Five Websites You Should Be Reading

I spend a lot of time online, and I make no apologies for it. It's how I get the news, stay in touch with my friends and family, discover the latest and greatest songs/books/movies/whatever. As a result, I have a nice little collection of bookmarked sites and blogs on a variety of topics. Here's five I think you should be reading.

1. The Pioneer Woman

To know the Pioneer Woman is to love her. I found Ree and her crew back in early 2007, not long after she had started her site. Since then it has grown and GROWN. Ree's husband is a thrid generation rancher, and she was raised in the big city. Her stories are hilarious, and her giveaways are legendary. (Just the other day she gave away FOUR Kitchen Aid stand mixers. Seriously.)

Even if you aren't interested in her main site (although why you wouldn't be in beyond me) her cooking and photography areas are worth the regular visit. The recipes she posts (complete with pictures, detailed instruction and witty commentary) are amazing. I don't think I've ever made anything of hers that wasn't a hit.

2. Pop Candy

Pop Candy is a pop culture blog written by USA Today's Whitney Matheson. The site is updated several times a day, although I love her "Morning Round-Up" posts. She covers everything- music, movies, TV, books, concerts, comic books, people- you name it. Whitney doesn't deal in celebrity gossip, though, which is what makes it so different and so much better than many of the pop culture blogs out there.

On Fridays she hosts a "Mailbag" section where people can email in there pop related questions. Want to know why "Designing Women" isn't out on DVD yet? Whitney will find out! Want to know what The Captain and Tenille are up to these days? Just ask Whitney. It's a cool site, and I'm always sad when Whitney goes on vacation and doesn't post.

3. By Common Consent

I came across BCC sometime last year, and I've been a daily reader ever since. It's a blog obvisouly aimed at members of the LDS Church, but there are plenty of non-members who post there, too. There's a good mix of serious, thought-provoking essays (like this one or this one) to the ridiculously sublime (like this one). I don't always agree with what they say, but they always make me think, which is a very good thing.

4. IKEA Hacker

It's a well-known fact that I worship at the alter of IKEA. (And really, who doesn't? IKEA is the second happiest place on Earth.) I love this website because it is full of creative ideas for customzing and/or personalizing all of that pressed particle board. Actually, it's an inspiring website for those of us trying to decorate our homes on a budget, get a little more organzined, make better use of the space we have, etc. Believe me, some of the post make me wail and gnash my teeth that I don't live closer to IKEA, because my house would just be SO COOL if I did! Right now, I am absolutely in love with this hack. How cool is that?? *sigh*

5. Ken Jennings

If you're going to read the blog/website of a (semi) well-known person, shouldn't you at least learn something AND be entertained?? Of course you should!

Honorable Mention:

Hulu
Do you know about Hulu.com yet? If not, you should! You can watch tens of thousands of TV clips/shows AND movies, all for free, with limited advertising and NO commercial interruption! And it's not just current shows- there are past favorites too. Definitely worth checking out.