If you like books, or writing about books, check out Terry Weyna’s blog Reading the Leaves. Terry is in my writers’ group but I didn’t know about her blog until recently. It’s like stumbling across that used bookstore in a strange city when you’re on vacation. It looks small from the outside, but when you go in you see how far back it stretches, how tall the book-stuffed shelves are, how many there are, and how many dark little alcoves curve off of the main aisle, each one filled with volumes. . .
Terry reads so much that I can only conclude that, somehow, she does not sleep. She reads almost everything; literary fiction, mystery, fantasy, science fiction, thrillers, short fiction anthologies, literary criticism. She might even read a romance novel now and then. I keep expecting to find the back of a cereal box in there somewhere (“Post’s sparing use of sweetener make the characters of rice and corn even more powerful.”). She reads a lot of the authors I read, so it’s nice to get her opinion. She reads a lot of people I don’t read, so it’s nice to get a recommendation. She reads a lot of people I’ve never heard of, so every visit to The Leaves is a little voyage of discovery.
Terry’s a good reviewer, a good critic and she’s not a snob. She understands the value of the three-hours-in-the-porch-swing book and she doesn’t apologize for including them. Literary criticism of the work of Emily Dickinson or the latest Robert Parker novel; each gets the same treatment. The comment threads are lively too, as partisans vigorously debate the merits of their favorite writers.
If you’re looking for a new author to try, or you just like well-written book reviews, check her out. She also posts a column on Book Balloon, another cool site.