Blawg Review Nominations

In response to the anonymous Editor's call for nominations, the following posts are, in my humble opinion, the best of the best in what was an outstanding year of Blawg Reviews. As I did last year, I've limited myself to just five posts more-or-less arbitrarily; there were certainly many other Blawg Reviews which deserve serious consideration as "Blawg Review of the Year."

• Blawg Review #141 -- Hosted by Charon QC, this post was not only the first of the year but also the best and it gets my "extra credit" vote. If a new host asks how Blawg Review should be done, we should just point him or her to this post. Charon accomplishes what I think of as the three main objectives for a Blawg Review -- he gathers the best legal blogging from the preceding week, he highlights bloggers who may not have yet received the attention they should (in this case, introducing British bloggers to Blawg Review's majority North American audience), and he does it all in style. Last January I wrote, "I've only just completed my nominations for last year's Blawg Review of the Year award; Charon's #141 deserves the first place on my nominations list for this year's award." For once, something I predicted came to pass; Charon was first and best in a tremendous 2008 for Blawg Review.
• Blawg Review #147 -- Last year, Eric Turkewitz, took the readers of Blawg Review #134 on a run through the New York City Marathon; most of us had only just recovered our breath by the time Rush Nigut pedaled us through the [Des Moines] Register's Annual Great Bicycle Race Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). Nigut managed to keep the wheels from falling off and produced a wonderful narrative. Although I've not been to Iowa in years and don't even own a bike, I was entertained from Missouri Valley to LeClaire.
• Blawg Review #171 -- My fellow Blawg Review Sherpa Victoria Pynchon gave us a provocative virgin-themed Blawg Review in August. With my delicate sensibilities, I had hoped that she was going to talk about virgin olive oil, virgin wool, or Virgin Atlantic. She didn't, but I managed to get through it and was rewarded for my perseverance. Famous virgins throughout history and legal blogging turned out to be a combination nearly as good as peanut butter and chocolate.
• Blawg Review #188 -- This year, taking a break from Blawg Review marathoning, Eric Turkewitz invited everyone over for Thanksgiving instead. I wish all the get-togethers I attend were this entertaining. Turkewitz has written that composing a Blawg Review is "a great way to have fun" and his enjoyment shows in Blawg Review #188.
• Blawg Review #191 -- Charon's Blawg Review was a tremendous start to the year and Ron Coleman's Blawg Review was a worthy conclusion. I called Coleman's Chanukah-themed post "brilliant in every sense" and it's deserving of a Blawg Review of the Year vote. Each week, I learn from the posts linked in Blawg Review; it's always a treat when, as here, I learn something from the Blawg Review post itself.

Best of luck to these five and to all the other contenders this year!