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For the amount of time she’s been blogging about books, words, and the particular perils of growing up in Florida and living in Brooklyn, we’re a little scandalized by how few interviews of Maud Newton there are on the Web. We aim to rectify that situation.

Since starting her site in 2002, Maud’s credits have bloomed. Her journey from blog to being featured in The New Yorker or writing book reviews in the New York Times, among other outlets, has been a inspirational testament to the power of personal publishing.

According to the MaudNewton.com legacy, this is how you make a lit-blog: build credibility by posting frequently and sanely about books you love, writers you respect, issues you are passionate about; prove that what ultimately makes the reading experience, and dare we say a literary community, is revealing the human being behind the blog. Maud does that in a way we have yet to see anywhere else, with modesty and honesty. Sincerity may be her trademark, and it loops us back to pay attention to the books she loves.

Sure, we love the interviews with writers, and the scoop on the latest fires burning in the land of literary fiction. But what keeps us coming back are the Ruminations on Writing (oh, that 10-year-novel), the Weekend Ancestry, her obsession with Mark Twain, and whatever future fascinations lie ahead.

As further testimony on Maud’s appeal: Maud was once asked by another interviewer, “Where do you summer?” In response, she was heard to say:

I can tell you’re not paying off student loans. “Summering” to me means a cold beer, sunglasses, a grill, and a hot breeze blowing over the factory and into my Brooklyn backyard.

This is why we love Maud. Read the full profile...

Since we wrote about BookMooch in late 2006, the site's membership has doubled, and the number of mooched books has more than tripled. Founder John Buckman has clearly encouraged a worldwide community of book lovers and library fans to share their favorite reads. When we checked in with John, he told us about his attachment to books, the personal notes he gets with his mooched novels, and how sharing helps the global community get along just a little bit better.

Hey John, how did you get the inspiration for BookMooch?

I was on vacation and visiting a small town community center for a concert, and the entire entry area of the community center was filled with book shelves. There was a sign that said "leave a book, take a book" and people were browsing the collection, others were bringing boxes of books in, and still others were talking about books, recommending them to others. I loved the fun, friendly feeling that existed in that space, and I asked myself "could I recreate this feeling on the Internet?" When I went searching for book swaps, I did find other sites, but none that captured the camaraderie, friendship, and most of the all, the love of books, that this community center did. Read the full profile...

All the Presidents Men
Pissing in the Snow
With No Fear of Failure

Not that this is all just fun and games. The Athenaeum Arts and Music Library in La Jolla, C.A. opened their stacks to our sort-happy shutterbug. And in 2004, the Strindberg Museum allowed her to play with the Swedish writer's texts. We loved the images of the sorted Scandinavian spines, but our hearts belong with the dash of humor that comes with the occasional self-help book:

Hamlet
What's Eating You?
Hey, Man! Open Up and Live!