What Blogs Do Catholic Bloggers Read? | By Valerie
Schmalz | May 18, 2005

What Blogs Do Catholic Bloggers Read? | By Valerie
Schmalz | May 18, 2005
Last week, in "Invasion
of the Catholic Bloggers," we took a look at some of the best-known
and most-visited Catholic weblogs. This week we ask some Catholic bloggers
to tell us what blogs they read.
Shrine of
the Holy Whapping is run by self-described "Catholic Nerds" at the
University of Notre Dame, who, they say, "share their thoughts on Catholic
identity at ND, cultural reviews, and other musings (or moosings,
as the case may be) with the rest of the world." Their favorite blogs
include:
Friar Don Jims "Dappled
Things" because of his great love of the ancient traditions of
Catholicism and his profound liturgical common-sense.
The
Irish Elk blog for the same reasons, and the lovely photos.
Fr. Bryce's inspired lunacy at "A
Saintly Salmagundi" blog is also a national treasure. Andrew
Cusack's work is greatbut I enjoy reading his blog because his
college experience at St. Andrew's reminds me for some reason of something
out of Evelyn Waugh or Wodehouse.
Eve Tushnets
blog and Dawn Edens "The
Dawn Patrol" bring such an interesting perspective to the table,
mixing orthodoxy with pop music and comic books.
As a monarchy enthusiast and young fogey, I always loved Otto
Hiss's inspired crankiness. I also like The
Commonplace Book of Zadok the Roman, as well as the wellspring of Dominicanity
which is Cnytr,
but I must warn you that the two of them are good friends of mine so I'm
biased.
Julie Davis, Happy
Catholic blog:
I probably look at about a hundred blogs a day but using an RSS reader it
is pretty easy, kind of like scanning a newspaper for the articles you want
to read. I definitely have my "must read" spots though and they vary from
news commentary to people who write about their daily lives. Here are a
few:
The
Anchoress: news commentary with a definite attitude.
The
Curt Jester: news commentary and a lot of humor with an edge.
Flos Carmeli:
reflections on the arts, Carmelite traditions and saints, and contemplation.
. . among other things.
martha, martha:
questions and meditations on faith as reflected through happenings in the
blogger's life
Scattershot
Direct: A mother and novelist who is going back to nursing school muses
about her life but also has some of the most penetrating social commentary
I've read.
Quiet
Life: a homey, cosy blog with knitting, cooking, poetry, kid photos,
all against a quietly faithful Christian background.
Jeff Culbreath,
Hallowed Ground blog and the
El Camino Real blog:
I tend to favor blogs that focus on Catholic culture and family life as
opposed to politics. Some of these might be classified as "crunchy"
or traditionalist. William Luses Apologia
is always excellent, as is Video
meliora proboque; Deteriora sequor, Old
Oligarch, The
Inn at the End of the World, and Bethune
Catholic.
Steve Dillard, Southern
Appeal:
Although I read several blogs on a regular basis, I rarely go a day
without reading National Review Online's
"The Corner," Jimmy
Akin, and Amy Wellborn's "Open
Book." And before Mark Shea went on hiatus to finish a book, I
read his blog ("Catholic and Enjoying it!) without fail every day. I read
"The Corner" because it is, without question, the best political blog
around. I read Jimmy, Amy, and Mark's blogs because I learn so much
from them about my faith. I am a recent convert to Catholicism (December
2003), so I am making up for lost time.
Barbara Nicolosi, Church
of the Masses:
I read The
Corner, because I enjoy having such informal access to the ideas of
some of the thinkers there. I start the day with Amy
Welborn and her links always take me to a half a dozen others.
Will it make me sound foolishly extravagant if I say that Amy Welborn is
one of the greatest assets in the contemporary Church. She's very thoughtful,
fair and refreshingly apart from the strange and weird world of Church polarization.
I also appreciate Jeffrey Overstreet's Looking
Closer, which is a smart site on faith and culture.
Jeff Miller, The
Curt Jester, Splendor of Truth:
This is a "which is your favorite child" type of question. I use an RSS
aggregator which lets me track about two hundred Catholic blogs and a couple
of dozen political blogs. The blogroll on my site lists most of the blogs
that I read. The St.
Blog's Parish Web Ring and this
listing are lists of most of the current membership of St. Blogs.
If I am too busy for my normal blog cornucopia here is an example must read
short list.
Domenico
Bettinelli, Amy
Welborn, Jimmy Akin,
Justin
Katz, Steven
Riddle, Victor
Lams, Patrick
Sweeney, Tom
Kreitzberg, Julie
D, Kathy
Shaidle, Lane
Core Jr, Christopher
Blosser, Dawn
Eden, TSO,
Summa Mamas,
Elena,
Willam Luse,
Dale Price
These are a good start and the great thing about St. Blogs is just how many
high quality blogs there are to read. I mainly read blogs to keep informed
about the faith and current events.
Mark Sullivan, the
Irish Elk:
St. Bloggers I regularly read include Dale
Price, a wonder to behold when venting spleen; John
Cahill, bagpiper and Latin Mass loyalist; young fogies like Andrew
Cusack and the Shriners
of the Holy Whapping, and that buster of heretics and jackalopes, Fr.
Sibley.
Secular blogs I particularly enjoy for their wit, fine writing and graphics
include Ever
So Humble, Random
Pensees, and the Llama
Butchers.
General favorites include the New
York Sun, the Library of Congress' American
Memory, and the New Criterion's Armavirumque.
Edward Peters, A
Canon Lawyers Blog:
The only two I bookmark are
IgnatiusInsightScoop and Jimmy
Akin, though I occasionally read blogs they link to and blogs that link
to my blogs (to see what theyre saying about my stuff, you know, was
my stuff helpful, confusing, what). IP and Jimmy Akin feature highly trustworthy
authors with something significant to say. I really restrict my blog reading,
the same way I do newspaper reading or broadcast news. There is simply too
much of it out there. You have to be selective.
Last Week:
Invasion of the Catholic Bloggers
Next week: What do Catholic blogs contribute? What is unique about
Catholic blogs?
Valerie Schmalz is a writer for IgnatiusInsight. She worked as a
reporter and editor for The Associated Press, and in print and broadcast
media for ten years. She holds a BA in Government from University of San
Francisco and a Master of Science from the School of Foreign Service at
Georgetown University. She is the former director of Birthright of San Francisco.
Valerie and her wonderful husband have four children.
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