I also think Whaling is a lot more interesting to learn about than the unnecessary lore of a bunch of fantasy universes.

-informing the reader the specifics about whaling, and how it all can feed back into Ishmael's characterization. I'm usually much of a fan of heavy exposition in story telling, but I think the way it works in Moby Dick as a way for characterization is great.

It's been a great year :D

I'm also happy I've read the LOTR trilogy, even though I'm not as hot on it as a lot of people are. It's an important story when it comes to modern fantasy and the troupes a lot of other works follow, and I think Frodo is cool.
I'll read the works that inspired it in the future as well.

I think Stephen King really kills it when it comes to character writing, which is why I adore The Shining a lot as a narrative. The entire broken family dynamic the story expresses, and the way he's able to successfully capture the voices of the different pov characters is excellent.

I've only read stuff like Lord of the Rings, and Mistborn so far, so I want to expand out and find gems that can hopefully influence my writing and make me a better writer! :)

-enjoyed the action quite a bit, I think the setting is cool, and I think Kelster and Vin are both pretty fun to follow. I'm interested in seeing where the story goes from where I'm at (I'm at chapter 10,) I think I'll probably get the rest of the series whenever I buy more books. :D

-I haven't started Return of The King yet. Once I finish Lord of The Flies (ironic,) I'll get to it.

-passion he has for the setting. His writing is excellent when it comes to immersing the reader into the work, the diction of the prose and character dialogue feels becoming of the time period that inspired Lord of the Rings.
I also really like the journey Frodo experiences throughout, though-

I am changing "Media Reviews" to a general blog section so I can talk about things outside of media. (Specifically developmental editing advice since that's the sort of thing I have done the most.)

I think the overt narration in this story really does enhance the emotional depth of the piece. It's a great example of why to me "show don't tell" isn't a rule to follow, but a tip to consider. Sometimes telling can be more emotionally powerful, it's just about context.