This Omnivore is no dilemma: just read it.

March 7, 2010 10:42 AM

Like books? Like meaty posts with lots of links? If you're a reader who loves, as Sonya Chung puts it, "gorging [yourself] on all this content" you're going to love the Omnivore, a blog at Bookforum. Some posts are all over the place; their links seemingly unrelated. Others stick closely to a topic. All are fascinating.

Bookforum is brought to you by the same people who publish Artforum. Their book reviews (registration required) are excellent, as is the magazine itself (yep, you guessed it: registration required there, too. But it's free, and this is one of the best book publications out there, so it's worth it!).

posted by ocherdraco (24 comments total)

thanks!
posted by la_scribbler at 11:03 AM on March 7, 2010

It may be great, but I hope to actually remember to return to read it. No RSS/Atom feeds?
posted by Doug Stewart at 11:10 AM on March 7, 2010

This is good. Now, I'm going to have to disconnect my wifi if I'm going to get anything done at all today. Thanks, ocherdraco, I think.
posted by .kobayashi. at 11:20 AM on March 7, 2010

delightful. thanks!
posted by ms.jones at 11:22 AM on March 7, 2010

Doug, the Bookforum website has a unified RSS feed. Omnivore makes up the majority of the posts (others come from "In Print" and "The Daily Review" sections of the website).
posted by ocherdraco at 11:34 AM on March 7, 2010

@ocherdraco. Woohoo! Thanks!
posted by Doug Stewart at 11:39 AM on March 7, 2010

The only problem with Omnivore is that you won't have time for anything else. I think the true meaning of its name is that it will devour all readers.
posted by The Mouthchew at 11:50 AM on March 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

If I was allowed access to only one blog, it would be tough to choose between Metafilter and Omnivore (different as they are).
posted by Faze at 1:08 PM on March 7, 2010

Oh yeah, and at the end of the first entry (paragraph), there's a little thing that says "more". You click on that and the whole of Omnivore rolls out in its full glory. If you don't do that, you might wonder what the big deal is.
posted by Faze at 1:31 PM on March 7, 2010

Thanks a lot! And by that I mean, great, there goes my week. Or perhaps the next month.
posted by jokeefe at 1:40 PM on March 7, 2010

I love Omnivore, I read it every single day they post something. Arts and Letters Daily went off the deep end a bit with all the constant City Journal and denialist links. I find Omnivore posts a far wider variety of pieces on interesting topics with a generally higher standard.
posted by smoke at 2:10 PM on March 7, 2010

Holy! Is it legal for a site to have this much fantastic content?
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 2:36 PM on March 7, 2010

If I was allowed access to only one blog, it would be tough to choose between Metafilter and Omnivore (different as they are).

I've had this exact thought on several occasions I can immediately think of, and surely more besides.
posted by nevercalm at 2:40 PM on March 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

Oh yeah, and at the end of the first entry (paragraph), there's a little thing that says "more". You click on that and the whole of Omnivore rolls out in its full glory. If you don't do that, you might wonder what the big deal is. (Faze)

Faze, if you click on the link to "The Omnivore" in the post above, it takes you directly to the blog. You don't have to go to the Bookforum homepage first.
posted by ocherdraco at 2:51 PM on March 7, 2010

Metafilter: Holy! Is it legal for -- etc.

_{Is this meme still alive?}
posted by Someday Bum at 4:43 PM on March 7, 2010

It's awesome that their default is to have links open in a new window. Why doesn't MeFi do this?
posted by morganannie at 4:47 PM on March 7, 2010

I'm flabbergasted that this hasn't been posted here before. I have to seriously ration the time I spend on the Bookforum Blog - keep it out of my RSS reader and only allow myself to click on the bookmark every week or so. Too. Much. Good. Stuff.
posted by Fin Azvandi at 4:57 PM on March 7, 2010

It's awesome that their default is to have links open in a new window. Why doesn't MeFi do this?

Really? I frigging hate that. If I want a new window, I'll right click and make one myself, thanks very much.
posted by smoke at 5:09 PM on March 7, 2010

Really? I frigging hate that. If I want a new window, I'll right click and make one myself, thanks very much.

To each his own, I suppose. Right clicking is the extra step that I shouldn't be annoyed about, but I am.
posted by morganannie at 5:12 PM on March 7, 2010

Why doesn't MeFi do this?

It can; check off the "Open links in new windows?" box in your profile preferences.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 5:29 PM on March 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

Thank you.
posted by morganannie at 6:11 PM on March 7, 2010

Damn rabbit holes :(
posted by czechmate at 6:55 PM on March 7, 2010

oh my god it's full of stars
posted by Optimus Chyme at 8:48 AM on March 8, 2010

I've been reading this behemoth (well, skimming it) ever since before it was associated with Bookforum, when it was called Political Theory Daily Review. This was a bit of a misnomer, since most of the links were not about political theory at all. It's a wonderful morass to get lost in. Thanks for posting about it.
posted by blucevalo at 2:14 PM on March 8, 2010