Five Must (Ought to) Reads

Here are five sites that are worth bookmarking (four have RSS feeds.)

1. Swans (www.swans.com) is a biweekly journal of politics and culture. It is wide ranging and thoughtful and you can sign up to have it sent to your inbox. I find myself racing to read it the moment it arrives.

2. Tiny Words (http://tinywords.com) is an (almost) daily haiku. It is available for syndication via RSS. It is a small treat to help start the day.

3. Grow-A-Brain (http://growabrain.typepad.com/growabrain/) is a brief look at a wide range of topics. Both funny and thoughful it is a wonderful source for text, image, and sound on topics that might not be at the top of your to-do list. It is available for syndication via RSS.

4. Iraqi Blogs at Alive in Baghdad (www.aliveinbaghdad.org/aib) is a group blog from Iraq mostly by Iraqis who are writing about their neighborhoods. It is a different perspective than what we typically see on the mainstream media. It is available for syndication via RSS.

5. Resource Shelf's DocuTicker (www.docuticker.com) is the document side of the fantastic Resource Shelf. An eclectic range of documents (mostly in pdf) it is useful for matching reports to sources but I usually find one worth reading for myself and I always find something that a friend or colleague will appreciate reading. It is available for syndication via RSS.

OK, I said five but here is another...

6. Crooked Timber (http://crookedtimber.org) is a group blog which covers ideas and higher education (which is not always contradictory.) Good thoughtful work. Also available via RSS.