Visual Aesthetics – 7
The blog’s look is quite simple, and the background color is very pleasant to the eyes. The images included in some of the posts are really visually stimulating.

The template has 3 columns, which is great for organizing a lot of content. At the moment, there isn’t much yet, so there is a lot of empty space. One suggestion is to fix the format so as to make use of the empty spaces in the right columns. Another suggestion: make sure to use consistent fonts in the posts as the differences take away from the visual experience.

User Friendliness – 9
Watching In Wonder is very easy to navigate as there aren’t too many posts yet. More so, the archives is easy to locate in the rightmost column. I suggest making more use of tags and categories in order to sort the posts and make it easier for readers to find them by topic.

Reading Enjoyment – 10
If you’re a sucker for historical fiction, you will certainly enjoy Watching In Wonder. This is easy reading, and the topic is relevant.

Useful Info – 10
As this is a work of fiction, you can’t really pick up tips and practical information as with other blogs. However, there is bound to be a lot of insight and information on this period in history.

Overall Experience - 8
Watching In Wonder is a work in progress, true; but it shows a lot of potential. If you are looking for something new to read, this might do the trick for you.

Visual Aesthetics – 10
The overall look of the blog is very very sleek. With a black background and white text, you really can’t go wrong. Add the plethora of relevant images contained in each post and you have a perfect visual experience. Oh, and don’t forget the header, which makes me feel sad yet comforted at the same time. Don’t ask me why.

User Friendliness – 9
Alan W. King’s Blog is very easy to navigate. All the relevant links are easily found in the right column. In spite of the number of photos, I didn’t have any issues with load time. The only thing that I had problems with is the font size. I love the font, but the small white text is not very friendly to my disadvantaged eyesight. Maybe make them a bit bigger for those who may not have perfect vision like me?

Reading Enjoyment – 10
Prior to reading Alan W. King’s submission e-mail, I had never heard about this man. In spite of this, I found myself hooked on his posts. His writing style is easy to follow and his choice of topics very interesting. From amusing male issues (see The B.B. Blues) to snippets about the Big O (I have to read this again!) – you’ll really enjoy reading this blog.

Useful Info – 10
INSIGHTFUL is the word I would use to describe Alan W. King’s Blog. It is a veritable treasure trove of ideas taken from life, from poems, movies, etc.; and for those who are on the lookout for something to read/watch/listen to, you just might discover something new in Alan W. King’s Blog.

Overall Experience - 9
I have six words for you: Click on the blog link NOW.

Visual Aesthetics – 7
A black, red, gray, and brown header with plain text does not make much for visual aesthetics. More so, the blog is mainly made up of huge blocks of text, which is not exactly eye candy. However, as Daniel himself says, the blog is all about prose and stories and ideas – the visuals are what you conjure up in your head.

User Friendliness – 9
Prose, DC is quite easy to navigate and very well organized. The only drawback is having to read the long blocks of text, which, as I said earlier comes with the whole idea of the blog.

Reading Enjoyment – 7
Daniel reveals his thoughts and passions in his writing – there is no doubt about that. Perhaps the topics are just not my cup of tea but I didn’t really enjoy reading through the posts. His readers, of course, would disagree as they show their appreciation in their comments. Each to his own.

Useful Info – 5
There isn’t really much by way of useful information in Prose, DC.

Overall Experience - 7
If this type of literary work is your kind of thing, then you would enjoy Prose, DC. I suggest at least a visit and determine for yourself.

Technorati Tags: personal journal, prose, literature

Stealth Fiction

I was expecting to find some gaming or a marine/navy/air force site from the blog title so I was pretty much taken by surprise to find a literary blog. I was not really far off base though because the author was a load master in the air force though right now he is in the real estate business.

Visual Aesthetics – 10

Very clean well designed blog. I like the blue, I like the neatness, the organization, the Flickr photo gallery at the bottom of the page, and the entire look and feel of this blog.

User Friendliness – 10

Very very user friendly. From the post readability to the layout of each feature. Can’t wait for the Featured Content Section to be completed. It’s really nice how the author gave a page each for Digg, Flickr, YouTube, and other Links making his entire blog extremely well organized.

Reading Enjoyment – 8

I definitely enjoyed the poems and stories in this blog, even some of his real estate stories. Of course there’s the occasional average post but this blog is definitely the blog of someone who loves to write. Only problem is that there’s a bit more typo in this blog than I would like. Cris should start editing his posts or at least use Firefox 2.0 for spell check. The typos mar his otherwise fine writing.

User Info – 6

A personal blog with more lyrical posts than the typical daily rant. This blog definitely has not much information to yield but still makes for really fine reading.

Overall Experience - 8

A pleasant surprise of a blog. I really enjoyed his poems and his unforgettable stories though I’m still waiting for the third installment. The author seems to be pretty busy since he hasn’t been posting except in the Digg section of his site.

Technorati Tags: Literary, Real Estate, Poems, Lyrical, Stories, Personal Blog

Fevered Mutterings

Fevered Mutterings is all about the (mis)adventures of aspiring travel-writer and village idiot (or so he claims) Mike Sowden. The author seems to be really into writing, whether it’s about his daily experiences at home, his wardrobe, his breakfast, or his home town somewhere in the UK. What’s great about writers who blog is that they bring in the same passion and flair for writing into their blogs. Reading Fevered Mutterings is like reading the manuscript of a well-written autobiography one day at a time.

Visual Aesthetics – 7

Fevered Mutterings uses a default Typepad theme, which is a simple two-column layout with the sidebar to the left. The layout uses minimal graphics, but instead focuses on the use of color combinations to emphasize important points and to separate the main content from the sidebar. The author uses images on most entries, and this helps the readers visualize the ideas he’s trying to convey. It’s nothing dramatic nor praise-worthy, especially with the use of a stock layout, but we give the blog above average points for sticking to something that works.

User Friendliness – 5

The main column text has high contrast, but I can’t say the same for the sidebar text, which can be a bit unreadable because of low contrast and the use of small fonts. The sidebar has an accessible “about me” link, and links to the archives, but the post entries’ static links are accessible via small links at the bottom of each entry. This can be difficult to access, especially if one wants to link to a specific post, or view comments.

Reading Enjoyment – 10

Reading enjoyment is the saving grace of Fevered Mutterings, the author being into writing. His blog posts manifest his passion for the art, which even extends to other media, such as film and music–topics that the author writes about occasionally. Whether you share the same interests or not, it is likely that you will enjoy reading Mike‘s blog because of the way he conveys his ideas.

Useful Info – 7

Fevered Mutterings is mostly a personal blog, but the author touches on several topics that readers might find interesting, not necessarily in a practical way, but because of the ideas that the author tries to convey. Still, it’s more of the “interesting” material, rather than really “useful” material, so we give it a tad above average rating.

Overall Experience – 7

Fevered Mutterings is well-written and the writing style of the author makes it an enjoyable read. One might have difficulties with the actual site, though, because of small typeface and some low contrast problems, particularly in the sidebar. Still, if you’re for the content rather than design, then this blog is worth the visit.

Technorati Tags: writer, author, literature, personal, journalism, travel