivered virtually nothing. I wanted to give a window to a blog whose rating was low but whose quality was high.

To this end I started at page 20 of the Google rankings. The eye of this particular beholder was not taken with very much beauty. I came back a few pages, changed my search terms - looked at other search engines - at blog lists. I could easily bore you...

One observation I made is that sites which offer to promote Blogs on payment of a fee are probably to be avoided unless you have money to burn. I checked out several near the top of some lists which really would not attract or retain many serious readers. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - but when the perceived beauty is that of the beholder reflected in the mirror of expensive self-publicity, maybe the beholder's priorities need a shake-up.

Image 'Book Monkey'by Richard C - view on picable.com

Not wanting you to think my hours of web surfing were fruitless (not that you really care) I've come up with some recommendations.

http://reluctantleft.blogspot.com/ Political blog to the left of centre (Canadian) Hasn’t been updated for a while, but I liked the style.

http://johnbakersblog.co.uk/ John Baker is a published British novelist, whose books include ‘Walking With Ghosts’ and The ‘Meanest Flood’ His blog has a literary bent, but his style is free and easy and his comments often pithy and always considered.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2169697,00.html

Topical political comment by the Guardian’s Marina Hyde on the Brown/Thatcher “Tea of the Titans” – an excellent read.

Let me know what blogs you write, and what blogs you would recommend.  You can comment via this site, or send me an e-mail to channelhop(at)talktalk.net