Blogs never completely died, but they’re far less common than they used to be — and arguably more important than ever. After Google Reader was killed and social platforms became the default hub for way too many people, maintaining a single feed to follow everyone I’m interested in became almost impossible.
Post-Twitter, I’ve re-established my own blog as my primary hub, while rebuilding my network across a few different platforms, and these are the blogs (including bloglike newsletters, but never a Substack) I check in on regularly.
NOTE: This isn’t a comprehensive list, nor is it static. It’s a curated selection of some of my current favorites, in alphabetical order, and I’ll periodically update it to add/remove people as needed.
Baldur Bjarnason
Seamlessly combining technology and humanities in his insightful Essays and Notes, I learn something new from Bjarnason all of the time. (Also, author of the must-read The Intelligence Illusion.)
Jane Friedman
One of my most trusted professional colleagues who I also consider a friend; I knew her when she was still “the other Jane Friedman.” Even though we don’t run in the same publishing circles anymore, her site remains an invaluable resource for me, and it’s also now the home for The Bottom Line, fka The Hot Sheet.
Kleefeld on Comics
Kleefeld is an OG comics blogger and historian with a great mix of insightful posts commenting on industry news, history, and reviews. He’s a good follow on Mastodon, too.
librarian.net
“putting the rarin back in librarian since 1999,” Jessamyn West is one of my favorite librarians, sharing a mix of the mundane and insightful across various platforms, but never neglecting her blog.
The Magpie
If I was a comics creator, I’d want to be Alex de Campi, so I was thrilled when she launched a newsletter blog consolidating her unique chaotic creativity into a single channel.
The Naming Way
Old school blogging done right. Randomly personal and insightful, very often funny, and we frequently have overlapping tastes in various media so his recommendations carry weight. Bonus: I have no idea who he actually is IRL, but I think we’d get along great!
New Virago
A good tagline is like a picture, and “a newsletter about whatever the fuck I feel like writing” is both the epitome of blogging, and exactly what I want from Dawson, one of my favorite DBW-era partners in crime.
Postcards From Komiksoj
A newsletter blog, Tobias Carroll shares reviews and insights on a broad range of interesting comics, most of which usually aren’t on my radar.
Scott Woods Makes Lists
“Everything but laundry and groceries,” Woods is a former poetry slam colleague, kickass librarian, hardcore Prince fan, and one of the smartest cultural critics I know.
Words & Money
Andrew Albanese is one of my favorite industry journalists, so his new media venture that aims to “center the role of libraries in the 21st Century publishing business” was an immediate must-subscribe.
Header photo by mehul dave on Unsplash.