Saturday, 14 January 2012

In search of engaging blogs...


I begin my journey into the world of blogging by recommending two blogs that I enjoy.

Jules Torti is a free spirit and intrepid adventurer whose blog Alphabet Soup has earned her a loyal following. Torti’s unique descriptive style engages readers on a sensory level, immersing them in globe-trotting experiences – the grandeur of the Canadian Rockies,  Africa’s perilous wonders, the exotically diverse Galapagos Islands, and more. Learn what it’s like to eat termites and goat testicles. Find out if sleeping in an ice hotel or a jungle hut might appeal to you. Torti’s stories are sure to intrigue and entertain armchair travelers and real-life adventurers alike. Her posts also include book, play, and restaurant reviews, as well as contemplative pieces on what she calls “the emotional geography that unfolds the map in new directions each day.”

My second blog recommendation stems from a series of serendipitous circumstances. On a recent bookstore excursion, I found a Robertson Davies biography. Curious about the book's author, I flipped to the back inside cover and was surprised to read that Val Ross, the middle-aged Canadian freelance journalist pictured there, had died in 2008. Compelled to learn more, I searched her name that evening on the computer and Rona Maynard’s blog surfaced with the story "When my best friend died." Maynard’s beautifully written homage embodied the fundamental truths of friendship, in all its complexities, and I wept for her loss. I’ve visited the blog several times since and always find relevant, compelling posts written in Maynard’s relaxed, down-to-earth style.

Just to bring that serendipitous set of circumstances full circle, it was Rona Maynard’s mentoring advice that got Jules Torti started on the road to blogdom.

Happy reading, everyone.    

No comments:

Post a Comment