Let's Talk About Blogs

You can't talk about books and the Internet without talking about blogs. Or maybe I shouldn't be; according to Websters New Millenium Dictionary, "blog" is a word, but "blogs" is unrecognizable.

Nevertheless, there are more book blogs than you shake a stick at (although why you'd want to shake a stick at a blog is beyond me.) Something for everyone, or so it seems. I got an email last night about a new one - Detectives Beyond Borders: A Forum for International Crime Fiction "Because Murder is More Fun Away From Home" written by a copy editor from the Philadelphia Inquirer. Hey, I wonder if he knows John Grogan, a columnist at the Inquirer who was a former columnist for the south Florida Sun-Sentinel, and is the author of the mega-bestseller Marley & Me, and a really nice guy. If he is, he hasn't said so he's not cashing in on that at any rate. But how can you not be intrigued by a blog with a subtitle like that!

Crime fiction has spawned all manner of blogs. Some of the best are:

Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind
Sarah Weinman, crime fiction columnist for The Baltimore Sun, blogs for mystery and suspense lovers.

Crime Fiction Dossier
Commentary on the world of crime fiction, including mystery and thriller novels, authors, reviews and publishing. From David J. Montgomery, a writer and critic specializing in crime fiction - who I believe has a first novel in the works.

Crime Lab Project Forum
A place to talk about the Crime Lab Project, forensic science,
and news from the CLP News/CLP Morgue.
The CLP Forum is moderated by Jan Burke on behalf of the Crime Lab Project , a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing awareness of the needs of public forensic science agencies.

First Offenders
Four mystery authors share their journey: Karen E Olson, Jeff Shelby, Alison Gaylin, & Lori G. Armstrong.

Girl-Detective: Baby Got Crime...
The Girl Detective is Diana Killian, mystery writer and fan of vintage crime films and books. She'll be cracking wise on movies, books, writing and publishing--and whatever else catches her magnifying glass.

It's a Crime (or a mystery...)
UK based reader of crime fiction brings you the best of crime and mystery fiction.

The Lady Killers
Rhys Bowen, Lyn Hamilton, Meg Chittenden, Mary Anna Evans, Cara Black: Five female writers of mystery fiction share their wit and wisdom, writing tips and travel
experiences.

The Lipstick Chronicles
Where the book tarts - Harly Jane Kozak, Nancy Martin, Susan McBride, Sarah Strohmeyer & Elaine Viets - talk love, laughter, laundry and the mysteries of the writing life.

The Little Blog of Murder
Confessions of six Ohio mystery writers: Don Bruns, Judy Clemens, Casey Daniels, Jeffrey Marks, Sharon Short, Heather Webber, with an occasional guest blogger.

Murderati
7 mystery writers dedicated to Mysteries, Murder and Marketing: Pari Noskin Taichert, Denise Dietz, Naomi Hirahara, Simon Wood, JT Ellison, Elaine Flinn & Jeffrey Cohen.

Paperback Mysteries
Reviews of new paperbacks by Dick Adler, who writes the crime fiction column in the Chicago Tribune on Sunday.

Rap Sheet
Information about new and forthcoming books, special author projects, genre innovations, and distinctive crime-fiction-related Web sites.

And no list of book blogs would be complete without mentioning these gals --

BookSlut
Do you really need an explanation? Suffice it to say: for the literati.

Buzz Girl
A publishing insider gets the skinny on tomorrow's bestsellers.

Finish reading all those then come back for more. I'm just getting warmed up. I haven't even touched on author blogs...