Comics Wrap-Up - There's A Moment In Time, And It's Stuck In My Mind

It's Thursday, I love superheroes and comics, and I hope you do too! (Cos I've got an awesome comics wrap-up for ya!) 😆

Nerd Church - Why I Love WW1 Poetry

Morbid li'l goth-emo child that I am, I LOVE World War One poetry.

I read it all year round: Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenburg, Ivor Gurney, Edmund Blunden, Rupert Brooke...

*sighs happily*

So, seeing as how it's Rememberance Sunday, and it's the 11th of November tomorrow, I figured I'd let you in on the beautiful jewel of life that is WW1 poetry.

(Note: when I use the phrase 'WW1 poetry' I mean English-language WW1 poetry, mainly from British soldiers, with the odd Commonwealth soldier chucked in for good luck.

I'm sure that other nationalities also wrote poetry in a variety of languages and styles, but the WW1 poetry I and most people in the UK are familiar with is that I've just described.)

Friday Fics Fix - Haunted

'Diego was still screaming but his voice was drowned and consumed, overtaken by the dead that hung around him, but Ben was screaming too...'

It's Umbrella Academy time!

...I think a lot of you will have guessed that I couldn't resist an Umbrella Academy fanfiction post for much longer (especially since I read a butt-tonne of Umbrella Academy fanfiction!)

Comics Wrap-Up - This Shining City Built of Gold, A Far Cry From Innocence

It's Thursday, dearest nerdlets, and Comic Wrap-Up is back from its break with all the comics-y goodness!

Nerd Church - Whose Dystopia Is This? A Discussion of Marginalisations in Dystopian Fiction, Focussing On Vox by Christina Dalcher

(Warning: this post discusses persecution of marginalised groups, sometimes in detail)


Dystopia, as a genre, is largely based on the oppression – either knowingly or unknowingly – of groups of people.

...Usually in a way that seems extreme in the context of the author’s cultural background, or else involves sufficient robots and sh** to convince us that this world is The Future™.

Friday Fics Fix - HP Halloween: Star-Crossed Rumors

'...But it wasn’t a dream and he was fully clothed. When he looked back over at the group of girls, they giggled even harder, whispering to each other'

Yes! It's time for another week of HP Halloween!

Because October = Harry Potter fanfiction.

I don't make the rules I just... wait, no, I do make the rules! Yay me! 😆

(...I'ma blame the caffeine. #JustSaying. 😅)

Friday Fics Fix - HP Halloween Begins!

'Malfoy looks shocked, like a deer caught in headlights, nowhere to run and just staring wide eyed at Ron, pushing Harry towards him. Suddenly Hermione realises what Luna meant: the bet.'

It's October! Which means a whole month's worth of Harry Potter fanfiction, 'Friday Fics Fix' posts, here at Dora Reads!

(Because that way I can avoid Halloween-themed fics and therefore hopefully avoid reading things I can't un-read. 😅)

Friday Fics Fix - Light and Dark

'There was a noise somewhere but he couldn't make it out. He tried to call for help but it wasn't words, just a distressed sound and more tears.'

I love Oliver Queen, aka The Green Arrow, and the show he's the lead of - which is handily named Arrow. 😅

(Also handily, this was the first in the CW's DC series, known collectively as 'Arrowverse')




Oliver's had something of a rough life. 

I mean, the first 20-something years were pretty sweet - he was the priviliged trust fund party-boy with little regard for what substances he was sticking in his body, and the feelings of his romantic partners.

(I was gonna make a dodgy pun there, but thankfully resisted. If you can figure out what it would've been, then you've probably read as much fanftiction as I have! 😅)

Comics Wrap-Up - I Couldn't Bear The Thought of Leavin' Her

It's Thursday! Time to get your cape and cowl and enjoy some superhero-y goodness!

Comics Wrap-Up - I'm Not What You Think You See

Girl power, Queer power, and a butt-tonne of comics-y goodness! It's Thursday, and it's time for superheroes!

Month in Review(s) - August 2019

August was not as hot here in the UK!!!!! 

Thank whatever deity, divine power, or cosmic entity that may be listening!

Don't get me wrong, there were still days which were officially too hot. But there were less of them. *sighs happily*

Unfortunately, I spent most of August with a cold.

Because I'm one of those people who will catch every virus imaginable after a galandular-fever-like illness screwed my immune system over when I was 16. Good times.

Friday Fics Fix - Something Followed

'He can feel something else coming through, something uninvited.'

I love horror.

...You may or may not have noticed.

Generally speaking, the less-realistic and more fake-looking the horror is, the more I'm freaked out.

There are some notable exceptions (Pet Sematary *shudders*) but overall, the more realistic and convincing the horror is, the more I'm like: meh, it's a ghost.


Related Reading: Nerd Church - My Real-Life Ghost Stories

Comics Wrap-Up - And Just Don't Tell The World That You're... Sh!

It's Thursday. And not all heroes wear capes. (Comics still rock though.)

Comics Wrap-Up - Troubled Love and High-Speed Noise

It's Thursday. I have no idea how we got so far through the week. Let's get some superhero-y goodness!

Review Time! (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Watersnakes by Tony Sandoval

Title: Watersnakes

Author: Tony Sandoval

Genres: Graphic Novel, Fantasy*, Young Adult, Magic Realism, LGBTQ+ (F/F), Horror*, Ghost Story* (*ish) 

Amazon: UK – USA

Comics Wrap-Up - Girls Get Up Early and Stay Out Late

It's Thursday! The day that comes after Wednesday and before Friday!

It also means superheroes and comics-y goodness here on Dora Reads! 😀

Friday Fics Fix - Change Is The Only Constant

'“You have three sisters today,” said Klaus with a mouthful of dry cereal, a box of Cheerios in hand.

“Okay,” said Five, before going back to whatever he was doing.

“..That’s it? No signature snarky response from ol’ Número Cinco?"'

One of the many reasons I love my Queer Umbrella Academy Queen, Klaus Hargreeves, is that the TV version of his character in particular gives Queer folks the perfect space to explore ourselves.

Klaus wears skirts and feather boas.

He loves make-up and unicorns and high heels and the colour pink and women and men.

He rocks. Out loud.

Comics Wrap-Up - It's A Beautiful Thing When Boy Meets Boy

It's Thursday, and that means it's time for superheroes and all the comics-y goodness! Woo! 😀

Month in Review(s) - July 2019

July was too goddamned hot.

I spelled Gorffennaf wrong in the graphic - oops! 😅

I'm not built for anything past 23C, and it hit, like 31C.

I know to some of you who live in hotter places than the UK, that's nothing but... it's really not nothing to us!

I'm not a nice person when I'm hot - I'm grumpy af and just want to make the world suffer.

Also, I live in Wales. Summer is traditionally one big rain shower - WTAF with this heat?!

Friday Fics Fix - Rub-a-Dub

'Draco may have screamed (in a very manly and authoritative way, he later insisted to Harry) when he saw the state of the bathroom.'

Sometimes, with fanfiction, you only have two choices: fun and fluffy... or things you can't unsee.

I mean, I don't make the rules, I just read the fics.