I have several articles on my notepad for the time to come, but for some reason, none of them will allow themselves to be written at the moment. Partly for that reason, I’m happy to introduce What To Read, a guide to what I’m reading while waiting for my creative oomph to return.

As I hope regular readers have noticed already, I’m kind of passionate about things. And since I don’t want to be alone with my passions – be they politics, pop culture, media criticism, gender issues, music, soccer or anything else – I’ve decided to gather up a collection of noteworthy links and stories for our common enjoyment. At the same time, I’m also taking a stab at greater transparency: By reading what I’m reading, you should be better equipped to understand why I reach the conclusions expressed in my writing. (Not that I expect anybody to be that interested) Also, this  feature will probably keep me from writing political columns on the blog.

You can find the Week 29 edition of What To Read here, or at the top of the page.

Finally, a note on my political and cultural horizon: Being a proud leftist, I’ll probably pick many of my recommended pieces from publications that share my general political outlook. All I can promise you is that I will do my best to make sure that my interest in well-reasoned, well-written and opinionated political journalism will itself keep me from recommending bland or predictable partisan stuff. Still, brace for more links to New York Times columnists than to the editorial staff at The Weekly Standard. On pop culture, favorites like Slate, Salon and New York Magazine’s Vulture blog will probably frequent mentions. They’re just that good.

Any suggestions? Use the comments section, or email me at welcometoallofthat@yahoo.com.