I’ve read a ton in 2025 already, from massive fantasy fiction to thought-provoking nonfiction. Here’s a roundup of the highlights, starting with the biggest book I’ve read this year: Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson (3.5/5 Stars): Let’s start off with my highest anticipated read of 2024, which I finished at the start of 2025. …
Storytelling and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been in crisis mode since Avengers: Endgame. Why is that? I went on a quest to answer that very question. Recently, I watched through (most of) the MCU, adding in the movies and most of the shows I skipped in recent years. And honestly, a lot of the newer …
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Best Strong Women in Fiction
Confession: I don’t like a lot of women characters in fiction. On the one hand, you’ve got the one-note damsels in distress, which we’ve largely moved away from as a society. On the other hand, we’ve overcorrected with the tough girlboss trope that largely masculinizes women. Neither extreme lends itself well to creating and presenting …
All About Teamwork
My fantasy series WIP, The Myth-Keepers, is a teamwork-driven story, and as I’ve worked on it, I’ve reflected on some of the best teams in fiction. Now, I certainly could talk about nonfictional teams as well, such as the Minnesota Vikings, which would be a well-deserved shoutout, but I’ll stick to fictional ones. After all, …
Writing Lessons: Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive
Leading up to the release of Wind and Truth, I reread Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive (abbreviated to “Stormlight” throughout).Along the way of revisiting one of my favorite fantasy series, I made some mental notes on how to apply Sanderson’s mastery of fantasy world-building into my own tales and what my fellow fantasy writers might …
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Of Kings and Prophets
After years of putting it off, I finally achieved a long-time goal of mind: read through the Kings & Prophets of the Old Testament chronologically. It took me all of 2024 and was such a sweet, rewarding way to engage with Scripture last year. So, I wanted to share some of the main insights and …
Writing Update January 2025: A New Year Full Of New Excitement
Happy 2025! Wow, can’t believe I haven’t written on the blog since last year… (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Anyways, terrible joke aside, I have some exciting progress to report. Since my last writing update, despite starting a Ph.D. program in the Fall, I managed to write a rough draft for not one, but TWO novels! …
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Reading Recap 2024
In 2024, I read 52 books across a wide range of genres and interests: fiction and nonfiction, fantasy and YA thriller, sci-fi and mystery, classics and writing advice—and more. I finally finished reading The History of Middle-earth series, a major achievement that took me about a decade. I also reread a few favorites, like Andrew …
My Top Ten Christmas Movies
I absolutely love the Christmas season, and one of my favorite things to do during December is watch all the classic, beloved Christmas movies I can. It’s been a bright spot in the middle of wrapping up the Fall semester! While my favorites are probably ones you’re familiar with, there are a couple of somewhat …
Thanksgiving Post 2024: Hope
Earlier this Fall, my brother and I checked off a bucket list item: going to our first Imagine Dragons concert. We road-tripped out to middle-of-nowhere Missouri with a plan for my brother to drive us through the night so I could make it back home in time to teach my 8am class the next morning. …
By Madelynn Orion 