Are you always on the lookout for good blogs about life?
Me too.
The problem is that this digital merry-go-round is like a graveyard of rusty code.
Websites pop up constantly and are devoured by the Internet demons every day.
It can be hard to find a blog you resonate with, let alone a blogger that’s in it for the long haul.
I used to be signed up to a plethora of blogs, receiving email newsletters out the wazoo. More recently though, I’ve attempted to become more conscious of my Internet behaviour.
So in this article, I’ve tried to source some little gems in Internet wonderland for you. You’re welcome.
This article contains a hand-curated selection of the best blogs about life (in my humble opinions).
But before we dive into the list, a little rant…
Why Create the Listicle?
F0r years, I’ve loved reading blogs – everything from personal blogs, self-improvement blogs, marketing blogs. You name it.
There’s never been better access humanity’s greatest minds.
Without those pesky gatekeepers controlling everything, we can rummage around inside the brains of many great thinkers.
Thousands of years ago we would have had to travel to Athens to consume the wisdom of the ancients. Now, we can do it while sitting in our pants eating Doritos organic kale.
But the Internet bazaar has undergone a worrying shift in recent times.
Show Me the Money
Whereas most blogs about life were sharing…well, interestingness about life, there came a time when people started realising the income generating potential of the world wide webs.
People started throwing around words like attention economy, click through rate and lead generation.
It became less about sharing valuable information than generating ad revenue.
With that, the quality of tasty offerings available took a decided downturn.
Now I’m by no means against bloggers earning some Benjamin Franklin’s through their hard work. I think readers should definitely try to support their favourite creators and publishers.
But when the money becomes more important than the experience, there comes a problem.
This precipitated what I’ve come to call “my purge”, where I unsubscribed from most of the noise so I could tune back into the clear signal of stellar content.
The way I decided which blogs about life to include was thusly:
- Those which I read regularly.
- Those which I re-visit, without needing an email reminder to do so.
- Those which place reader experience at the forefront of their experience.
- Those which don’t annoy me with ads and too many other in-your-face promotions.
- Blogs which have been around for a while and will likely continue for
evera long time.
A caveat: A couple of the sites I’ve included might not be classed as blogs in the strictest sense, in that they’re multi-author publications. But, I’ve ensured to only include amazing brain food, so even though some of the entries might not be single creator projects, you should get a lot out of them.
16 of the Best Blogs About Life
It’s fair to say that the following blogs about life are all pretty esoteric.
However, the main theme with all of them and the reason they escaped the purge was that they stick (more or less) to the spirit of which the Internet was intended.
I can’t necessarily profess perfection on bloomsoup either – I’d love to be given the moral green light, but don’t judge me if I can’t live up to the same standards as these blogs 😉
Anyways, without further ado and in no particular order, here they are.
1. Tynan
You might have heard of Tynan through the moniker ‘Herbal’, one of the main characters featured in the book, ‘The Game’, by Neil Strauss. Tyan has had a pretty interesting life, learning the art of seduction as a Pick Up Artist (PUA), before setting up his own blog and getting involved in a range of different pursuits, from digital nomadism, minimalism, ebook writing, island-buying and more recently CruiseSheet, a business which has given him the freedom to travel more and pursue his wide-ranging interests.
Main topics: “Adventure, Traveling, Working Hard”
Start here: The 2019 Gear Post
2. Austin Kleon
Austin describes himself as “a writer who draws” and is the mastermind behind the books “Steal like an Artist”, “Newspaper Blackout” and “Show Your Work”. He’s also a daily blogger and talks a lot about the creative process and what it means to create art. He takes you behind the scenes of his life, providing a wonderful snapshot of a successful creator. I’ve also discovered muchos links to other interesting sites from his posts.
Main topics: Writing, Creativity, Daily Blog Updates
Start here: 100 things that made my year (2018)
3. Derek Sivers
Derek runs a website called sivers.org, but he actually started and then sold a company called CD baby for 22 millions of dollars. He’s a bit of a nomad and also somewhat of a Renaissance man it seems, pursuing his passion for learning ona range of subjects. He’s a programmer and generally starts any projects that tickle his fancy. As he’s not really a money-driven person, his blog makes for great reading. The posts are short and concise and although he doesn’t publish too regularly, his updates are always jammed with insights. This year, he’s also got three self-published books coming out, so watch out for those.
Main topics: Self-improvement, Business, Life
Start here: No yes. Either HELL YEAH or no
4. Tim Ferris
Ah, the Godfather of the modern Internet business owner himself. You may have heard about Tim from his uber-successful book, “The 4-Hour Workweek”, which made a generation of millennials (myself included) want to quit their jobs and figure out how to live the laptop lifestyle. In addition to producing some other bestsellers such as the “4-Hour Body” and more recently, “Tools of Titans”, Tim hosts a rather popular podcast, where he interviews an eclectic bunch of superstars from a range of different fields, including Hollywood A-Listers, scientists and athletes.
Main topics: Human Performance, Life Hacking
Start here: Scientific Speed Reading
5. Aeon
Ok, so I may be cheating with this one, as Aeon is technically more of a magazine with multiple authors, but it’s kinda still a blog, and it’s awesome. As a non-profit, Aeon is dedicated to disseminating knowledge without all the clickbaity-ness of other sites. Its articles are authored by the top specialists in their respective fields and the topics are wide-ranging, including psychology, culture and economics. You’re sure to find something there please your big old cerebrum.
Main topics: Culture, Philosophy, Psychology
Start here: The empty brain
6. Nautilus
In the same vein as Aeon, Nautilus is a high-brow magazine that primarily focuses on the sciences. The articles are long-form and expertly researched. Each month they choose a single topic to cover, combining sciences, culture and philosophy into one story. The caveat is that you only get a certain article quota per month before you have to upgrade to their paid plan (I thinks). The site contains essays, investigative reports and blogs, so yay for all that.
Main topics: Biology, Ideas, Culture
Start here: What Boredom Does to You
7. 27B/6
Right, time for a more lighthearted blog about life. 27B/6 is a site created by David Thorne, an Australian satirist who posts a series of comedic email exchanges and general tomfoolery from his life. The back and forth between David and his marks is delightful, displaying a rather fine level of people-goading and penmonkeyship.
Main topics: Comedy, Humour, Satire
Start here: Chairs
8. Chuck Wendig
Chuck is writer of books and sometimes comics. He also indulges in some quite fantastic macro-photography and is a maker/namer of sandwiches, including the now infamous Wendigo. He’s got a wonderful potty mouth so many of his articles are NSFW. He also has a highly amusing and quite explosive Twitter feed. If you’re into creativity, writing and general arty goodness, check him out.
Main topics: Writing, Creativity, Blog About Life
Start here: In 2019: Persist, Persist, Persist
9. Seth Godin
If you’re involved in the business and marketing world at all, you might well have heard of Seth. He’s written 18 books and has an eye-bogglingly popular blog about life. In addition to all his traditional publishing, Seth has maintained written a daily blog post for years, amassing over 7,000 articles (Novemeber 2017). Mental. His posts are usually short and sweet, but are full of wisdom bombs. He’s also created an alternative to traditional education with his altMBA program and has a podcast, Akimbo, which waxes lyrical about our culture and how we can change it.
Main topics: Business, Marketing, Life
Start here: Quality and effort
10. Farnham Street
Farnham Street was created by Shane Parrish, the name taken from the street address of Warren Buffet’s company, Berkshire Hathaway. The site bills itself as “a collection of signal in a world full of noise” and aims to show readers how to live a meaningful life. The blog takes a deep dive into topics ranging from history, philosophy and science, and the force is strong with this one, boasting an avid readership and fs community.
Main topics: Personal Development, The Art of Living
Start here: Mental Models
11. Brain Pickings
Started by Maria Popova as a newsletter of interesting tidbits for her colleagues, the site has since ballooned in popularity. Combined with Maria’s work ethic, including voracious reading and curation of the best bits from the world of literature, creativity and psychology, it’s a veritable utopia of interesting information. Going onto her site is like delving down a rabbit hole. Before you know it, you’ve clicked through a series of links and end up reading about an obscure author you’ve never heard of – a delightful experience.
Main topics: Literature, Creativity
Start here: A Stoic’s Key to Peace of Mind
12. zen habits
One of the fathers of the blogging movement, Leo Babauta was one of the first heavyweight penmen that blazed a trail for those that would follow. His blog, as the name implies, is all about simplicity and living the good life. The site is minimal with no flashy colours or garish ads, where great writing and succinct articles take precedent. Definitely worth checking out if you’re into self-improvement and living the good life.
Main topics: Personal development, Minimalism
Start here: Breathe
13. Richard Herring
You might not have heard of Richard Herring unless you’re from the UK. He’s a “comedian, writer, blogger and podcaster and the world’s premier semi-professional self-playing snooker player”. He also indulges in a spot of stone clearing from his local field. Richard bangs out a daily blog, a habit that I’m trying to instill myself. His articles about this little thing we call life, provide humorous accounts of his day-to-day living and general musings.
Main topics: Daily blog about life, Journal
Start here: 2/1/19
14. Longreads
Many articles have on the tinterwebs have become rather Buzzfeedy in their articles, a trend which Longreads has steadfastly ignored. As the title suggests, these articles are loooong and comprehensive, covering an array of fascinating subjects. They’re the kind of think-pieces you want to read on a lazy Sunday morning with your favourite mug of ground Ethiopian in hand. Well worth a gander.
Main topics: Storytelling
Start here: The Science of Dreaming
15. The Bloggess
Jenny Lawson has a fantastic blog about life, the universe and everything. Her site contains “dark humor mixed with periods of brutally honest mental illness”. Jenny’s digital bazaar includes regular snapshots of her daily goings on, including interest in “Victorian books about diseases” and “badly taxidermied animals wearing clothing”. Oh, and she’s also a two-time NYT best-selling author.
Main topics: General-ness, “Bizarre Thoughts”, Satire
Start here: Probably the best present I ever bought…and got
16. kottke.org
Created in 1998 by Jason Kottke, this is one of the oldest blogs on the world wide web. It covers “essential people, inventions, performances and ideas that increase the collective adjacent possible of humanity”. It’s basically a darn-fine curation of interesting links that will have you clicking around like a madman/woman. Fancy yourself a bit of a polymath? Well, you’ll have no shortage of material to pique your interest.
Main topics: Esoteric loveliness
Start here: “Beastie Boys Book”
17. Craig Mod
Craig Mod is a wonderful site, bristling with thoughtful pieces and insightful articles. The man behind the mission has written for such fine publications as Wired, The Atlantic and publishes his own work in this delightfully minimalist number, along with associated newsletters. He splits most of his time between the US and Japan where he has a deep cultural understanding, borne in no small part from his walks along ancient Japanese trails. The site epitomises slow living and reminds us to reclaim our time and more importantly, attention, in an increasingly distracted world.
Main topics: Japan, tech, cultural insight
Start here: Essays and books
That’s all Folks…
So there you go you little bloomer. Go forth and get your blog on.
If you have any other suggestions for blogs about life that deserve some of my eyeball time, feel free to contact me here.
