My Online Reading Round Up
Does anyone remember, really, how we lived before the Internet?
Does anyone have any insight into how we knew things in that far forgotten dark time?
I certainly can’t remember. It seems an absolute lifetime and boy am I glad we don’t live in those times anymore, because so much of what I learn and so much of what gets me thinking and keeps me entertained on a literal hour by hour basis, is found online, and quite often, in the voices of women.
Today I thought I’d do something a little new for my blog and gather a little internet reading round up, with the focus this time being on my favorite female voices or female centered websites. These little spots on the vast Internet are some of my favorite to return to, and always hook me in, whether because I find them thought provoking, comforting, or just plain, well, I hate to say it, but… goals.
So let’s just jump straight in.
Blogs
As a fellow blogger, I am definitely one of the still reading blogs crew, and I love how much they’ve changed and how far their content has come in the last decade. I’m not against reading a purely fashion blog but they’re definitely not my main thing at all, and I prefer instead to read blogs of people I can really get to know, and relate to, and who I find really positively aspirational. Yes I just used the word goals and aspirational one after the other (perhaps I need to get offline for awhile).
The Elgin Avenue
I first really discovered the Elgin Avenue through listening to it’s creator, Monica Welburn’s co hosting role on the Let’s Discuss podcast. Let’s Discuss is also highly recommended but I was very charmed when I discovered her blog, her original starting point into the online world, The Elgin Avenue. The Elgin Avenue is a little like Monica herself, timeless, feminine, and very poised. She writes about all manner of things, like most great bloggers do I find, ranging from (recently, and I was so tickled to see this) how to properly lay a table when hosting guests, to everything under the sun pertaining to lifestyle, blogging, beauty, and careers. There’s almost nothing you won’t find on here! And that too with a lovely soft color palette and beautiful photos of her home in a small town in England. She is also a business owner and podcaster, and definitely wears more hats than most! I always find myself visiting The Elgin Avenue not just to see new posts, but to go back and re read some of my favorite bits of advice, especially when it comes to her posts on blogging.
Pretty Normal Me
I had read the girl behind Pretty Normal Me, Emily Clarkson’s book (Pretty Normal Me) some time ago, without realizing her blog of the same name is just as awesome and funny a read as the book itself. I stumbled across the blog again recently and immediately bookmarked about 10 posts for future reading. Emily has the most snappy, quick wit and writing voice, that it really not only sweeps you through her posts, but also, as a blogger, inspires you to develop your own distinct personality and voice, that leaps of the page like hers does. Emily doesn’t shy away from blogging about whatever she feels is important and that means her content is not only quite honest and vulnerable but is also quite far reaching in its scope and really quite often, has it’s finger right on the pulse of what’s going on that week. I don’t know how she does it but I can’t wait to hear what she has to say about, well, pretty much everything.
The Anna Edit
I never, ever miss a single of Anna’s YouTube videos and I have to admit I do spend more time on her channel than I have on her blog, but I’ve been starting to discover the blog side of Anna’s little empire lately, and I’ve been loving it! Just like every thing Anna does, it’s sleek, minimal, and got just the right dose of relatable humor. Anna is a lot of things I could never be, namely, quite minimal (me and a capsule wardrobe are still very much struggling to get to know each other, whilst Anna is quite literally the queen of the capsule wardrobe with a bit of punchy animal print thrown in!), but I still find myself really personally inspired by her work ethic, her organization skills (alright, that’s a level on which we can totally relate), and I cannot wait for her upcoming book, The Edited Life. Anna’s writing is a breath of fresh air on the inherent and definitely shouldn’t be overlooked in favor of her also very upbeat, cheerful, YouTube space. Have a read and you’ll see what I mean!
Hayley Hall
Hayley Hall’s blog of the same name, is just an absolute blogger’s dream. She is definitely the queen of blogging, of blogging about blogging (you need to check out her podcast, Made Online) and of being warm, kind, welcoming, and informative. Haley is definitely one of my biggest blogging inspirations and I have spent many an hour reading through the absolutely massive backlog of posts about beauty and the blogging business. Hayley to me really represents the quintessential lifestyle blogger, and her blog is definitely a great starting point for anyone wanting to dip their toe in the lifestyle blogging world with someone who is real but still inspiring, though provoking but not too niche, and just makes you feel happy the moment you click through to the lovely peachy tones of her beautifully designed space. I’m always checking back and I hope Hayley keeps doing what she does exactly as she does it!
Vix Meldrew
Vix Meldrew’s blog, also of the same name, is one of the blogs that really broke the mold for me, and got me back into reading blogs last year. Vix is feisty but so, so sweet, and really comes across as someone you would love to be friends with, because of her irreverent humor and straightforwardness. That is, if she wanted to be friends with you, because she’s definitely one of the cool girls of the blogosphere! She writes about pretty much everything under the sun with her quick wit and immensely readable voice. Vix is the perfect remedy for the girl whose tired of reading about skincare routines and watching Primark hauls (something she’s taken a vocal stance about with her new push and Instagram account focusing on slow fashion- definitely a girl with her finger firmly on the pulse!). As well as a podcast and her equally readable Instagram account, Vix also has a fabulous email subscription called Exciting Emails (it’s not just an email subscription but that’s one of my favorite parts), the newsletter is punchy, informative and usually sums up the hot topics of the week in a really bit sized way which is great. Go read now.
Columnists
Having trained in journalism and dabbled in working in too, really great columnists hold a very special place in my heart because I really, really do look up to them. These are some of my favorites that I always go back to, waiting for a new piece from.
Dolly Alderton
Alright, who needs me to tell them about Dolly Alderton. Exactly no one. Dolly is a celebrity in her own right and pretty much everyones favorite actor of the minute. I read her book before discovering her vast online content, from columns to one off pieces to podcasts, I’ve saturated myself in as much Dolly as I can find, and I still get super excited every time a new column of her’s pops up.
Sali Hughes
Sali Hughes is a force you just have to have respect for. Her strength of character, experience, and just the very solid nature of her, comes across immediately the moment you read pretty much anything she writes. Not to mention the fact that, she more often than not, writes about the important things. I’m not one for always reading about the important things, no matter how much I try to be that kind of person. But with Sali Hughes, its easy. I read what she writes even if it’s something I would never normally be inclined to read at all.
Bryony Gordon
Bryony Gordon is literally… the best. I loved every page and every sentence of her three heartfelt and hilarious books (about her own life). She is so likeable, so funny, and so good at writings about her experiences in a natural, vivid, did I mention laugh out loud hilarious way, that you can’t help but want more: more books, more columns… I’ll even settle for more tweets. Bryony writes about anything and everything, as every great columnist does, but the pieces I like best are the ones that are about her and her life and how she relates herself to the wider issues she touches on. When your favorite thing about a columnist is them writing about themselves, you know they’re doing something right!
India Knight
India’s writing style is a little different to the other columnists I tend to go back to but I am drawn in by her warm and frank way of addressing whatever is going on in the world at the moment. I find myself relating to her wry and honest opinions that many of us may harbor but not say out loud, and her analysis of pop culture is spot on. I’m new to the world of India but I’m looking forward to picking up some of her books!
Websites
The Pool
I am really, really late to the bandwagon with The Pool. I am aware that better informed women than me have been reading it for ages. But boy am I glad I finally did discover it! With amazing (literally) contributors, and a really unique ‘Coming Soon’ feature on all its posts (you have to see it to get it), The Pool is exactly what it describes itself to be on the cover of it’s curated book Life Honestly: strong opinions from smart women. I don’t think of myself as a highly opinionated person, but when I read the thoroughly insightful and often tugging at your heartstrings content I feel as though I may become an opinionated person, if only for the five minutes I am reading this piece. Nevertheless its very mind expanding. Not to mention the most incredible ladies write for it. Go and have a read now.
The Glitter Guide
The Glitter Guide is just the right amount of feminine fluff (in the best way possible) for a bit of down time. The Glitter Guide is the classic blog like women’s website, chock full of fashion, beauty, and especially interiors advice, reading lists and general thought pieces. I particularly love the interiors features on the Glitter Guide, being new to having a home of my own, the pictured are Pinterest worthy and the article format is a lot easier on the mind than scrolling endlessly down the Pinterest trap!
And that’s it for now! It’s super hard to whittle down what I love reading on the Internet because there is so much more. But that’s for another day and another blog post! Happy reading.