Lately I've been paring down my blog feeds and eliminating mercilessly. There is NOT enough time in my day to read blog posts that aren't interesting or applicable to me.I'm not talking about personal blog posts here -- your stuff is always interesting. :)
I mean the informative and entertaining blog reading I do on a daily basis. Scratch that. Lately it's become the blog skimming I do on a daily basis. It takes a LOT of sparkling crafty glitter or an incredibly intriguing title to get me to click forward and read an entire post from my listing these days. Usually I scan quickly and click the delightfully efficient "mark all as read" button. I love that button. Feels like I'm actually accomplishing something important when I press it.
What's crazy is that I don't even have many blogs in my feed. I only follow a handful of blogs related to bargaining, crafting, cooking and reading. It's simply astounding how quickly a few blogs can pile up posts if I don't keep it in check. That's the mathematical principle of exponential growth at work I suppose!
On the reader chopping block are the following:
- Pioneer Woman. At first I really enjoyed PW's sarcasm. But after following her blog awhile, the writing is borderline caustic and the sarcasm is predictable. She still makes me snicker but I don't have enough interest in following her family farm life to continue. And I never win her word nerd contests even though my hubby helps me and he is certifiably THE biggest word nerd in the world. The contests must be rigged.
- Burda Style. Great blog but I must admit the sewing technique is WAY beyond me. I have a hard enough time just getting my mending done much less fashioning fall pleated jackets.
- Geek Mom. Two in every 10 posts are super fresh and unique. The other 8 tend to involve star wars or electronics. The few posts I read really resonate with me though. The image above is from their site -- right on!
- Baby Cheapskate. I hate to chop this one since it was the first bargaining site I ever followed. It mostly keeps tabs on retail and since I don't really shop retail it's not very practical. Keeping it on the list for now since online Christmas shopping and Black Friday are sneaking up on me.
- Simple Mom. Not much originality here but once in a while a bright spot. I did very much enjoy her recent post on relaxation.
- Holy Experience. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ann Voskamp's poetry and her cherish-everything-as-from-God views. Her accompanying photography is breathtaking. But I must say I'm not often in the best mood for soaking up Ann's deep thoughts and imagery. Keeping it for now because I hate to heartlessly axe such beauty.
- Stuff Christians Like. The author, John Acuff, is HILARIOUS. Witty and observant and not afraid to make fun of Christian churchy topics. Slightly frivolous though.
- Rabbit Room. I recently discovered this collaborative blog of Christian musicians, writers and artists. The site is named for the legendary pub back-room where C.S. Lewis and his cronies, the Inklings, shared ideas and talked God. The naming itself was enough to win me over! I've been thoroughly enjoying their posts on imagination, story-telling and the gospel fleshed out in family life. My only beef is that the posts are rather lengthy at times.
- Shaun Groves. A rich song-writer and musician, Shaun also has a natural flair for writing humorously and finding depth in every day family experiences. Good stuff.
2 comments:
I've axed Baby Cheapskate and Cake Wrecks (though CW refuses to leave and still fills up my list), along with a few others. I'm still a big PW fan, but I wish she'd do more cooking.
I also really like BooMama--I find her incredibly funny. And I don't think I'll ever get rid of Frugal Hacks.
It can certainly sap one's time! And I agree: that "Mark all as read" is so gratifying!
Hmmm, fun question! My must-not-chop list includes Money Saving Mom, Passionate Homemaking, and Pleasant View Schoolhouse. And probably Simple Mom and Simple Homeschool. I also really like New Life on a Homestead.
I still like PW, but the only one in my reader is her regular blog--I chopped the cooking part, home & garden and homeschooling a long time ago, not because they weren't good, but I just don't have time to keep up with them all. I do tend to let PW's posts pile up in my reader though, so I might end up chopping hers eventually. :) I think I'm going to have to chop Life as Mom, Keeper of the Home, and Organizing Your Way (which I think is now called Life Your Way). I like them, but just can't keep up with them. A lot of these blogs also are picture-heavy, which is hard on those of us with dial-up, especially when the posts pile up too much!
I've chopped quite a bit in the past year, but I still have a ways to go. :) The bad part is, I keep stumbling across new ones that I like!
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