Review 3220

I loaded this site into my browser several times before actually sitting down to read it. Each time I thought I would have time to read through the archives, I was interrupted by something else. One thing I kept remembering about “A Woman of Many Parts” was the vivid design. This much usage of oranges and reds can easily become distracting to the actual site, but in this case, the design turned into something that allowed me to remember the site before even reading it. That’s an indubitable sign of a design that works.

As I started from the beginning, I learned that Minerva, the author of the site, did not originally start this weblog to chronicle her bout with breast cancer. And according to the first available entry on this site, “A Woman of Many Parts” is a resurgence of a previous blog the author kept. The comments on this site indicate that a loyal following was definitely glad to see her back in the blogging world.

By reading the archives the start back in June 2005, it is extremely evident that Minerva is a writer. She drizzles her daily entries with original poetry and other entries are chock full of metaphors and similes. While it would be easy for most authors to go overboard when showing off their literary knowledge, this author keeps figures of speech in check and in turn complements her entries very well.

Minerva is a very personal writer. If something is affecting her daily life or if she’s struggling to find the answer to a situation that she’s currently experiencing, she writes about it. The majority of her daily updates stem from relationships she’s working through or how her life has changed so dramatically over the few months before this site started and the entire journey through her archives. Because she writes this way, it makes it very easy for readers to grab a personal connection with this author. This is why she has such a loyal group of readers that appear to be supportive and encouraging in their comments.

Readers see Minerva experiencing many “firsts” in her life and she doesn’t hide anything when relaying it through her writing. She spends her twins’ 10th birthday without them or how she experiences life while not involved in a relationship, for example. Beginning in late-August when Minerva finds a lump in her breast, we experience more frightening firsts with her – chemotherapy and a shaved head.

This is a site where readers will experience, to a much, much lesser degree, the ups and downs that Minerva is going through simply by following along in her regular entries. She doesn’t leave out many details, but doesn’t drone on and on about things readers would find boring or monotonous. In other words, this author has a great handle on writing. It’s no wonder she’s been in the process of writing her first novel.

As I’ve stated, this is a blog that will grab the emotional side of a reader and draw him/her in for the duration of the site. It’s certainly worth visiting and perhaps, for a lot of people, worth bookmarking. NULL

Review 3220

A bright, vibrant layout welcomed me as I loaded this blog in my browser and from the title, I thought it might be a blog containing the daily gripes of some random teenage girl. To my delight, I was wrong. My eyes were completely caught off-guard by the bright enthusiastic colors, which was a welcome sight after seeing so many dreary colors on other blogs.

Upon reading the entries, I found myself getting very focused on what the author wrote. By the time I finished reading, I felt as if I had spoken to an old friend and learned quite a lot about her. I believe Minerva puts a lot of emotion into her writing, which is evident by the posts that I read. It appears as though she intentionally writes the posts as if she’s speaking to a friend, not an unknown reader.

The design of this blog speaks well for itself. The layout is composed of bright colors, which are easy on the eye with a “retro” feel that can be seen in the graphics and background. The great thing about this design is that anything can be posted over it. I mean, Minerva could probably call her readers every name in the book and the reader would still feel like they were complimented when they depart from the blog.

This blog features a “tag board” for easy commenting and cancer resources. The cancer resources serve as a special feature because it’s obviously close to Minerva’s heart as she talks about living with breast cancer in many of her posts. Overall, Minerva has a very “matter-of-fact” writing style, which I enjoyed and I would definitely recommend her blog to anyone. Great read!NULL