Because I’ve been an INTJ since I learned my letters…
Bouquets: Some of my favorite things…
Carolyn Jean, The Thrillionth Page, “Great Moments From Last Night’s Reading”: This is such a fantastic concept, it brings me closer to her reading experience than a regular review, and it often makes me even more interested in the book than a comprehensive review would. I am sure these must be super time consuming, but I so look forward to them whenever CJ has the time!
Jill D., Romance Rookie‘s “Series Sunday”. This is a classic example of why posts do not have to be long or have bells and whistles. I love these posts — they introduce me to series I don’t know, they remind me of gaps in series I have partially finished, and they allow me to trip down memory lane for series I have completed.
Ana and Thea, The Book Smugglers, author interviews. Sometimes, I chase an author all over Romancelandia reading her interviews, and end up feeling sorry for her since she has to answer the same tired set of questions over and over. These guys inspire authors to say the most interesting, unique things.
JenB, The Ginger Kid’s Den of Iniquity‘s “WTF Wednesdays”. Have you ever considered why heroine public hair is so fuzzy? Why there are no BFFs in romance? Why authors refer to a neck as a column? Well, Jen has. And once you read her posts, you’ll wonder why these important matters escaped your notice.
Heloise, Bodice Ripper Reviews, for the humor. Everything from her tagline — “Would a Wisconsin mother of two lie to you?” — to rating historicals by number of “discreet coughs”, to comments like, “let’s face it, virgins always bleed in romance novels”, this is the funniest blog you are not reading.
Blogbats… I’m not calling you out (way too chicken), but you know who you are…
1. So you haven’t had time to post. I totally get that. But the posts that do nothing but that tell us you are too busy to post? Without even saying anything interesting about what you are so busy doing? 
2. Commercialism. I get it that some bloggers spend a lot of time, effort, expertise, and money on their blogs. They deserve to recoup some of that. I don’t even begrudge them trying to turn a profit. But isn’t there a limit? How about a rating system that helps us to judge how heavily a visitor to your site will be bombarded with attempts to sell us things, and, worse, attempts to get us to sell ourselves your things?
Level 0: Either through design or incompetence, actually repels you from buying things based on its content
Level 1: Links to Amazon in reviews, has Library Thing widget (not that I know any blogs like that)
Level 2: Kind of like the NPR or Democracy Now of blogs: has an Amazon store, but maintains a noncommercial self-image, with concomitant hand wringing over introduction of ads, which it takes only for benign purposes
Level 3: Encompasses items in Level 1 and 2, with Ads by Google banner, ads for books running along along one or maybe two sidebars, and some “eye catching” Java to go along with them.
Level 4: Encompasses items in Level 1, 2, and 3, with promotional posts and contests. Often editor and author blogs fit this bill. This is where my personal limit has been reached.
Level 5: Encompasses items in prior 4 levels (with a special fondness for those “eye catching” ads), with frequent self-promotional posts, creative insertion of commercial content into regular columns, and posts that encourage readers to supply content for additional commercial enterprises (Stockholm Syndrome?). Of course, all of that commercial activity has resulted in a decrease in the kind of posts that made you love this blog, and an increase in posts which are essentially links to other blogs supplied by readers (Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy?). Me, I’m just waiting for the branded line of tampons and pads (which make your periods fly by in a sexy and sassy way, of course!), because when some folks put “saturation” in their business plan, they mean it!
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#1 by Meljean on December 11, 2008 - 11:03 pm
LOL! I love the rating system. I know mine goes up to about a 5 during release periods, and the rest of the time I’m wondering if it’s in the repulsive category.
And I definitely have done the “too busy to post” post.
I love your recommendations; all of them are in my list of favorite blogs.
#2 by Lori on December 11, 2008 - 11:28 pm
I love WTF Wednesdays! My problem is I always start bloghopping when I’m at work, and WTF Wednesdays are definitely off limits at work!
#3 by Ana on December 12, 2008 - 2:21 am
Thank you ,thank you for our Bouquet, it is lovely! and we are in such good company! I could not agree more about CJ’s “Great Moments From Last Night’s Reading”: it is an unique feature and CJ Is also so so creative.
Romance Rookie has the great series Sundays but also her reviews are very good – short and often to the point. JenB’s WTF Wednesdays are great too. and about Heloise? I can only say she doesn’t post often enough *g*.
and the blogbats? *highfive*
Thank you Jessica, lovely to wake up to this post!
#4 by RfP on December 12, 2008 - 3:33 am
Blogdgeons: Blogs that police other blogs, bats in hand.
Not being an INTJ, I’m not too fond.
I suppose I should get in there first and say, yes, commenting thusly could be ‘strued as policing too. In fact I normally don’t comment on style differences and other things that get up my nose in a minor way. But I don’t see a lot of people express my viewpoint on interblog stuff, so what the hell, I’ll represent.
#5 by Jessica on December 12, 2008 - 6:52 am
@RfP: Blodgeon. I didn’t know there was a term for it. You’ll want to avoid these posts!
You’ve made me think about the difference between “policing”, which is not what I intend (or have the power) to do, and “sharing an opinion”, which is. Is every opinion shared an attempt to sway others, or change someone’s behavior? Will post on this. Thank you.
But I look at it this way: I actually don’t mind the commercialism until it gets to Level 5, and then only because it interferes with the content that I DO love. Same for the “sorry I’m not posting posts” — I don’t like them because they mean I am not getting the content I love.
The blogs that I truly think suck? Those are the blogs I don’t read, and will never post about!
#6 by carolyn jean on December 12, 2008 - 10:19 am
Oh, wow, thanks SO much for the blogger bouquet! You are so sweet, and also for introducing me to Heloise’s blog, which I did not know. All the other blogs you list there are my faves! And wow, Book Smugglers are really going all out with content this month for Smugglivus!! I have been so impressed!
It’s so funny that you think my Great Moments feature is time consuming. Because it’s actually a lazy way to talk about the book, or just one tiny aspect that interests me, without doing a formal review. Okay, and the bats level 2…*gulp* You are so funny!
#7 by carolyn jean on December 12, 2008 - 1:07 pm
Okay, let me add, I hate when many-bat-deserving sites rejigger their post times so that they sail up to the top of ‘recently posted” lists like you find on my sidebar multiple times during the day. So, like, they top this list in the morning, then they’re back at the top of the list that night, but with the SAME DAMN POST.
I might start kicking blogs that do that off my list.
#8 by Thea on December 12, 2008 - 1:36 pm
A bouquet? For us? Aw, you shouldn’t have! Thanks Jessica for the mention–we are in excellent company.
And I am laughing my ass off with the blogbats and levels. Brilliant! (in the voice from Guinness commercials)
#9 by MoJo on December 12, 2008 - 3:16 pm
Huh. I can’t figure out where my blog fits.
I have an Amazon bookstore and it’s right at the top of my left column, but I doubt anybody thinks to click on it because it’s not obvious.
I do link to whichever book I am reviewing. Sometimes that’s Amazon, sometimes it’s not.
And yes, of course I’m going to pimp my OWN book whenever I can because, hell, that’s why I started the blog. To build a “platform,” you see. They say you need one of those, although I’m still not sure what that is or why I need one.
Otherwise, I like clean sites with little visual clutter, and I think mine’s starting to need some decluttering.
#10 by Jessica on December 12, 2008 - 4:55 pm
@Meljean: You make a good point … these things often come in cycles. No one blog is routinely at one level. Maybe I’m sensitive to it because of all the other ads this time of year.
@carolyn jean: Wait, gerry- rigging? How is this done? I think I may have to try it.
@MoJo: I think your comment just turned my Level 2 blog into a Level 3 blog. Nicely done.
@Lori: Ginger Kid’s Den of Iniquity is the hardest blog for me to stay away from at work. Although, since I teach sex and gender, it would be pretty easy to cry “research!”.
#11 by RfP on December 12, 2008 - 8:38 pm
Er, yes, the well-known term “to blodgeon”. I blodgeon, though blodgeonst, nous blogeons.
No, as far as I know, I invented it just for that comment. Not because of you, really; only prompted by you. And after much provocation in other circles of the bogosphere.
Ooh, getting tough, CJ. Well, disown me if you must. It’s my stupid RSS feed. It does these funky things. Laura always notices it. So mortifying.
#12 by carolyn jean on December 12, 2008 - 9:45 pm
Wait, hold on – RFP! I totally wasn’t thinking of you! I won’t disown you. If your RSS does that, I never noticed. Wait,what if the level 5 bat blog that I think does that post time rejiggering is totally innocent and really their RSS does it? But I sort of don’t think so.
Jessica: if you were to change the time on your post to this minute, it would sail to the top of everybody’s list. And then we will blodgeon you!!
#13 by Heloise on December 12, 2008 - 10:47 pm
I just got a 97% on my Physical Geography exam and I have to tell you I sooo deserve flowers. And now I have them! Thanks much for the kind words.
Should I let you know how I do on Sociology: Marriage and Family? Your blog has been especially helpful in my discussion sections. I’m not sure whether the fact that I’m the only married person in the class is a help or a hinder truthfully.
But I know you’re one of my favorite procrastination tools.
#14 by RfP on December 12, 2008 - 10:48 pm
No worries, CJ. I’m enjoying a good whine. And thank you: now I have a solution to finding time to post
I’ve actually meant to clutter up my blog a bit: my static TBR pile is annoying, because the bulk of the bookberg is stuck below the waterline. But I keep putting it off because of a reluctance to commercialize, natch.
#15 by JenB on December 12, 2008 - 11:19 pm
Heh. That Hair Down There post just keeps following me around!
If I ever go to a blogger convention, I’m gonna have to introduce myself as “the one that writes about pubes”. LOLOL Thanks for the shout out.
#16 by Kate on December 13, 2008 - 2:09 am
Hurrah! Not only have three of my favorites merited bouquets (The Book Smugglers, The Romance Rookie, and Heloise’s wonderful Bodice Ripper Reviews), now I have more and new ones to check out!
#17 by Jill D. on December 15, 2008 - 1:32 pm
Jessica, Thank you for your kind words. Coming from you it means a lot because I think you have many very creative and insightful posts.
It’s funny to me because sometimes I think my posts are too short. My reviews very rarely exceed four paragraphs and are ususally just three. I am glad you appreciate their conciseness.