Sir Galahad of the Blogosphere, aka Frank Wilson, book review editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, has just received not one but two well-deserved accolades. Peter Stothard is Editor of the TLS (and was Editor of The Times). He wrote this on his blog on 20 Jan:
"Numerous calls and emails have accused me of being old-fashioned in resisting the fashion for 'best this and best that' lists in newspapers and websites.
So, just to show how courant I really am.
One. The Sunday Times this morning highlights my favourite blog - Books, Inq - as Number Three in its list of 'websites that will feed your mind rather than your credit-card bill'.
Two. Frank Wilson, main author of Books, Inq at the Philadelphia Inquirer, draws attention to a rather different list - Top Ten Drunk American Writers - on the website 'Alternative Reel - Quietly Redefining the Internet'."
I heartily concur with the assessment of Peter and Louis Wise of the Sunday Times (and also see Bryan Appleyard's Thought Experiments blog). Books, Inq. and Light Reading were the first two "blogs about books" that I discovered, before I started Petrona in 2005. They remain among my very favourites, both for their content and for the "impossible to define in one word" character of their delightful authors. As well as my enjoyment of their blogs, both these people have a special place in Petrona's heart: Jenny Davidson of Light Reading was the first person to comment on Petrona, which was the start of my own personal experience of the interactive, social web (and I have since even met her in person! Of course, at the British Library); and Frank Wilson has encouraged my own writing and built my confidence in that direction, not least by commissioning me to write book reviews for his paper. Wonderful, what can happen with that old Internet.
Ooh, thanks for bringing my attention to the Sunday Times list -- I hadn't noticed it and ReadySteadyBook.com was listed too! Yay!! :D
Hey, and ReadySteadyBook.com had that list of drunk American writers two days before sleepy ol' Frank!
Posted by: Mark Thwaite | 23 January 2008 at 14:34
Yes, Mark, "ready steady book" is definitely a "green light" blog!
Posted by: Maxine Clarke | 23 January 2008 at 15:33
Wow! That's great. And well-deserved.
Posted by: Bill Peschel | 23 January 2008 at 22:56
Yes, well deserved for Mr. Wilson - a very considerate fellow who's definitely not stuck in a rut.
Posted by: James Aach | 24 January 2008 at 19:01