In praise of blogs.

As you can see we keep on the right side of cheerful as we wrestle with the technology in the NHS, but I think you know already, my bit of the front line is day to day slog at the nitty-gritty end of people's lives and
you'd not believe how good the NHS is at thinking up new ways of doing familiar things.
I can't help but groan inwardly as yet another breast-feeding policy lands on my desk and I'm agog with anticipation.
Might this be the one where you latch a baby onto your ears because actually the milk's now coming from somewhere completely different? It can all be very morale-sapping and age-inflicting.
It's one of the reasons I threw myself into an English Literature degree back in the late 1990's. But that's all a while ago now and the further removed you become from academia the more you crave its benefits. That brain-high generated by intensive and productive study, the inspired and focused reading, the thrill of the chase as you catch and pin down that original thought for that essay, so I'm thankful there are plenty of substitutes out there and all accessible online.
Praise be in that case for the likes of Eve's Alexandria et al for satisfying those academic cravings. Incisive, in-depth analysis which makes me feel as if I'm sitting in a tutorial and I go there on a regular basis to be challenged and made to think. I read this and saw a book I'd read recently in a whole new light, didn't alter my love for the book but expanded my thinking enormously. Victoria has settled to the task and really done this book justice from her own perspective.
Lacking hours in the day like many, and not being in the sort of job where I can nip in and round the internet minute by minute, it's an evening luxury, call it night school, to get some time to have a wander, a loiter and a read so I rely heavily on a few chosen resources to point me in the right direction. Discovering Google Reader has all made this much easier. You all obviously discovered it long before me because I see that 142 of you subscribe to dovegreyreader scribbles this way.
The Literary Saloon is an early and regular port of call, the first online literary blog I discovered in the days before blogs really existed, they must have invented it. They really do keep me in touch with off the beaten track reading and their parent site The Complete Review now holds a precious online resource of book reviews and links to others.
Our old mate Mark Thwaite is another signposter. It's like Crewe junction at his online venues and there's a great What on a Wednesday slot over at The Book Depository for the Eve's Alexandria team this week. Then they mention more blogs and I discover this and realise I've found another challenging blog to add to my list.
I follow the Guardian Book Blogs because to be honest who wouldn't ? Nothing like watching the masses baying for spilt blood, the raving hordes storming the ramparts and those priceless days when the beleagured writer fights back. Things get wonderfully out of control there on a regular basis, forget hunting with hounds, this is online drag hunting at its best, the human fox lays the scent trail and the reading hounds are onto it in a flash. tearing their virtual prey to pieces, sometimes I have to look away.
Then from comments there I discover this then this and that leads me to this and I'm knee-deep in clover.So many blogs so little time but always so much to discover and learn.
But of course when it comes to this, this and this well you're my favourites too, in fact I think I love you all, gold medals all round and thank you for keeping this brain ticking over inquisitively, but a very special thank you to this one for always making me laugh like a drain.
Yes indeed, the blogosphere can be whatever you want it to be.