This afternoon I was filling in a couple of hours in the CBD of Melbourne before heading to the football and I gravitated to one of the major bookstores – as I do.
After looking through the business section I ventured into the area dedicated to computers – you know the one, full of books about coding languages that most of us will never know (or care to know). In the ‘internet’ section there were three books on blogging. I grabbed each one and sat down on the floor to see what I could learn.
The first two didn’t really grab my attention but one called Clear Blogging (aff) grabbed me – mainly because it was bigger than the other two and had a familiar ring to it.
Instead of starting at the front – I flipped to the index to see if there might be a section on ‘money’ or ‘professional blogging’. Imagine my surprise when I not only saw ‘professional blogging’ but saw numerous pages that mentioned ‘Problogger.net’.
Always one who is interested to see what’s being said about me I flipped to the first page to find a whole section dedicated to ‘An Interview with Darren Rowse’!
Suddenly I remembered why ‘Clear Blogging’ seemed so familiar – I’d spent a good 45 minutes with it’s author, Bob Walsh, on Skype a few months back! Not only that his publisher had sent me an e-copy to review (it’s buried under a whole heap of other ‘things to do’).
With two hours to kill I realized that I’d found the perfect way to fill in some time so proceeded to work my way through the book.
While I did only skim most of it – I was quite impressed with the depth and breadth of what Bob managed to cover in the book. It’s the most comprehensive book I’ve seen on the topic of blogging and well worth the read. I’d recommend it to any new blogger wanting both theory and practical advice about everything from the setting up of a blog through to the running of one.
Bob uses a lot of current examples and gives sound advice.
That is hilarious. You know you have become famous when you are killing time and end up reading about yourself in a bookshop!
I found my blog in a book not in the distant past and was amazed….then I woke up.
Congrats on getting published though Darren.
Very cool. I’ve just downloaded the free sample chapter from Bob’s book and am about to dive into it — looks like some really good stuff there, at first glance. {sigh} … and there goes the rest of my productivity for this morning…
Reading this review it reminded me of a movie
**************SPOILER WARNING*****************
The Number 23 was a book Jim Carry finds that he thinks he will like because it shares similar interests and as he reads the book starts to believe the book is about him.
Later realizing he did actually write the book.
lol… you must been really busy!
Thats good that finally the outside world is seeing the impact that bloggers have.
I suppose it would be because that what bloggers write are what real people think. Magazine and newspaper articles run by corporations generally have a “processed” feel to them.
Another title to add to my “soon to read” list.
This blog is “the blog” …. :)
I can’t even imagine. What a coincidence
Is there info about blogging that can be found in a printed book, that can’t be found online? I tend to find that printed books with the topic of computer / internet can get outdated pretty quickly.
Chris – I’m sure most of it is online – however it can be good to have it all in the one spot in an easily transportable way for those of us who like paper between our fingers.
Top 6 Most Prolific Bloggers – 1000 posts or more – looking for the top 100…
Technorati claims there are more than 68 million bloggers. I started wondering who among that group is adding the most content to the blogosphere. I am launching a search for the 100 most prolific bloggers. Who are you? Where are you?……
this looks very interesting I am lets say wet behind the ears when it comes to blogging but I have been writing for a number of years! thanks for the heads up on what looks like a great book!
Hmm. Interesting.
I wonder how much he paid you to market his book on this blog :)
[…] myself. The ultimate ego trip. Saturday March 3rd, 2007 | Categories: Books; Reading » Leave a comment […]
[…] Darren Rowse, the Problogger, bring up an interesting book that I’ll have to head to Amazon for. Apparently he was interviewed and mentioned in “Clear Blogging“. Very cool. […]
[…] Darren Rowse (Problogger) recommends “Clear Blogging,” a comprehensive book on blogging. He writes: While I did only skim most of it – I was quite impressed with the depth and breadth of what Bob managed to cover in the book. It’s the most comprehensive book I’ve seen on the topic of blogging and well worth the read. I’d recommend it to any new blogger wanting both theory and practical advice about everything from the setting up of a blog through to the running of one. […]
I have about a quarter of “Clear Blogging” left to read. In fact, it was Bob Walsh words that led me to your site. I am happy to hear you give the book thumbs up. I have found it incredibly informative.
Ameet – no money changed hands except for the few cents I might make per book that sells from the affiliate link above.
I will go check this book out this weekend. I often come to your site for blogging advise and know I need to move my blog off AOL – it’s just a question of doing the work involved. I registered the site name … but am dragging my feet. Thanks for always giving some great tips.
Always,
Catherine the redhead blogger
http://journals.aol.com/rapieress/Aweekinthelife/
Darren,
Thanks very, very much for the kind words, and for letting me interview you for Clear Blogging. All I can say is thank you!
Reading yourself in other’s book ? 100 years later I might achieved that :P
I found my name in the book “Son of Web Pages That Suck” when I was thumbing through it one day. I’m not the biggest fan of that book but it was interesting to be standing in Barnes and Noble next to my wife and saying, “Check this out.”
Based on your recommendation, Clear Blogging might be one I would pick up. Many of the other “Blogging” books have left me, shall we say, “underwhelmed”.
-dm
Funny, I just read Clear Blogging yesterday, right before this post. Good stuff.
I was glad I knew enough beforehand to be able to digest all of it. The book would make a new blogger’s head explode if trying to read it in one sitting, I think.
Your interview was pretty cool. I liked learning how you became a blogger and why… I didn’t realize you were one of the first 1,000 or so bloggers. Neat… According to that dude who owns Technorati the blogsphere doubles every 6 months or so?? Wild stuff.
Hey Darren. Thanks for the review. I’m from Sydney and went to get the book today. The first 2 sections are pretty basic but I’m just reading the third section now. It seems to contain a bit of decent information and not a lot of fluff like most of the other blogging books contain. You should consider doing a post where you list the top 10 books on blogging or something like that – might come in handy for the newbies who visit your site on a regular basis :)
I am just learning about blogging and found your site – very interesting. I too also found a book that is full of helpful tips and hints of surviving with a web site. It is “The Art of Internet begging or Fundraising for Dummies” at http://www.lulu.com/juliespage
The book I found out is much more than the title. It goes into detail on how to set up and promote a successful web site or blog. I have read it and found it has some useful information.
[…] Clear Blogging by Problogger.net […]
Darren,
That’s so cool to accidentally find yourself in the book. How fun to recognize it after the fact! I’ll have to check out the book. I know that I come here often/or read on my reader…This is one must read for me!
Deb aka Jersey Girl
[…] The best blogging book ever. [problogger] […]
Wow, and I thought I had a great weekend when I had my little brush with fame! I can’t imagine what it must feel like to stumble upon a book where you’re one of the featured subjects.
Congratulations! I’ll definitely have to check out this book .
Take care,
Jose
I bought this book a few days ago and have found it hard to put down. Yes, it’s pretty basic, but as a relatively new, slightly confused blogger, this book helps ‘bring it all together’.
I must admit, seeing Darren’s name on the back cover helped me pick this book over others.
-Shaun
[…] is usually because they have actively sought some type of fame or recognition). Hell, Darren Rowse can’t even recall all the times he has spent talking about himself! As I said, that is not an insult that is meant […]
I have read this book and can highly recommend it! It covers a wide base of topics and has some great tips. Especially for those just starting out blogging.
Thomas Flight