Rachel Johnson, editor of The Lady

Rachel Johnson, journalist and author, has been at the helm of The Lady for a year now, its ninth editor, and is breathing new life into its fusty pages. Her book, Diary of a Lady has just been published.

RACHEL'S FAVOURITE SITES

Obviously - dur! - as a mag editor I monitor the BBC, Times and Sunday Times and Daily Mail websites, and am glued to the Guardian Media site, so the following is my dressed-downtime pick.

India Knight - I've known India since she was a cool (and I a desperately uncool) adolescent, and she has stayed a heroine of mine. She has a wonderful eye - there's nothing ugly in her house - adores kitsch, writes effortlessly well and lives better than anyone I know. Her blog is bliss and I always love everything on it and feel jollier just knowing the stuff is out there.

The Lady - Not just because I'm the editor - the site has come on in ladylike leaps and bounds and has tons of exclusive blogs and features that you can't even get in your new, super-soaraway copy of The Lady magazine and a brilliant online edition thingie you can get for a quid.

Twitter - I am a late convert to Twitter but have to admit - the site is pure genius. It's hard to explain to people that don't feel the magic but it's so smart, so selective, so addictive. Follow me on @RachelSJohnson and @TheLadyMagazine. Even our office dog tweets @cocoladydog now.

Amazon - If you have a book out which I do (The Diary of a Lady) you will be on Amazon a lot. I find I buy almost all presents, kit for kids, sports stuff apart from books as I still try and try to use indie bookshops.

CN Traveller - An obvious one for the person who works in a central London office, dreaming of Rio. Very good site on where to stay and eat, and highly satisfying for the armchair traveller.

Ebay -
From stair carpet to teenagers' trainers - for all you need, all the time. Still haven't sold anything on eBay though...maybe when I'm retired. It's even got used copies of my books for 0.01p.

12 October 2010