Usually when I enter a weblog for the first time I dive straight into the “about” page. With The Book of Paige it was different- I actually stopped on the front page and got caught up in the writing before I felt the need to go elsewhere. Now that’s a sign of a good blog.
You can’t go more than three posts in this weblog without finding one that sucks you in. One of my favourite post was about M&Ms, of all things! Paige, the author, has a love of writing and books, and with her writing abilities and inspiration combined can make the most unexpected things very readable and amusing or thought provoking.
I’d say that Paige’s writing would appeal more to female readers, as she often writes about issues that would be of more relevance to them: A response to a 1955 Good House Keeping article, how to make a plastic bag bra [very useful for the unemployed- read “broke”- among us!], Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream. However, there is enough variety to make this an enjoyable visit for anyone.
As for the layout, I definitely prefer the current one as opposed to the one used in the archives. It is clean and easy to navigate and has good use of colour. The weblog has an ‘about’ page and links to the books and CDs that Paige is listening to. This is a nice idea but I’d have preferred them to take you to a another page in the site as opposed to the Amazon site. With Paige’s writing skills, I’m sure that a reading and listening page with her views on the books and CDs would be a worthwhile addition to the site.
Whilst The Book Of Paige uses a simplistic design and focuses mainly on the day to day life of its author, the quality of the writing is what really won me over. With the new layout highlighting the writing more than ever, if you haven’t visited this site before then I would definitely recommend you go there now.The Book of Paige