Blogroll, November 2025
I subscribe to hundreds of websites and blogs in my feed reader. Some update frequently, multiple times per day. Others less often, perhaps as rarely as a couple of times per year. Some appear abandoned. Perhaps permanently, or merely temporarily. Like my own website, which lay dormant for many years. (Just look at all those years missing entries in my posts archive.)
Not everything that comes up in my feed reader is interesting to me. Nevertheless, I remain subscribed. Inertia is part of the explanation. However, I also agree with V.H. Belvadi who writes in A case for tolerating the uninteresting:
There is, hidden in plain sight, a vicious circle that stands to subsist unless we consciously broaden our horizons and sample content we thought we were not interested in at first. The troubling question that follows, for me, is where we draw the lines between novelty, familiarity and interest, particularly when one of our stated goals is to engage with and broaden a certain community, welcoming new people into the fold.
A hidden line, indeed.
I don't want to get inadvertently caught in an echo chamber. To that end, I've made my threshold for subscribing to new personal websites and blogs low. Even if it seemingly doesn't cater to my interests at first glance. And, conversely, unsubscribing is a tall ask. To the point that I frequently get completely overwhelmed by my feed reader and have to press the panic button ("Mark all as read").
It's far from an optimal process. But I believe it achieves my most important goal: Exposing myself to a variety of different topics, ideas and perspectives.
Nevertheless, there are some blogs that stand out. Sites which, when they pop up in my reader, I jump to instantly. To see what they are up to. What's caught their interest and imagination.
The why and the what behind their catching my attention is not all that clear to me. On the surface, these sites don't appear to have much in common. Between them, they cover a wide range of topics. Although they certainly have "leanings", I don't believe any of them are dedicated to any particular niche.
If there is a common thread, I believe it is instead how they approach their writings. The people on this list write, I think, write from a deeply personal perspective. They are also, every single one of them, great writers. Their posts tend to be clear, instructive and to the point — all the while infused with their personality.
All things I aspire to, but frequently fall short of, in my own writing!
Case in point, my current digression. I thought I'd share a snippet of these blogs here, in case you haven't seen them before. I'll offer them in a totally random order, and without further comment. You should check them out, and perhaps even add them to your own feed reader.