The more I look into being a successful writer and a successful blogger, the more I appreciate those people who already do it. It doesn’t seem to be an easy feat by any means, and I know how difficult it is to force yourself to put out new content to meet deadlines. Hell, I try to commit to updating my blog three times a week, and when does THAT ever happen? I’ve read more and more blogs lately, and trying to read some indie/self published authors as well. So far, I’ve come across some real great stuff, and I figure that I should share it! This is one of the reasons that I have CommentLuv set up on my blog – so commenters can promote whatever it is that they’ve been up to because I always want to see more :-) I have to admit that I really love indie authors because most of them are very receptive to communicating with their fans. Bernard Schaffer actually tweeted my review of his book today, and that’s super awesome. If I ever get published, I’m going to endeavor to be so gracious as well.
I feel like I am constantly telling friends of mine about the various blogs that I enjoy, and I figured today I would get a nice long list of my favorites. I’m going to skip all the makeup and nail polish blogs because they’re really not “geeky.” For once, I will be focused! One thing that I really recommend is using Google Reader to make it easier to read all your favorites in one place. This link explains a lot of the ways to follow a blog, and this link has specific instructions for a site that has Feedburner enabled (like my blog, and a ton of others).
Anyhow, without further ado, click the jump below to see my favorites!
Epbot: Would you believe that I didn’t really regularly read blogs until somewhat recently? Epbot was the first geek blog that I really read religiously. If you are unfamiliar, this is the personal blog of Jen, who you may know as the person behind Cake Wrecks. On Epbot, she posts about Steampunk stuff, awesome craft projects (like these Steampunk goggles), the various conventions she goes to, and many, many other geeky things. Her projects inspire me to want to become more handy. It hasn’t quite happened yet, but damnit, I’m sure it will at some point!
WWdN: In Exile: I should really have titled this entry “Everything that Wil Wheaton has touched, ever,” but I think that sounds a bit too fangirlish. If you still see Wil Wheaton as that irritating Wesley Crusher kid and nothing more, you are missing out. Wil is amazing in both his Big Bang Theory cameos, in addition to his role as Fawkes in The Guild. He’s a great writer too, and he shares lots of fascinating insights. Looking for a quicker dose of Wil Wheaton? Follow his Tumblr, you won’t be disappointed.
Felicia Day: I don’t think I need to discuss how awesome Felicia Day is. From Dr. Horrible to the Guild to Eureka, and now Geek and Sundry? Long story short, she’s amazing. I love her blog because it helps me to keep up with all the various things she’s in (that girl is BUSY!), and because she seems like a very humble, down to earth person.
Stellar Four: This is a relatively new addition to my Google Reader Subscriptions. I love that there are a group of five different women who write about all manner of geekdom – new products (Wonder Woman undies, anyone?), discussions of new books and movies, and of course, awesome Superhero themed alcoholic beverages! I have to like a site that posts geek drinks. While their content does occasionally tread into the girly side of things (see the aforementioned panties, as well as nail and makeup posts), it’s infrequent enough that most geek guys would still enjoy themselves. Plus: it gives you ideas for stuff to get your girlfriends!
Pure Nerd-Nip: My friend Thom started this blog at the beginning of May, and I am super impressed by it, so all my friends should go take a look. His blog focuses on the most important things in life – badass archery and fencing, comic book heroes, and photography. I’ve got my fingers crossed that he goes far with his blogging, and doesn’t make like me and forget to post 90% of the time.
Wicked Little Pixie: This is a great resource for people who are in to reading Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance novels. I never realized just how many books there were in this genre, and Wicked Little Pixie ensures that I don’t waste my time with things that I’m not going to like. They also rant about the various issues facing book bloggers today – authors expecting perfect reviews, and how reviews are really for the readers, not for the authors. I can trust that they won’t BS a review of a crappy book because the author requested it, and that’s what counts to me.
All Things Urban Fantasy: This is another lovely review site for Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, that doesn’t pull punches or get swayed by authors/publishers. One thing I really love is how they compare US and UK book covers, and review various book covers. As an aspiring author, this really helps me to know what things are eye-catching, which are overdone. Plus, it’s funny to laugh at all the bad covers. The layout of their site and the reviews make things super easy – they rate the book on a scale of one to five bats (hell yeah, bats!), they give links to where you can purchase the book that are clearly visible… I love it. Parents will like that they list the sexual content of a book clearly in the review, which is helpful when purchasing books for a younger reader.
SciFi Chick: SciFi Chick reviews all manner of Science Fiction – books, movies, television series, comic books, mobile apps. She reads so many books, I’m amazed that she has new reviews up all the time. She really puts me to shame, I can’t even post every day let alone read a book and review it. Her reviews are short and to the point, and allow me to judge quickly whether or not something is worth my interest. She includes in her Star Trek novel reviews whether or not reading other books are prerequisite to understanding new books, which is helpful for those of us that simply don’t have time to read every Star Trek novel. I’ve tried… it’s not easy.
Girl Meets Lightsaber: Jenna Busch is awesome. She’s all over the place, doing all manner of awesome things. I’m going to snipe some of her bio so I don’t have to retype all of this: “Jenna Busch is a host and writer of all things geek for Zap2it, After Buzz TV, Inside Horror, Huffington Post, AOL, Popeater, Newsarama, JoBlo, Blastr, UGO, IGN, Moviefone, SheKnows, Coming Soon, Screen Junkies, Famous Monsters and Geek Week and Inside Horror. Member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) and a board member of the Broadcast Television Critics Association (BTJA). She’s got two stories in the comic anthology, “Womanthology.” She’s been a guest host on G4′s Fresh Ink and a guest on My Geek Lady, ComiCenter, JoBlo Movie Podcast and more.” Obviously, she doesn’t have the time to blog super frequently, but when she does, it’s AWESOME.
That’s my (somewhat long) list. Please, share your favorites in the comments so I can see some shiny new things too!
