Blogs for binge reading?
May 27, 2016 11:10 AM Subscribe
Looking for addictive, binge-worthy blogs that I will want to read from beginning to end. Basically, if you couldn't stop reading, I'd like to hear about it.
I have recently read all of the absolutely fascinating End of Shift Report (written by an ICU nurse) and the engaging, also fascinating Fosterhood (written by a young professional, single foster mother in NYC). I could not put either of these down once I started reading them, but I've finished, and now I need MORE.
I don't have specific topics in mind. I'd just basically like anything with a little bit of drama, good storytelling, some suspense and/or a peek into someone else's life. Please feed my new addiction. I've basically always hated blogs, but these two have turned me onto them and there must be more out there that I'd like. Thanks!
I have recently read all of the absolutely fascinating End of Shift Report (written by an ICU nurse) and the engaging, also fascinating Fosterhood (written by a young professional, single foster mother in NYC). I could not put either of these down once I started reading them, but I've finished, and now I need MORE.
I don't have specific topics in mind. I'd just basically like anything with a little bit of drama, good storytelling, some suspense and/or a peek into someone else's life. Please feed my new addiction. I've basically always hated blogs, but these two have turned me onto them and there must be more out there that I'd like. Thanks!
It's considered old now, but once I found Hyperbole and a Half, i went back and read the whole thing in a few days. Laughing the whole time. I may go back and do it again since it's been a while,
posted by CathyG at 11:24 AM on May 27, 2016 [23 favorites]
posted by CathyG at 11:24 AM on May 27, 2016 [23 favorites]
Waiter Rant is very good. His stories have a lot of drama and are well written.
Mimi Smartypants may or may not be your speed, but she is my original favorite blogger. Love her writing.
Both of these are ones that were very active years ago and have tapered off in this post-blog world, but there are occasional updates. Hyperbole and a Half is an excellent suggestion, and her book makes a good follow up.
posted by LKWorking at 11:33 AM on May 27, 2016 [7 favorites]
Mimi Smartypants may or may not be your speed, but she is my original favorite blogger. Love her writing.
Both of these are ones that were very active years ago and have tapered off in this post-blog world, but there are occasional updates. Hyperbole and a Half is an excellent suggestion, and her book makes a good follow up.
posted by LKWorking at 11:33 AM on May 27, 2016 [7 favorites]
Sadly, A Gentleman's C has not been updated for some time, but it is still great for binge reading. She's a professor at a large state university.
I also like Anarchist Soccer mom, which includes the famous "I am Adam Lanza's mother." Good perspectives on having a mentally ill child.
posted by Melismata at 11:37 AM on May 27, 2016
I also like Anarchist Soccer mom, which includes the famous "I am Adam Lanza's mother." Good perspectives on having a mentally ill child.
posted by Melismata at 11:37 AM on May 27, 2016
Metafilter introduced me to Steve, Don't Eat It!
A series of experiments wherein Steve eats gross things... with APLOMB.
posted by Dressed to Kill at 11:37 AM on May 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
A series of experiments wherein Steve eats gross things... with APLOMB.
posted by Dressed to Kill at 11:37 AM on May 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
Also super old but damn I miss this guy. [redacted]
posted by magnetsphere at 11:38 AM on May 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by magnetsphere at 11:38 AM on May 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
I binged Mesa Verde Times like a bag of mini Oreos laced with cocaine.
It's a project with a beginning and an end, since they finished what they had to say two ago, and one of the two writers has passed away since then. But that doesn't take away from the amazing story. It goes backwards, in that you have to start with the earliest post in order to start from the beginning.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:56 AM on May 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
It's a project with a beginning and an end, since they finished what they had to say two ago, and one of the two writers has passed away since then. But that doesn't take away from the amazing story. It goes backwards, in that you have to start with the earliest post in order to start from the beginning.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:56 AM on May 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
I heard about this blog on a podcast I was listening to, I haven't read it myself, but it might meet your needs. It is a "rare, detailed account of everyday life in Stateville Prison", written by an inmate that was convicted of murder. The URL is paulmodrowski.blogspot.com.
I heard about about this on a Gimlet Media podcast called "Reply All". They have a 3 part episode about the inmate that was writing the blog. He quit writing it in Jan 2015 for reasons that are revealed the podcast, but all of his writings remain online.
posted by tomjoadsghost at 12:14 PM on May 27, 2016
I heard about about this on a Gimlet Media podcast called "Reply All". They have a 3 part episode about the inmate that was writing the blog. He quit writing it in Jan 2015 for reasons that are revealed the podcast, but all of his writings remain online.
posted by tomjoadsghost at 12:14 PM on May 27, 2016
Bitches Gotta Eat: hilarious and profane. Topics include makeup, disability, Crohn's, race, Chicago, and of course, cats.
posted by sideofwry at 12:18 PM on May 27, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by sideofwry at 12:18 PM on May 27, 2016 [9 favorites]
Another vote for Mimi Smartypants--when I discovered her a few years ago I went back to the beginning and read the whole thing over a week or so. She doesn't update regularly anymore but there's got to be at least 12-15 years of entries in the archives. She's one of the few bloggers who actually make me laugh out loud. As an FYI-- sometimes her entries are nsfw.
posted by bookmammal at 2:43 PM on May 27, 2016
posted by bookmammal at 2:43 PM on May 27, 2016
I really love Questlove's Celebrity Stories. It's old, so some of the people have died since this was put together, which makes it all the more poignant. You have to read a bunch to start really understanding his Philly slang and shorthand, which is a lot of the fun. The one about Amy Winehouse is touching.
posted by vunder at 3:22 PM on May 27, 2016
posted by vunder at 3:22 PM on May 27, 2016
Melissa Stetten's blog at http://prettybored.com/. It's interesting looking through her life. Stetten is a model turned writer and for some reason I think if the band Rilo Kiley were a blog, this would be it. She's really funny and there's just something about her POV that is fascinating to me.
posted by sweetjane at 4:07 PM on May 27, 2016
posted by sweetjane at 4:07 PM on May 27, 2016
I love Alice Bradley's blog finslippy. She's a great writer and so funny. And she still updates pretty regularly, which I appreciate when I remember to check it out!
There's also fussy.org, which isn't updated as much, but is still fun to read. You can read both, and then realize they are friends, and they wrote a hilarious book together, and be kind of awed by this awesomely productive friendship. (My friends and I just drink coffee and complain together).
posted by areaperson at 5:31 PM on May 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
There's also fussy.org, which isn't updated as much, but is still fun to read. You can read both, and then realize they are friends, and they wrote a hilarious book together, and be kind of awed by this awesomely productive friendship. (My friends and I just drink coffee and complain together).
posted by areaperson at 5:31 PM on May 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
Mimi Smartypants is awesome and she DOES update, just about every week. http://mimismartypants.com/
Since you're asking, I will plug my own self but there are not many posts: clotheshog.wordpress.com
Shutterbean (http://www.shutterbean.com/) doesn't have a strong narrative, but her photos are gorgeous and the glimpses into her life are envy-inducing, at least for me.
posted by masquesoporfavor at 5:49 PM on May 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
Since you're asking, I will plug my own self but there are not many posts: clotheshog.wordpress.com
Shutterbean (http://www.shutterbean.com/) doesn't have a strong narrative, but her photos are gorgeous and the glimpses into her life are envy-inducing, at least for me.
posted by masquesoporfavor at 5:49 PM on May 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
The journey is still in progress, but the Eden Walk, is amazing reading. Journalist, Paul Salopek, is walking the globe. He is re-tracing the human migration out of Africa by foot; a journey of seven years. The archive of his articles is here.
posted by jadepearl at 6:03 PM on May 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by jadepearl at 6:03 PM on May 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
It helps to care a bit about soccer (football) or the football manager pc game, but the Pro Vercelli chronicles are amazing. I think I stayed up until like 4:30am to finish it and stumbled into work the next day when I came across it.
posted by juv3nal at 6:33 PM on May 27, 2016
posted by juv3nal at 6:33 PM on May 27, 2016
Roger Ebert turned me on to Smart Ass Cripple. I like to go for a few weeks without reading it so that when I go back I have a few posts to read in a chunk.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:06 PM on May 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:06 PM on May 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
One could say this is right up my alley:-). Long-running family blogs that give you a peek into others' lives:
SouleMama (homesteader in Maine, unschooler of 5 kids, knitter, Taproot publisher, author, & more.)
Julia (started as a struggle to get pregnant story; now a family with three kids. Very funny. Updates sporadically now, but I read it all when I discovered it.)
Rosie Gets Cozy (she is a maker & mother of an adopted child. That was an engrossing story with drama. She lives in Portland OR. Also posts lovely pictures.)
All are well-written.
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 9:06 PM on May 27, 2016
SouleMama (homesteader in Maine, unschooler of 5 kids, knitter, Taproot publisher, author, & more.)
Julia (started as a struggle to get pregnant story; now a family with three kids. Very funny. Updates sporadically now, but I read it all when I discovered it.)
Rosie Gets Cozy (she is a maker & mother of an adopted child. That was an engrossing story with drama. She lives in Portland OR. Also posts lovely pictures.)
All are well-written.
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 9:06 PM on May 27, 2016
Came in to Nth Mimi Smartypants.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:23 AM on May 28, 2016
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:23 AM on May 28, 2016
Idlewords is mostly long-form essays, often involving travel or programming and always interesting.
Carrot Quinn does crazy hiking things and blogs about it. Better in real time perhaps, but I did go back and re-read her entire trail blog for her first hike of the PCT. The most recent 60-some posts in her blog right now cover the Hayduke trail, which includes hiking down the grand canyon and lots of other amazing canyon and desert hiking.
(If you get into trail blogs, there are lots of other interesting ones, like a hike of the entire path of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Texas.)
Mars and Me is the blog of a Mars rover driver/programmer. I read it through from the beginning and found it great stuff.
posted by joeyh at 5:15 PM on May 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
Carrot Quinn does crazy hiking things and blogs about it. Better in real time perhaps, but I did go back and re-read her entire trail blog for her first hike of the PCT. The most recent 60-some posts in her blog right now cover the Hayduke trail, which includes hiking down the grand canyon and lots of other amazing canyon and desert hiking.
(If you get into trail blogs, there are lots of other interesting ones, like a hike of the entire path of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Texas.)
Mars and Me is the blog of a Mars rover driver/programmer. I read it through from the beginning and found it great stuff.
posted by joeyh at 5:15 PM on May 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
Maybe not as cheery as the rest of these recs but the now-incredibly-infrequently-updated (if at all) Nice Jewish Girl blog about a woman in her 30s struggling with being shomer negiah was addictive - I read the whole archive in one go, I believe. It's very heartfelt and she is so easy to empathize with while also wanting to give her a good shake - I think I was originally introduced to it on Metafilter.
posted by hepta at 4:54 PM on May 30, 2016
posted by hepta at 4:54 PM on May 30, 2016
Oh, and also this blog about a woman cooking through the French Laundry cookbook at home was fascinating and not necessary to read in a linear fashion though I've read all the entries at this point.
posted by hepta at 4:56 PM on May 30, 2016
posted by hepta at 4:56 PM on May 30, 2016
This is fringe, but it's a really intriguing fictional story told in blog format, written a bit over 10 years ago. Read the first post or two, then see if you can put it down.
posted by allkindsoftime at 4:08 PM on June 1, 2016
posted by allkindsoftime at 4:08 PM on June 1, 2016
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posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:23 AM on May 27, 2016 [1 favorite]