Nerd Church - Rinse, Repeat

I know I've said this more than once, but I'll say it again and again: hatred is poison.

Trump's hatred, ISIS' hatred, anyone's hatred.

I don't understand why human beings still cling to it.

Nerd Church - The Book Eater

Confession time: to me the term 'book eater' isn't exactly a metaphor.

Don't panic! I do not, in fact, actually chew, swallow, and consume books. There is no paper in my stomach (as far as I'm aware!)

But I taste books.

Not just books - words, sentences, paragraphs. All of them roll around on my tongue with their various flavours.

And for a long time, I figured everyone else was the same. It's only in recent years that the sneaking suspicion has crept in - other people don't taste words.

Nerd Church - Recovery...?

(Warning: this post discusses mental health problems, especially depression and anxiety)



I've struggled with depression and anxiety for several years now.

I was ill for quite a while before I started this blog, and Dora Reads has been running, in one form or another, for nearly three years.

Nerd Church - On Presumed Innocence, Believing Victims, and Keeping the Legal Balance

(Warning: this post discusses sexual assault, harassment, rape, and victim blaming.)



By now, you'll probably have heard of the whole Harvey Weinstein scandal.

Honestly, before this all started, I hadn't even heard of Harvey Weinstein.

But I now understand that he apparently wielded a butt-load of behind the scenes power in Hollywood and the film industry for a looong time!

The framing of a lot of the news stories has been against the accusers, although I've also seen things that are clearly slanted against the accused.

In most countries, there's a presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

I believe in this with my whole heart. Until the facts are established in a court of law, that person is innocent.

THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU DISBELIEVE THE VICTIMS.

You ALWAYS believe the victims, unless they are thoroughly disproved later (and this is rare - yes it happens occasionally, but it's RARE.)

Nerd Church - Kids and Gender Equality

Recently I've seen two TV programmes which really hammered home how much we still need to improve on gender equality in the 21st Century.

The first was the BBC's 'No More Boys and Girls' where plans were put in place to counteract negative gender stereotyping in a class of seven and eight-ish year-olds*



*yes, 'ish' because I really can't remember. They were smol, ok?

Month in Review(s) - September 2017

September was a mixed bag.

But then, that's life I suppose! Still, it was my birthday month, so there's that at least ;)

(I ate soooo much pizza and chocolate cake!!!! 🎂🎂🎂🍕🍕🍕😁)

Nerd Church - Dreamers, BE YOU!

This one's for the dreamers; for the writers, the bloggers, the vloggers, the artists, the entrepreneurs.

(This one's for all you rock and rollers, all you crash queens and motor babies... 😉😎)

#BannedBooksWeek | Nerd Church - On Censorship

24th-30th September 2017 is Banned Books Week, as set up by the American Library Association (ALA.)



I'm all for intellectual freedom my nerdlets; I'm against censorship in general.

Nerd Church - A Letter To My Younger Self

(Warning: this post contains references to suicidal thoughts and feelings, as well as brief references to grief, depression, abusive/toxic friendships, and the general randomness of my life.)



I'd been thinking of doing one of these things for a while - y'know the 'Hi little 15-year-old Cee, this is the advice I'd give you!' kind of things.

Then, between my birthday on Friday (no, I'm not telling you how old I am - it ain't happening,) and reading blogpost ideas by Jemma @ Dorkface, which suggested writing a letter to your younger self, I was like - IT'S A SIGN!!!!!!!!!*



*Yes, there was coffee. Also, my parents are hippies.

Nerd Church - How To Disagree With Someone Without Being a Jerk

(Warning: this post contains jerky/not smooth-moving gifs which may effect people with photosensitive conditions.)

(Warning: this post contains references to bigotry and Nazis.)







The only person you're ever going to 100% agree with all of the time is yourself - and if you're anything like me, that doesn't always work either.

So sometimes, you're gonna disagree with people you like (not to mention the people you don't like,) over big things and little things alike.

Month in Review(s) - August 2017

August. Yeah, August...

August, for me, was stressful.

My 88-year-old grandfather was very unwell and ended up in hospital, he's better now but we still have to do a lot to make sure he and my grandmother are safe, happy, and as healthy as they can be.

Nerd Church - Holding Up The Sky With A Teaspoon

Much as we want to, we can't fix everything. We can't save everyone. We can't do it all.

This is far more negative a statement than I usually go with. You know me, my nerdlets, I'm usually all about the hope and the can-do attitude! ;)

Nerd Church - An Edumacation

Education is not the same as grades.

There! I said it! (...Please don't yell at me!)

Nerd Church - Stop Breaking My Heart

I've had to use the candle picture in this post way too often this year.

Nerd Church - Wars of Words

Warning: this post discusses a lot of sh** that went down this week, including Nazis and a lot of bigotry.



Buckle your seatbelts, Cee's got some sh*t to lay down.

Nerd Church - 6 Tips For Staying Productive While Feeling Cruddy

It's always the same.

You've got a deadline; work to do; bills to pay. And you've managed to catch a cold or some other annoying buggle* at the exact wrong moment.

This week I have a pretty awful virus of some type. And I feel like crud. But I work for myself and money doesn't grow on trees (...or so they tell me; I'm gonna find that money tree one day dammit!)



*yes, I refer to viruses as 'buggles.' Blame my mother. Honestly.

Month in Review(s) - July 2017

July was a big month for this little book nerd's blog!

This was the month that Diary of a Reading Addict (DORA) became Dora Reads - with a custom URL to match.

It's something that'd been on my mind for a while, and I'm so glad I did it!

Nerd Church - Winter Is Here

'You know nothing, Jon Snow.'

(Don't panic: this is a spoiler-free zone.)

Nerd Church - Losing Chester

(Warning: this posts contains discussions of suicide – specifically that of Chester Bennington - mental health problems, and grief; it also mentions addiction problems and child sexual abuse.)

First of all guys, if you need help with mental health stuff, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE IN A BAD PLACE RIGHT NOW, there are links to helplines and resources at the end of this post.

You are valuable, you are valid, and we want you here.

The news of the death of Chester Bennington - the lead singer of rock band Linkin Park - was a big and painful shock to his fans.

I cried. And I wasn't the only one.

Nerd Church - Redefine Success

What do you call success? Millions of pounds/dollars/insert-currency-here? A sports car? A mansion? Fame and fortune?

Welp, f**k that!

No. I mean it.

You can take your f**king drafty mansions and your privacy-violating levels of fame, and stick them where the ever-loving sun is hesitant to shine.*

*I haven't even had coffee. I don't even. Just go with it.