I've always been one to read backwards, especially in the bookstore but also often with new non-fiction books I'm excited about. I'll just open the book randomly and read and then go back to the previous page and keep going for a while and then open at another random spot and read. I hate having to start at the beginning slowly and get introduced with background material and all that. Perhaps it is just impatience. I just dive in and immerse myself.
So, I guess it's not surprising that I've found a way to do something similar with blog surfing. Here's what I do. I find a blog that I like. Then I copy the blog's URL to the clipboard and go over to Technorati Cosmos and paste the URL in and click Get Link Cosmos. This shows me everyone who is linking or has linked to the blog I like. Now I can surf among those who like the blog I like.
It also shows me (1) how many inbound blogs and links each linker has, (2) an excerpt from the blog if available and (3) a cosmos link for that blogger which allows you to take a step further back in the chain.
The more conventional approach is to look at the links my blogger of choice has listed as his or her favorites and then try them out. I do that too. But there's something about going backwards that appeals to me.