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Written by Karen D. Swim
One of the best things about the internet is the never ending stream of great reading material. It is a virtual bookstore that restocks its shelves on a minute by minute basis. I have found wonderful sources of information and inspiration through other bloggers, blog directories, Facebook, Twitter and more. I love the ease of inviting people into your virtual library and having them leaf through books to discover something of interest. It’s near the end of the week and the temperatures here are chilly. It’s a perfect day to grab something warm and curl up with a good read or five.
Sticky Figure – Steve Woodruff is a brilliant writer who graciously chooses to shine the spotlight on others. His daily Five in the Morning posts share his finds of great reads throughout the blogosphere. I have discovered wonderful posts that I missed and new blogs that were promptly added to my library.
Indie Business Blog – I discovered Donna Maria Coles Johnson and the Indie Business Blog last weekend. I now read the blog and follow this wonderful woman on Twitter. Her blog covers business and social media insights and her style is high energy, upbeat and warm.
Painting A Day - Janice Cartier is a brilliant painter and writer. She writes about art but has a way of drawing these wonderful parallels to life. I never fail to leave her blog without a brand new insight and a smile upon my face. She is warm, funny and brilliant. This blog should be in everyone’s library.
Solo PR Pro – This is Kellye Crane’s brand new blog. Besides being one of the nicest people on the planet, Kellye is a PR genius, a solo professional opening her storehouse of knowledge to share with everyone. Solo PR Pro is a wonderful online resource for PR and Marketing Communications.
Maximum Customer Experience – I could gush all over the page about how much I love Kelly Erickson. She’s smart, funny and knows her way around the business world. If I were throwing a dinner party, her name would be at the top of my list. Kelly teaches you to design a customer experience that will help you become a leader in your field. Business owners should definitely be reading this blog but her insights are applicable to everyone and her writing style alone will earn it a top spot in your library.
I loved this so much that I wlll plan to share more often. How about you, what’s in your library? Any new discoveries or old favorites?
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Hi Karen, Thank you for the reading tips. I’m checking out these blogs now.
Karen, me too. Only one I had on my shelves was painting a day… will check the others. Glad you had fun compiling it
Joanna
Karen, I’m truly humbled for Solo PR Pro to be included on this list, and by your kind words (I’ll do my best to live up to the praise!). Your recommendations mean a lot, and I can’t wait to check out the other blogs here. I love how you always highlight a variety of voices and viewpoints. Thanks again!
A couple of these are new to me so I’ll have to save them for my weekend reading. It’s always fun to find fantastic new blogs to dig into. I’m going to hope for rain, because that’s the best weather for curling up and reading
Well, gosh, Swim, just make me blush…and say thank you very much for those kind words. What a great idea to share libraries.
And I had a moment to put a very minimalist design on our very own Green Dreck mug:
http://www.zazzle.com/participant_120x90_mug_1_writing_pure_green_-168454519319629414
I can see my brushes in it already. LOL.
@Brad I’m always happy to share! Don’t be surprised when Scrambled Toast ends up in the next round-up.
@Joanna, I’m so happy you didn’t know them all! It always makes me happy to spread the love.
@Kellye you are both a knowledgeable professional and a lovely person, promoting you is a complete no brainer for me! Thank you for your kind words (always!). You are such a wonderful encourager, it’s nice to give back!
@Janice, you actually inspired the post! The other day I was reading and thought does everyone know about Jan’s blog?
Going to look at the green dreck design, ooh, very exciting!
@Melissa, oops, you were stuck in moderation. I freed you! It’s your new blog, now you’re official again!
I can share a little cold weather with you, no problem. 
The Nano badge would only go so big so it’s very “demure”. But the message is very clear.
And hey, thanks…that is so nice.
Karen,
Thanks so much for the mention—and ditto, about the dinner soirée. We could put together such a fine shindig if only we could fly folks from all over the blogosphere!
I love being in such fine company. Janice’s blog is one of my favorite places to hide in the stacks and muse. She brings out my best self.
Going to check out Indie Business now—your recommendation sold me!
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly, can you imagine us all in one room? It would be an event that celebrities would clamor to enter. Great minds, warm hearts, lilting Scottish brogues, Canadian bonfires, Bayou spice and etouffee, bunnies, babies and oh my. Yea, one heck of a party. Until then we’ll have to settle for a virtual party. Hmm, maybe we should throw a shindig before year end, all night commenting, beverages for every taste, music and food. Could be interesting, traveling dinner party through the blogosphere?
Karen,
Ooooh. Sounds rather cool. I’d be lying about staying up all night, though—but at a virtual party, no one would know.
I love my sleep!
Until later,
Kelly
Thanks, Karen.
I look forward to checking some of these out.
Karen,
Don’t you know my feed read is filled to overflowing already, and now you’re introducing me to more must-read blogs! I’ll never catch up.
Karen, thanks for the shout-out and kind words. I hope we can both continue to share our discoveries (a couple of the links above are new ones to me – checking them out now!)
Karen, name the day and I’ll be at that party. Great minds, warm hearts… attracted by what we see in our hostess
Steve, it makes me happy to introduce my friends to each other. I never get tired of sharing high quality.
Joanna, thanks for the warm words, my cheeks are hot with embarrassment.
I’ve been turning this round in my mind this weekend, and I would love to have the idea take shape. Liz Strauss throws excellent parties so we have a model to follow. We could have appetizers on one blog, drinks on another, hmmm. What do you think could we pull off a traveling blog party?
You’re going to have to learn how to accept compliments my girl!
I love the idea, and will reply separately to your e-mail.
Wow. As I am researching ways to build what I do, I found this list. Each blog recommended could not be more perfect for me to peruse. Love it. Thanks.
Very curious also about the Novel Writing Contest. How are you doing? Know that I’m cheering you on!
(and that I’m off to make sure I don’t miss hearing about that opportunity in the future. Oh my novel is soooo close to finished.)
Great to find you… off to link you.
Much magic, Janet
Hi Janet! I am so glad that you found the list helpful. If I can point you to any other resources please do not hesitate to let me know. Congratulations on your novel! I am cheering you on too! I am in the home stretch of NaNo, 42,320 of 50,000.It has been a joy and I’m looking forward to celebrating! Please keep me posted on your progress. Much magic back! Karen
Karen, thanks for sharing new bloggers you enjoy. It helps us see some folks who share insights and posts we can learn from. You are very generous and I’m glad BizSugar recognized that.