Charles Finch

For me, the greatest blog came into being about half a century before the internet, and lasted two years: As I Please, George Orwell's endlessly readable weekly column in the Tribune. (Which still comes out, by the way.) Consider this sample column, in all its magpie glory. Orwell wrote chiefly about politics in his column, but also about book collecting, daily life in World War II London, gardening, pamphleteering, pubs, Shakespeare, and, in one memorable instance, Woolworth's sixpence rose bushes. (Here's a complete roster of the columns, all of which are well worth reading.)

Though my subjects, mystery novels and the life of a writer, are less serious than Orwell's were, I'd like to borrow his style, and use this blog to write about all of my own small loves, from travel to Arsenal FC to the presidential campaign to New York City life to Edmund Spenser (not too much, I promise) to the show Lost. If the best bloggers are those who post often -- the one scarcity on the internet is content -- I may not be a success. But where else will you find Spenser, the mystery novel, and English footie in one place?