Sunday 31 July 2016

Nerd Church - The Real 'You'

I'm sure you've heard, time and again, that real life is not as 'glamourous' as it's portrayed by people on social media accounts.

And that's totally true. We, as people, like to impress and/or shock, so we tend to spin things to their fully exaggerated potential.










I hope that I personally don't do this - since I largely like to be honest with you lovely folks, and since most of my social media consists of me tweeting about how I want coffee. Because... well, coffee.

The Bestie will agree that this is a relatively accurate portrayal of my caffeine-habits (though maybe not much else.) I am essentially made up of coffee and cake - which maybe isn't traditionally 'healthy' but I think they get ignored too much in our diets #JustSaying. ;)





Still, when interacting with other people online, an element of trust is required.

You guys don't know my real name (because I'm paranoid about axe-wielding stalkers - it would be just my luck,) but you trust me when I tell you that I'm Welsh, or when I discuss my depression.













For all you lot know, those things may not be true (they are,) so there's definitely an element of you trusting me not to lie to you.

But the point has been argued (many times) that ignoring the mundane, the painful, or the less-than-glamourous, gives a less-than-accurate depiction of our lives - creating two of us: the online us, and the real us.





Now, from where I stand my life is pretty mundane all-in-all. It's only when I describe events to other people that it begins to sound like something that might be worthy of sensationalising in a made-for-TV movie.

Is this my fault? Is there something I do when I speak/write which makes things seem more exciting or dramatic than they really are/were? Am I subconsciously trying to make myself seem more interesting?

Or is it that we have a tendency to downplay things which happen to us? Are we trying to distance ourselves from the emotions they might cause if we looked at them objectively? (Or is this just me with my depression-logic?)












I can sit here, in my living-room, legs crossed as one foot falls asleep beneath me, and tell you about the time I spent as a carer for my mother while she had cancer, or the days I suffered through gut-convulsions, which put a random end to my uni studies before they'd even started.

Or I could tell you about all the painfully-long days I had, when I was trying to work through my office temp. job, when really all I wanted was to not exist. I could tell you about the time I spent wishing to be dead.

But still, to me, none of that feels dramatic.

Because even the painful stuff was interspersed with very long periods of boring day-to-day life. And even that very same painful stuff just seems... well, like par for the course.





As far as I'm concerned, my life is, indeed, boring.

I'm not a jet-setter, I'm not a famous writer (yet! fingers crossed!) and I've never been a militia-fighter or a drug-smuggler, or the CEO of a multinational corporation.

Yet if I think about the events of my life happening to someone who is not me - say, a character on a TV show, or in a novel - they take on a dramatic hue that I didn't realise they had. Suddenly, my boring, average, life becomes something worthy of note.










And that totally baffles me. Because, like I said, in my life, they just felt like something that was. Nothing extraordinary - just life being life.

So maybe, just maybe, the real 'you' isn't the one you portray on social media or the one you think of when you think of your day-to-day life.

Maybe it's a mixture of both - with a couple more ingredients thrown in for luck ;)




Nerd Church is a weekly post where I talk utter nonsense discuss topics and stuff like that!









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Saturday 30 July 2016

Month In Review(s) - July 2016

Ahhh, July - funny old month, some good things, some not-good things.

But, y'know, I'm still standing, and blog-wise things are looking uber-awesome if I do say so myself! :)




This is me this month. #TrueStory ;)




This month has been rockin' as far as blog-stats are concerned:

I hit over 20k page-views in all, with over 5k views just this month.

A lot of this was due to my most popular post of the month - my review of Luna the Vampire, which hit over 2k page-views all on its lonesome! (Honestly, I don't know why that post was so popular, but I'm not complaining!)

Diary of a Reading Addict now has 50+ followers on BlogLovin'.

I now have 900+ followers on Twitter!





I reviewed some awesome-a*s books this month - stand-outs for me include Nina Is Not OK by Shappi Khorsandi and Monstress, Vol: The Awakening. But honestly, I reviewed a lot of rockin' stuff this month!

And yes, before you say anything - I realise that of the 8 books I reviewed this month, 4 were graphic novels *shrugs* - there's nothing wrong with that!





As July 2016 faffs off into the sunset, I'm going to shamelessly point you at my post for The Diverse Books Tag.

I will also point you at Naz's awesome Read Diverse Books blog - check it out :)




And without further ado, here are the book reviews I wrote this month:





Kids






Thor: Dueling with Giants by Keith R A DeCandido - Fantasy, Media Tie-In







Young Adult




Panic by Lauren Oliver - Contemporary






New Adult




Nina Is Not OK by Shappi Khorsandi - Contemporary, LGBTQ+ (M/F and F/F)






Adult





Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson - (Modern) Classics, LGBTQ+ (F/F)








Graphic Novels




 

   



Luna the Vampire, Vol 1: Grumpy Space by Yasmin Sheikh - Humour, Sci-Fi, Paranormal, Vampire
Mythic, Volume 1 - Fantasy, Mythology








Friday 29 July 2016

Friday Fics Fix - Carry On Fluffiness

OK, so maybe, just maybe, we sometimes need stories which have the intellectual value of cotton candy.

And there's nothing wrong with that! Everyone likes a bit of fluff every now and then, right?









Well, at least I did. Because the amount of fanfiction smut and angst that exists in this world was starting to get to even yours truly - valiant warrior of fanfiction nuttiness!

(If there was an 18+ version of this blog, I'd tell you about it. But I can't, because there isn't.)













So, in order to give me some faith back in humanity *laughs a little desperately* I read a fluffy SnowBaz fic from the fandom of Rainbow Rowell's novel, Carry On (US.)

(I reviewed Carry On a while back - and you can read my review here. *Cheesy salesman's grin and thumbs up*)




For those of you who don't know, Carry On is a spin-off of a separate Rainbow Rowell novel, Fangirl (US,) where it's featured as a series of books which the main character wrote fanfiction about.

So what we have here is fanfiction based on a novel, based on fictional fanfiction, based on a series of fictional books, within a novel.

You got all that? ...Yeah, me neither. Isn't it great? XD












So this week's fic is about Simon Snow waiting for Baz to return to Watford magic school at the start of the term.

But he's not that bothered - because there's a kitty taking up residence in Baz's bed. A black kitty, with a haughty expression, who always seems to be judging him...

And the kitty is excellent company!





This week's fic then, my dear nerdlets, is:

Good Fortune by arituzz



Enjoy this dose of sugary fluff, and I'll see you for more fanfiction-y-ness next week!






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Thursday 28 July 2016

Comics Wrap Up - Just Gotta Get Right Out Of Here

Even for us unlucky folks who may very well never make it to the holiest of nerd-pilgrimage sites which is San Diego Comic Con (SDCC,) (dude, it's expensive!) this uber-celebration of geekery is important for all of us who love the nerdy-stuffs!

And, due to the magic of the interwebs (particularly YouTube) we can share in the goodies that are the interviews, announcements, and reveals of the event.

(And there's loads of them! Yay!)




This week's wrap-up is a look at some of the awesome things coming out SDCC - not all of it though, because, dude, I'm human!

So here are my picks of the fresh vids and news of SDCC, as well as the usuals from my week faffing around the medium of comics.







Film Trailers







Second Doctor Strange trailer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

(Still can't get over Benedict Cumberbatch & that accent though.

Like when Martin Freeman was putting on a Yank accent in Captain America: Civil War.

Reckon they'll end up in a movie together? With their awkward American accents and everything... lol!)




-0-








This teaser-type-trailer for Suicide Squad was actually released last week - but I only saw it this week, so it counts under this week's wrap-up. Because I said so. ;)




-0-




The trailer many people were waiting for was for Wonder Woman:







I have to ask though... is that supposed to be WW1 or WW2? Because there are parts that kind of look like both to me...

Anyway, this looks like it could be pretty cool... or not. Let's hope for cool ;)


-0-



There was also footage released of the upcoming Justice League movie.






I'm really not sure about this one... for several reasons that it would take too long to go into here but which start with Ben Affleck and the Batman costume, and move through various niggling points from there.

But what you gonna do? DC man, DC.




-0-





And last but not least, we have the character-focussed Suicide Squad trailers which've been released over the past week, featuring Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and The Joker:





DEADSHOT




HARLEY




THE JOKER









TV Trailers





I love this trailer for Legion. Legion is an X-men character who really hasn't been explored all that much - but has so much potential.

I'm glad FX have decided to pick this up. (Though of course, I still mourn the loss of the 'Marvel's Agent Carter' series.)









-0-




There are SPOILERS for the most recent  series of Gotham in this next vid - a show-reel of the craziness we went through last series, and a glimpse of the next series to come.

If you don't watch Gotham then why the hell not?! Seriously. Go think about your life choices ;) (and then watch it.)









-0-



There are also SPOILERS for the previous series of Arrow in this next vid:







Much as it pains me to say this - and it does pain me, of all the DC series this is one of my faves, and I'd even put it ahead of some Marvel properties (Gasp!) - I think this series has more than run its course.

I may be wrong - and lord knows I'd be happy to be - but it feels like we've actually come to not one but two natural endings over the course of the last 4 series, and now we're trying to reinvigorate something which maybe should've just been let be. #JustSaying




-0-




Annnnnddd this vid has SPOILERS for the previous season of The Flash:









Fans: Barry, don't do the thing.
Characters: Barry, why did you even TRY to do the thing?
The forces of good storytelling: Barry, please don't do the thing, please!
Everyone: FOR GOD'S SAKE BARRY, DON'T DO THE THING.

Barry: ...Guys? ...I did the thing...



Hopefully they can fix this, and not make it too irritating while they're doing it *buries fangirling head in hands* - we live in hope.




-0-




Some SPOILERS in this vid too, for the previous series of DC's Legends of Tomorrow:







Oh my gosh, this looks like it's going to be so GOOD! :)

One of my favourite things about Legends is that it's essentially the dregs of a bunch of DC shows cobbled together. It really shouldn't work. BUT GOD IT DOES.

*Brief interlude for me to hop about like the insane fangirl that I am*

Seriously, whoever decided to take a chance on this wacky beauty of a show - well done!







Other Stuff





I found this interview with G Willow Wilson (Ms. Marvel writer) uber-interesting - check it out:








-0-





Stephanie Tran @ Women Write About Comics discussed her reservations over Mark Millar's decision to make the new Kick-Ass lead a young black woman (as I mentioned a few weeks back.)

This includes a discussion of Millar's repertoire with regards to people of colour (PoC) and female characters, as well as his track-record when it comes to inclusions of rape in storylines.





There are some very interesting points made. I don't agree with all of them, but, then, when do I ever?

I certainly understand the trepidation over Millar's potential plans with this latest character, but also think that Millar has a reputation as a boundary-pusher. No, I don't always agree with his decisions (no way, no how!) but do I think we need boundary-pushers in comics? Hell yes!





Likewise, though, we need people like Stephanie Tran to question the decisions those boundary-pushers make, and explore the repercussions of the representations they decide to portray.

So yes, I understand the trepidation and worry about what Millar may or may not do with a black female Kick-Ass, but personally I reserve judgement until we've had a chance to see what Millar actually comes up with.






-0-





Danika Ellis @ Panels wrote a list of '5 Lesbian Mermaid Comics You Need To Read.'

Never say I don't provide you guys with variety. :)





-0-




UK people can see a documentary - we Brits do love a good docky-wocky ;) - on 'Britain's Favourite Superhero' on Channel 4 @ 7.30pm on Saturday, 30th July.

It features Stan Lee. You have to love Stan Lee. It's the rules.










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Wednesday 27 July 2016

The Writer Diaries - Micropoetry, July 2016

If you read this blog and/or my Twitter account a lot, you might know that I like to dabble aimlessly in micropoetry.

Micropoetry is basically poetry in the length of a tweet. Which is awesome, no?

So, without further ado, here's the micropoetry I wrote in July (which is hopefully a little more up-beat than a lot of my micropoetry has been in recent months!)






12th July



Can you know
I'm fragile glass,
And yet know
I'm strong as steel?

Can you take
Conflicting truths,
And believe
Both truths are real?












14th July




I know
It's never easy.
Just once
I wish
It wasn't quite
so hard.













18th July



You still don't get it
I'm not like you -
never was.
You're all made of sunshine,
but honey, I'm not.
I'm starlight,
I'm the stars.









21st July






Fingers dance across the keyboard
Pull the letters into the beat
Pirouette into a woven textile
Heart strings pulled along to the beat








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Tuesday 26 July 2016

Review time! - Nina Is Not OK by Shappi Khorsandi

Title: Nina Is Not OK

Author: Shappi Khorsandi

Genre: Contemporary, New Adult/NA, LGBTQ+ (M/F and F/F)

Release Date: 28 July 2016

Amazon: UK




A few starting notes:


I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher, Ebury Press, via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

I love Shappi Khorsandi. Funny, smart, and just down-right awesome, she's one of my favourite comedians.

This book isn't comedy (no, no, and no,) but still, like the little magpie that I am, I saw her name on the cover and went 'ooh! shiny!'

And luckily the publishers granted my eARC request. Because otherwise I would have been very sad.

And sad bookish rebels aren't something you want on your hands.






Premise:


Nina Swanson is 17. Her mum says she drinks too much. But mums worry like that.

Every 17 year old has the odd drink, right? Every 17 year old gets into clubs if they can. Every 17 year old gets drunk.

Every 17 year old starts the day with a vodka shot or two...right? Every 17 year old does stuff with strange men...don't they?

It's normal to not be able to remember what you did, and with who... isn't it?
Except it isn't. And things are going to get dramatic.

Because Nina? She's not OK. Not even close.





Best bits:



For a start, can we have a big freaking round of applause for Nina as a character?

I loved her. Realistic. Complex. But also just your normal girl, trying to find her way.

She was fab, and Khorsandi does an excellent job of not judging her, and taking us alongside in the spirit of not judging.

Also, a bi-sexual girl of mixed-race descent, with mental health problems? She's diversity on two legs, and it doesn't feel like a gimmick or tokenism, which is awesome.

And you really do root for Nina.

You want her to be alright. You want her to make it. Because Khorsandi weaves us into her life to the point where you do care about her.











A big shout-out has to go to Max, the father of Nina's best friend, Beth, who single-handedly manages to be the most capable parent (and not just to his own kid,) and least douche-bag-like member of the male gender, in this book.

Well done Max, well done.

Khorsandi skips and dances along the lines of sensitive subjects - showing a deftness of prose which is more than impressive.

Doubly so when you consider that this is her first novel (her previous book, A Beginner's Guide to Acting English (UK - US) was an account of her family's immigration to the UK.)

This was one of those books that leads you on and on with very little chance of letting you go.

You have to find out what happens next. You have to see what will happen to Nina.












It's not a choice - it's mandatory to read and finish this book, even when you're mentally screaming WHY BOOK, WHY?!?!?! at the top of your metaphorical lungs at all the feels.

(SO MANY THE FEELS!!!)

You still have to read it. You have to. Go, go read it now. It's excellent.

GO READ IT!!!!!!!!!!!







Not so great bits:



This is not one for people who are offended by swearing. Like, seriously. Lots of swearing. Many times. On pretty much every page.

I personally could've done with a little less detail on the ugly-drunken-sex front. Just saying. It was... yeah... less detail would've been lovely.









Realistic, I suppose, but I can see some people being down-right offended by the grim sexy-times.

There're a lot of issues which could be distressing to people here - including, but not limited to (because man, there is a lot going on in this book,):

  • sexual assault
  • rape
  • consent issues
  • mental health issues
  • alcoholism
  • family issues
  • suicide
  • trolls
  • 'slut-shaming'
  • emotionally abusive relationships


See? Told you there was a lot going on in this book.

It's not one for the faint of heart, quite plainly. There's some serious sh** going down here. So be warned.





Verdict:


If your interest is even slightly piqued by this review, go read the book.

Go on. Go read it. I'll wait.

Go. Read. The. Book. ;)














Monday 25 July 2016

Mini-Review! - Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson


Title: Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

Author: Jeanette Winterson

Genre: (Modern) Classics, LGBTQ+, F/F

Amazon: UK - USA





Verdict:

This is held up to be a modern classic, so I figured - why not? It looked interesting, after all.

I think this book doesn't get read enough because it's about *whispers* lesbians. We need to get over the narrow-mindedness, in all honesty.

Let me explain something straightaway, though - given the knowing glances and reluctance to talk about this book, I was expecting there to be sexy-times.

There was none of the sexy-times in this book. There were references to the sexy-times, but that's all. And even those are fairly tame, to be perfectly honest.

And I'm always honest with you guys ;)











This is a book about the fictional Jeanette (not to be confused with the real Jeanette,) a girl being raised in an evangelical Christian family up North in the 60s/70s.

They're raising her to be a missionary and do the Lord's work.

This is fine until Jeanette falls in love with another girl. Then the problems start.

This is a semi-autobiographical novel, where the author uses aspects of her own life to create a fictional version of herself.

I really enjoyed this book. The fable-style interludes were cool, and the way the characters were written was the right mix of affection, humour, and frustration.

It was also hugely readable, and quite short (less than 200 pages - practically bite-sized!) And if you want an interesting read, it's a sure-thing.












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