It’s never bad to have something new to read.

September 5, 2009 — Kristen Tsetsi

In the spirit of yesterday’s thanks, today will be Lemonade Stand Award day.

I don’t know that the people listed here will post the awards on their blogs, and whether they do doesn’t matter. (Many of the blogs I read are written by men, and the award is a little girly-looking. And, also, sometimes people just don’t want to put awards on their blogs. It clutters up the place. I understand.)

And it’s true what they say about it being the thought that counts. What’s important is not that awardees display the thanks they’ve been given, but that they receive them, and that you check out their exceptional blogs.

So, without further ado, here are the ten blogs I read most religiously for their wit, insight, riveting stories, dedication, or plain ol’ irresistible personality (in no particular order):

1. The Chief’s Forum – Interesting political discussion, hilarious YouTube videos, and more. Also a lot of Steelers stuff, which I ignore because football puts me to sleep (literally…listening to it in the car one day at the request of my ex, I went from listening to crowds cheering and some commentator rambling yadda-yadda to dreaming. My ex woke me up before I drove off the shoulder. That stopped football from being on in the car, though, so overall my falling asleep was the best thing that could have happened).

2. R.J. Keller – She talks at you in videos, offers really fun interactivity, and provides intriguing insight into her powerful novel Waiting for Spring. And, of course, there’s the lipstick. And the win-free-stuff contests.

3. James Viscosi, an author of many fantastic novels who also blogs at Dennis’s Diary of Destruction. On his personal blog, James shares rejection letters from agents and lit journals, posts scanned copies of his childhood stories and artwork, and measures a movie’s worth by how long it plays before his wife falls asleep. At “Dennis’s Diary of Destruction,” we see the world through the eyes of his trouble-making and lovable dog.

4. Ian Healy, writer extraordinaire. This guy has enough writing energy to make me want to kill him in an envy fit. But, I never would, of course, because you just have to admire a guy like him. His blog brings you with him as he writes his many novels, including the times he gets stuck. He lets you read and comment on excerpts, too, which is fun, and he often involves his readers in discussions about writerly things like dialogue and how to write a good sex scene.

5. Neil Crabtree provides an entertaining supply of odd (but real) news, commentary on that news, and tender vignettes about his life and family.

6. Craig Lancaster regularly interviews writers and authors about their work and their process, and he  also shares his own thoughts on the process (his, and the more general).

7. Jim Thomsen lets his readers go with him as he gathers information for his true crime novel. It’s absolutely fascinating.

8. Reasons to be Happy You Don’t Have Kids is a kind-spirited and often funny look at the heartache those without children don’t have to worry about experiencing, and posts there are just as often a celebration of children (as long as they’re someone else’s).

9. David Dvorkin posts on a variety of topics, often briefly – sometimes funny, sometimes thought-provoking, and always worth a stop.

10. Margaret and Helen are…well, it’s best that you read them yourself and come up with your own adjective. Two senior-citizen women whose unfiltered opinions and sense of humor make reading about politics the most fun ever.