Showing posts with label We're All Stories in the End. Show all posts
Showing posts with label We're All Stories in the End. Show all posts

Saturday 7 May 2016

Book Nerd on a Mission

One of my New Year's resolutions was that I want to spread reading to the world.

You heard me - THE EVER-LOVING WORLD

I want to encourage everyone to read - not just the already bookish (although I want you guys to keep reading, ofc; but at this point, I don't think anyone could stop you anyway.)




girl reading
 
 


But how do I do that?

Well, for a start I blog about reading and books almost every day. (By the way, don't panic if I don't post every now and then - I need a day off sometimes!)

But I'm not naïve, I know that the vast majority of people who read a blog called 'Diary of a Reading Addict' are going to have some sort of interest in reading to begin with. It's a bit of a no-brainer.

I reckon I'm going some way, though, to preaching to the non-converted by sharing my blog-posts to Twitter with non-book-specific blogging hashtags, and RT accounts. Of course I always follow the rules of the hashtag or the RT, because that way people don't get pi*sy at you ;)

So yes, I think I gather a very few non/occasional-readers slowly but surely into the fold that way. That's something at least. We'll call it progress ;)




BUT I'M ON A MISSION

Which means that I can't rest on my little proverbial laurels, I have to be doing stuff - encouraging reading whenever and wherever I can.

The best way to lead is by example.

As the peculiar little species that we are, we love to copy each other in an attempt to fit in.

A lot of this is a subconscious following of the herd (not the worst thing in the world so long as you're not following others right off of a cliff, and don't think that you always have to follow others. You don't.)

So, for something to be deemed to be cool and/or worth-while, a lot of people have to think that it's cool and/or worth-while. (I know - it doesn't make any sense, does it? But that's how human society has worked for aeons. We may as well use it to the advantage of doing something good.)









So I have a cunning plan...

I'm going to read in public. Whenever I can. Wherever I can. I'm going to be seen reading beyond the confines of my own home.

Sure, I already read while I'm waiting for doctors' appointments, but the very fact that I'm usually the only one in the waiting room with a book in my hands gives me a clue that I'm on to something here.

I'm going to make sure that, at least once a week, I'm spotted with an open book in my hands somewhere out in the wilds of the world (OK... so it'll probably be on a bench of the local shopping centre... same thing, right?)




But what difference will that make? I hear you cry! (I can't really hear you... that would be weird.)

Well, ye blog-readers of little faith and happenstance (OK, there may've been coffee, but can you blame me?) if people see me reading then, somewhere deep in their complex brains, they will think about it.

They might be attracted by the shiny cover. They might wonder what my book is about. They might look it up on the Internet.

Or it might spark a million other thoughts related to that book. They might end up talking to a friend about it. They might end up reading that book.




books





Plus it will make reading the thing that people do.

Everyone checks their phones in public. Lots of people play music. Lots of people faff about on their laptop, iPads, whatever...

Some people read in public, it's true. But less. It's not as normal to see someone reading in public as it is for people to be doing all of these other things. And why the hell not?! Reading is awesome.



I'm gonna need help, guys.

Join me in my crusade to get every person in this world into the magical and wonderful world of reading!

GET OUT THERE AND READ!

Go out and read on a bench. In a café. In a coffee shop. At the dentist's.

Reading a paperback or hardback is more likely to have the desired effect because people can see that it's a book as opposed to a tablet, but if there're no physical books to hand - then read e-books.

If you decide to take my advice and go off into the wilds, book in hand, then I'd love to see a pic - if you Tweet me one (my Twitter is @CeeArrBookNerd) then I'll re-tweet (...or put it in a blogpost, or maybe both... haven't really decided yet. I suppose it depends on whether anyone actually sends a pic.)

Also, if anyone else has any other ideas on how I can spread reading like an ever-loving plague across the face of the earth? I'd be much obliged. ;)





 
 
 
 
Like this post? Try these:
 
 


Sunday 17 January 2016

Nerd Church - Just For One Day

This week, we lost people who we felt we knew.

True, most of us had never met them - but does that matter? We admired them. We respected them. In our way, we loved them.


I think that the world will always need heroes - whether real or fictional. And sometimes, when the actor is passionate enough, the singer unique enough, their image becomes inseparable from their creations.

David Bowie re-formed his own image so many times that he may well have been a timelord of sorts. We didn't know him, true. But we were given enough of a glimpse of the man to know we admired him; and his characters.

The people that he managed to become through his music and costume showed us all that we really needed to know.

Don't get me wrong - I don't think he was actually Ziggy Stardust, or the Thin White Duke, or any of his other personas.

But they were a part of him, and he a part of them: and they enchanted us, spoke to us, told us something about ourselves.

And then there's Alan Rickman. We will never be able to imagine Snape without Alan Rickman's heavy silences, meaningful looks, or deep and powerful voice.

To me, Snape's memory from the last Harry Potter film is a class in 'how to act,' - that scene stole the show. It's already iconic, and I'm sure it'll only become more so in time.

So yes, we mourn people we did not know personally - because we know how beautiful they were. We know that the world has lost incredible men. We mourn them because they spoke to us, in one way or another.

Nerd Church is a weekly post discussing moral, ethical, and topical issues in a friendly, nerdy, and non-denominational, setting (non-nerds also welcome.) Feel free to write your own posts - on this or any other topic (but please link back to this blog.) 


Like this post? Try these:

Wednesday 13 January 2016

Are We Losing Our Imagination?

You may think - wtf are you talking about C R? Our imaginations are fine and dandy.

But are you right? Studies have shown that kids have less imagination than they did in the 1970s.

Are we losing our ability to imagine things?

Shakespeare's plays were originally performed in broad daylight. There were no microphones to boost the actor's voices. There was no set design to speak of.

Effects were limited to the most rudimentary of noises and props that could be flung together on a relatively small budget in the 1500 and 1600s.

Needless to say, there was no soundtrack, no opening credits, and very rarely was there scenery.

This wasn't the case simply for a few rich snobs who thought they were chocolate because this was 'art' and they could afford theatre tickets - oh no, this was the entertainment of the masses.

The audience had to imagine more.

So, without all of the bells and whistles, the audience had to engage more with the story, and with the acting, albeit they had were quite harsh critics (throwing rotten vegetables at bad actors - an early way to lessen food waste >.< )
colourful lights abstract


Imagination is a muscle.

Imagination has been compared time and time again to a muscle. If you use it, it grows and develops; if you don't, it wastes away.

People in the 1800s didn't 'scare easy,' when they found Dracula and A Christmas Carol terrifying - they just had imaginations that were far more active than our own.

Likewise, visual effects that seemed realistic and cutting-edge in the mid-20th century now look unbelievable and, often, a little sad.

People weren't more gullible in the past, their imaginations just did the work for them.

We feed our imaginations on junk food.

No-one minds a bit of junk food now and then: but all day, every day? No wonder our imaginations are feeling the strain (and yes, I'm mixing metaphors - and I don't care!)

It's not only our imaginations feeling the effects of our instant gratification culture - our attention spans, lets face it, are down-right atrocious.

fun doodles notebook illustrationsSo, letting the media we consume (and let's face it, we consume a lot of it,) constantly do our work for us, is not good for either our attention spans or our imaginations.

But neither do we have to be saintly lords and ladies from the days of yore (you know, yore, what a bore, yore! Yes, I heard it. Clearly this is another side-effect of too much interwebs... and there may have been coffee... again.)

No, we don't have to act like we rolled out of bed in the 1500s complete with skirts and/or codpiece (I'm not here to judge.) I just think we need to cool it occasionally, and make our brains actually work for those yummy hits of dopamine.

In the long run, you'll be better off for it.

But don't let me have all the opinions! Do you agree? Disagree? Somewhere in between?

Do we need to rescue our imaginations from the pit of quick video-clips and reality TV? Or is it good riddance to bad abstract nouns?


Like This Post? Try These:

Sunday 10 January 2016

Welcome Back to Nerd Church

Welcome my dear friends to the first Nerd Church of 2016.

What is Nerd Church?

Well, you know, some of us aren't that religious in an organised sense. (Most of us, I'm guessing, if you want to be honest.)

laptop and coffee
But there are a lot of nerds out that who follow their various fandoms and interests with a devotion that borders on worship. And I think that moral stuff and philosophiphising (one thing you should know about me, I don't use the word 'philosophising,' or anything related to 'philosophy,' correctly - it's like a sad, dorky, tick,) can come from anywhere.

So, I came up with Nerd Church. A place in cyber-space where nerds and non-nerds alike can celebrate making the world a better place and trying to make our way through life in (more-or-less) one piece.

Basically, on a Sunday, I talk about moral examples from fiction and related nerd outlets, guides to life, and philisophophising.

And sometimes I just have an out-right rant about something that's bugging me, because it's my blog people. Deal with it. :)

Feel free to drop in and worship at the altar of nerdyness every Sunday - and/or continue the Nerd Church vibe on your own blogs (I just ask that you link back to me - please and thank you!)


Liked This Post? - Try These:

Nerd Church! - 5 Things Characters Do That You Shouldn't
Nerd Church! - Four Tales of Incredible Courage

Sunday 29 November 2015

Nerd Church - Where Do We Go From Here?

Are we too old, too bitter, too disenchanted, for happily ever after? Do we believe that the princess lived a happy life, after she and the prince rode into the sunset together? Are we able to believe that everything, from the moment the book ends, is sunshine and rainbows?
 
 
True, a lot of books do not end happily - and/or don't end with the characters actually living - but is this our fault? Do we, as fans and readers, not want the ra-ra happy ending, but instead the dark, the ambiguous, the uncertain?
 
Obviously, it's difficult to talk about endings without wandering into spoilerific territory - and that is not something I really want to do - but if you think of a lot of popular books and series, do they end in happiness?
 
Those that do go for the fairy-tale style ending are often ridiculed and lambasted for being too unbelievable. That, in a way, is kind of sad; happiness and good fortune is no longer something that we believe we can have - so we don't want the characters in the books we read to have it either.
 
But then, despite the happy endings (though not for the villains,) fairy tales were originally quite violent. There was torture. There was death. There were beheadings and all sorts of random magical crap. (If you're interested in some good quality retellings of original fairy tales then I'd go for Philip Pullman's Grimm Tales: For Young and Old - I utterly love that book.)
 
My dear lovely nerds, I honestly wish you to find some hope in your lives - it's ok to be realistic, and often it's quite frankly beautiful to err on the gothic side of life (I certainly do!) - but sometimes you have to look to the brighter things. Even if that means a splash of the unreal.
 


Sunday 22 November 2015

Nerd Church! - Four Tales of Incredible Courage

I think we could all do with some courage (no, not the Dutch kind - shh!) How about you? You want some courage? These four books (in my humble opinion,) have characters who show real courage, in the most difficult of times.

The Courage of Friendship and Compassion

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Book Thief front cover


This a beautiful book, and I will always, always, always recommend it - to anyone, at any time. And Liesel, to me, is courage.

A girl growing up in Hitler's Germany, Liesel is trying to wind her way through the challenges of her life and times. Things are about to be made ever more complicated by the actions of her foster father, Hans, in hiding the Jewish son of an old friend.

Liesel never lets the challenging circumstances make her any less than who she is. Her friendship and kindness are more courageous than any bullet.

Buy now UK - Buy Now USA - Goodreads - Author's Facebook Page

The Courage of Survival

Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick

This is a book that I haven't read in years - but that I still think of as something truly memorable and remarkable.

Blood Red, Snow White book coverWritten by Marcus Sedgwick, this is a YA book with no teenage characters. All of the characters are, in fact, adult.

Set in the Russian Revolution of 1917, this book follows the true story of Arthur Ransome - the author of Swallows and Amazons - who acted as a double-agent at the heart of the new Communist regime. Such a double-agent, in fact, that no-one actually knew for sure which side he was on.

I loved the way this book tried to show the human story, and to portray the way that Ransome was an ordinary man, trapped by truly extraordinary circumstances, and just trying to survive in a world that had turned upside-down.

Certainly, if you're into spy stories, history, or both, then this book is worth the read.

Buy Now UK - Buy Now USAGoodreads - Author's Website

The Courage to Endure

Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

This memoir of the life of a man kidnapped into slavery in the US is made all the more incredible and poignant by the fact that it is non-fiction.

Solomon Northup writes beautifully and with dignity, and as far as I'm concerned this should be required reading on anyone's list.

Buy Now UK - Buy Now USAGoodreadsFull Review

The Courage of Love and Sacrifice

A Tale of Two Cities book coverA Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

A true 19th Century classic, this is a novel of the French Revolution. Featuring some of the most beautiful lines in English literature, this is Dickens (as far as I'm concerned,) at his best.

True, I disliked the character of Lucie - a bit two-dimensional in my opinion - but overall, this is a stunning book.

Without giving away any spoilers, I can tell you that Dickens brings the French Revolution, and the terror it brought with it, to life. But this is fundamentally a tale of love and sacrifice. It is honestly worth reading just for the beautiful tragedy it reveals.

Buy Now UK - Buy Now USA - Goodreads

Sunday 15 November 2015

Nerd Church - A Little Bit of Hope

The world can be a dark place. We've been reminded of that over the past few days with world events being what they are.

girl with notebook
This post is not about the dark. This post is about the light within it. Remember that where there are demons, there are Shadowhunters. Where there is the Dark Lord, there is Harry Potter. Where there are super-villains, there are superheroes.

That's what we need, more than anything. We need to make sure that the things in the dark aren't in control of the light. The way to keep the light going? Believe in the good. Believe in the heroes. Believe in people who care about others. As any Avengers fangirl will tell you, Steve Rogers didn't need to be Captain America to be a hero, just to be acknowledged as one. Find the light, dear nerds, til the end of the line!

Sunday 8 November 2015

Nerd Church - A Reader Lives a Thousand Lives...

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.”
 
George R R Martin, A Dance With Dragons
 
 
I'm sure that most readers will have come across this quote on the interwebs, even if they haven't got to A Dance With Dragons in the Game of Thrones series (which I haven't, by the by; I've only read the first one at the moment.)
 
But it's true, isn't it?
 
We live thousands of lives as we read. We're there alongside all of our favourite characters - and not so favourite ones, of course. We live alongside them, sometimes knowing their deepest hopes and fears; we feel their love and their grief, their joy and their frustration. I know what it's like to be a vampire, a witch, a hero, a warrior... what lives have you lived recently?
 

library

Sunday 27 September 2015

Nerd Church - Dude, Siblings Are a Pain

Siblings, can't live with 'em, can't live witho- ...actually, no, sometimes it'd be easier to live without 'em. Not to say we don't love 'em - we. love. them. But they do tend to complicate things - just ask Katniss Everdeen, Thor and Loki, the Weasleys (ahem, Percy,) and the Pevensies (Chronicles of Narnia.)

church image courtesy of debspoons/FreeDigitalPhotos.net


Let's face it, it's not a new theme to literature - King Lear has the warring sisters, Pride and Prejudice is made infinitely more boring complicated by the ins-and-outs of the Bennett sisters (I'm not an Austen fan unless there's zombies or ninjas - sorry,) and myths/religious stories from Cain and Abel to Horus and Set are constantly describing the warring of brothers and the duality of man (etc. etc.)

Being a little sister myself, I often wonder about the only-children of literature. Sure, Harry Potter has Dudley - but he's a cousin, and not a very nice one; if he'd had a sibling, would his life pre-Hogwarts have sucked quite so badly? And does anyone else find it odd that Hermione and Draco also have no siblings? You don't find all that many only-child families. To have three such important characters with no siblings, while Ron has siblings falling from the ever-loving rafters, is quite interesting... can you imagine Draco with a brother, or Hermione with a sister? And of course, there's Lily and Petunia - without whom Harry would never have been sent to the Dursley family in the first place. We're given very little glimpse into the Evans sister's lives pre-Harry, but that familial link is still important, isn't it?

I might come back to this topic and try to straighten out my thoughts a bit more, but I hope that's given you something to moral/thematic/phisololphical (philosophical) to chew over this week in Nerd Church (cue cheesy grin and sweeping thumbs up motion.)

Sunday 16 August 2015

Nerd Church time!

Hello my lovely nerdy peoples! For this week's edition of Nerd Church I will just leave you with this beautiful quote:

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Words to live by, if ever there where some. Keep looking for inspiration in the pages bookworms, and happy reading!
Original image courtesy of debspoons at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sunday 9 August 2015

Nerd Church is in Session...

...let me talk to you about Luna Lovegood.

Original image courtesy of debspoons at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Luna as a Harry Potter character is a fan favourite - and I adore her. Because she taught us that what makes us different can make us such incredibly beautiful people. She's the dreamer, the lover, the pure soul - and she remains so even through all the s**t that Hogwarts throws at her. She doesn't sweat the small stuff, and is unflinchingly loyal and a shoulder whenever anyone needs her.

In the films, Luna is played by the equally beautiful Evanna Lynch - who has battled through anorexia to become one heck of an actress, and an inspiration. Her accent is also really pretty :)

So, amongst the other many, many things that Harry Potter taught us, is that the weird kid? She rocks, has been through hell (Luna saw her mother die when she was a little kid,) and is still one of the most observant and naturally incredible people you will ever meet. Luna is a symbol for all of the dreamers and the different ones, the ones who don't quite fit in (even in a school full of witches and wizards) - you are beautiful, and people will see that eventually.

Hope you enjoyed this week's small slice of Nerd Church - finding the deep and meaningful stuff in the books and stories that we all love :)

Sunday 2 August 2015

Welcome to Nerd Church

Ladies and Gents - I give you Nerd Church!


Original church image (before edits) courtesy of debspoons at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I figured that after all the stuff I've been talking about recently, what with the stories being passed down through mythology and generations, and the comments about worshipping with the DC congregation with the Suicide Squad trailer, it would be best to provide a small weekly space of deep thinking for the nerd community. I say weekly, I will aim to make it weekly but it might be fortnightly, or just whenever I remember. But the intention is that I'll release a dedicated Nerd Church post weekly.

Also, I may on more than one occasion go off on one completely. Usually this will be because of either too much or too little coffee, but if you read this blog a lot then that won't exactly be much of a surprise to you. I probably come off as really caffeine-crazed in most posts. I assure you that I'm calmer in real-life (well, ish.)

So, as an intro for you lovely people...

Just a thought for the week ahead. Think of the stories that we still cling to from childhood - The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, pretty much anything in the Marvel back-catalogue, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Artemis Fowl, etc... What are the similarities here? Is there a common thread calling to us? Of magic maybe, and possibility; of extraordinary things happening to seemingly ordinary people, who were never quite as ordinary as they thought themselves to be.

There's also a common thread of dead or absent parents - Harry Potter and the Baudelaire children (A Series of Unfortunate Events) are orphans; the Pevensie children from the Narnia books are sent away from home; Artemis Fowl's parents are usually out-of-action for at least part of the books. And let's face it, superheroes are notorious for dead, abusive, or neglectful parents.

Now, that doesn't mean that we all secretly hanker to be neglected or orphaned - it simply means that the heroes have to make do on their own. They have no fall back of 'I'll call dad to pick me up,' and they have to learn to rely on their own wits and skills. So, we look up to self-sufficiency, to bravery and survival in the face of vulnerability and challenges. We yearn to make heroes of those who've managed to make their own way in an often hostile world, the way we all feel like the world can be hostile to us as we do our best to make our way through it.

And, as one final thought - what the hell were the parents in Enid Blyton books doing?!?! It's like, hey group of small children, of course you can go faffing around the country alone in a caravan. You don't need supervision, it's not like your average age is like eleven or anything! And the first time my kids caught a load of smugglers and/or were kidnapped and/or injured, would be the very last time I let them do anything on their own. But next holidays, the parents are back to being like - 'you want to go on a tour of haunted houses? Yeh, go ahead.' Dude, really?!?!

Tuesday 28 July 2015

Trailer Review! - Suicide Squad First Look

Hello my lovely people! I decided to do a review/reaction thingummy of the first official Suicide Squad trailer. So, join me as I shuffle meekly into the church of DC while resisting the urge to clutch my Captain America shield necklace to my throat for fear of being outed as a life-long Marvel girl. Guys, we're all geeks here, and sometimes we need to sit in for a service at another congregation - toleration of the Marvel girl please! And in return I will try my best to be sensitive to the DC-ers amongst you and not say anything about Aq... ugh! Nearly fell at the first hurdle! But I will soldier on (til the end of the line..) No. DC. DC.

What's that my lovely book worms? What has this to do with reading? Well, as difficult as you may find this to believe, Marvel and DC cinema and TV stuff is an adaptation of the comic books and graphic novels that deserve to be read again and again and clog the tbr piles of booklovers everywhere! (Speaking of which, note to self: get hands on a copy of Suicide Squad Vol 1.)

Oh, quick warning - this very much sticks to the dark, gothic, and mentally scarring (and that's just Jared Leto,) so don't watch if you're easily scared or upset (or a kid, seriously, no coming complaining to me, you have been warned.)

So, to the trailer (duddle-uddle-uddle-uddle-uh!) (I'm sorry - blame the coffee...)

 
Wait, is that Cara Delevigne?
 
Why yes, eagle-eyed viewer, that is indeed model/actress and generally impossibly beautiful Cara Delevigne. First seen underground with a lamp on her head. That's when you know this is going to be gritty, when the first glimpse of one of the world's most beautiful women is in a damp cave. Later on we see her taking an ill-advised bath under a pentagram.
 
Will Smith is also here - see? Yep, Will Smith.
 
Did the talky-talky official people say the Squad are the bad guys?
 
Again, yes, yes they did. This is villains turned anti-heroes, used and then discarded by the callous government. I'm thinking  (and hoping!) ethical issues people!
 
What's with the creepy music/girl in a cage?
 
Isn't it awesome!?! Creepy girl extraordinaire is Harley Quinn - she's...something else. The music (which fits Harley's entrance something awesome,) is actually a cover of a Bee Gees song (those guys with the teeth and the flares and the 'Staying Alive'..? yeah them,) called - and I'm loving the irony here - 'I Started a Joke.' I love the choir-like eeriness of it; I think it sets a gothic tone rather nicely.
 
Wait, what's with the panda, and the goat?
 
Welcome to Suicide Squad my friends. This ain't your truth, hope, justice, and mother's drapes (sorry :P) affair. This is twisted.
 
The Joker?!?!?!
 
Yes. Yes. And more yes. Ladies and gentleman, I give you the man who's going to replace the spiders in my nightmares...Jared Leto! We see him for what? 10-20 seconds of screen-time? And he is easily the most disturbing thing I've seen in a long time.
 
So, overall impressions?
 
Dudes, this film looks awesome. Gothic. Gritty. No more happy-go-lucky. I know that a lot of DC fans will've been hoping for more on the humour side of life - or at least less of the grit and the pain - but, believe it or not, this is where DC comes into its own. When it gets scary, it gets scary.
 
And does it not reflect on the way we are right now globally? We don't know what's right and what's wrong, and we don't know where to stand in the middle of all the pain and the muddled ethics. This is our generation calling out and, yes, entering the church of DC, heads held high (though perhaps with our Cap shields tucked into our shirts) and saying - this! THIS IS WHAT WE ARE!  We are complex and broken, and dark, and gritty, and yes, just a little unhinged...and we need The Suicide Squad. Because it appeals to that part of us that says the dirty work needs to be done, the government is corrupt, and bad people can do good things in the same way that good people can do bad things. We need heroes, but we need the anti-heroes even more.

Wednesday 15 July 2015

We're All Stories in the End

image courtesy of jannoon028 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I got to thinking recently that we essentially tell the same stories over and over, since the beginning of time.
This isn't to say that we are repetitive idiots who are unable to come up with anything original. Not at all. What my point is, is that clearly there are things in these stories that we need to hear. There are things that we have recognised as fundamental since the very beginning, and we feel the need to repeat it - to get the message through again and again. But why? Are we still not hearing it?!?! Well, given the state the world seems to be in as of late, that's a distinct possibility. But I think it's more to do with it speaking to something inherently human in us.

We never abandoned the old Gods - Thor and Loki are still with us (literally if you're a Marvel fan,) but the rest are still here too. Does no one else see the Robin Hood parallels with The Green Arrow or Hawkeye? Or older still, the Eros/Cupid and Apollo associations with archery etc?

We have literally clung on to all of the old traditions, the myths, the stories, we just give them a new cape and a mask, and set them to it. But it's not just comics and their associated media (i.e. movies) that are affected by this phenomena. We litter the pages of our novels with the things that go bump in the night - vampires, werewolves, angels and demons haunt our pages. But, more subtly than that, the same stories play out in front of our eyes again and again. Even the dreaded Twilight owes so much to Romeo and Juliet, which in turn is a retelling of Pyramus and Thisbe. 'Fallen' by Lauren Kate leans heavily on Biblical tales and the legends of fallen angels. Hell, The Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen bears more than a passing resemblance to Artemis. And I won't mention the obvious Percy Jackson parallels - I think you can figure that one out by yourselves.

I kind of like it, if I'm going to be honest with you lovely people: I like the thought that our stories are such a fundamental part of us that we tell the same tales over and over, shaping and framing, adding and subtracting - and that's what really shows the strength of these ideas and stories. They still captivate and intrigue. And fan-fiction feeds into that (no, really, it does!) - it's us hearing the story and adding our interpretation, our hopes, our feelings (and lots of the feels,) taking the parts that most speak to us and zooming in on them. We're the myth-tellers, sat around the collective glow of the laptop and the tablet, instead of the fire, and telling just one more tale of love and hurt, of bravery and sorrow, to get us through one more dark night when we're tired and hungry and afraid. And isn't that beautiful.