Nerd Church - Of Monsters, Mice, and Men

 

'Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.'

- Holocaust survivor Primo Levi

Month in Review(s) - April 2021

(Warning: this post briefly discusses Covid 19/Coronavirus and Lockdowns, and mental health problems)

April was a mixed month.

Not only did we have snow, hail, rain, and blazing warm sunshine on the same day, but the uncertain opening-up after Lockdown etc. still meant that things felt hecka odd.

We're in that odd position where we're (hopefully) beyond the worst of it, but it's also uber-important not to move too fast, y'know?

Review Time! - The Sigil by Shakeil Kanish and Larissa Mandeville

* = commission link

*

Title: The Sigil*

Author: Shakeil Kanish, Larissa Mandeville


Genre: Young Adult (New Adult crossover appeal,) Fantasy, Witches(-ish,) LGBTQ+ (relationships: M/M, side M/F, refs to F/F)

Buy with Amazon.com*

Comics Wrap-Up - While I Clean This Slate With the Hands of Uncertainty

 

It's Thursday, it may be April Fool's Day, but no tricks here - just comics-y, superhero-y, goodness!

Friday Fics Fix - Keep Calm and Carry On

* = commission link

'The massive box of 64 crayons calls to me, every one of them waiting to be picked and pressed to a page. (I could have gone for the box of 120, but that seemed like too much.)'

This week's fic is from a fandom that is super-popular, but also not especially well-known outside its core fanbase.

 ...which is why I'm going to do a very brief explanation of Carry On* aka the Simon Snowverse just so's we're all on the same page.

(I realise that a lot of die-hard fans are probably screaming that how could anyone not know about Simon Snow?! But we do not gatekeep here at Dora Reads, dearest nerdlets.)

(Fandom notes:

gatekeeping - also a non-fandom term, when used in fandom this typically takes the form of 'you're not a real fan of [insert fandom or genre or author, etc.] unless you've [insert arbitrary benchmark]')

Comics Wrap-Up - Oh, We Can Beat Them, Forever and Ever

  ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.

It's Thursday, it's still 2020 - let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!

Everything I've got for ya this week is in the 'Other Stuff' category - as always, we'll blame this on Loki.

Review! - Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of The Faun by Guillermo Del Toro and Cornelia Funke

 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.

Title: Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of The Faun

Author: Guillermo Del Toro and Cornelia Funke

Genre: Media Tie-In, Horror, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Fairy Tales (-ish,) Magic Realism(-ish,) Young Adult (Maybe? Maybe just adult with YA appeal. It's kind of difficult to gage the age range here!)

Amazon USA

Friday Fics Fix - Padfoot and Moony's Guide to Raising Harry Potter (Ft. Diverse Representation!)

 

Note: For the foreseeable future the only Harry Potter fanfiction I'll be rec'ing will have Trans+/NB+ characters. 

I understand if you don't wanna read any posts about Harry Potter whatsoever, and I hope I'll see you when I'm rec'ing from a different fandom.

“Sirius, when is the last time you slept? Or ate a proper meal? Or took a bath? Don’t even bother answering that last one. You smell like something died in your hair..."

 

To rec this fic, I basically just wanted to go:

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...until you read it.

But I realised that's both exhausting and requiring of context. (Dammit!)

Month In Review(s) - August 2020

 

August was way too hot - I'm too Welsh for this cr*p!

Seriously, I melt above 24C. That's plenty enough for me. So between 27C and 30C is literal hell to me. Thank God it's cooled down a butt-tonne now.

Anywho, I cut back on blogging in August (and you can see how that went here,) but I somehow wrote more reviews and bookish content than I have in a long time *shrugs*

I wrote 2 whole reviews dearest nerdlets! In one month! Lol.

From My TBR: 15 Young Adult and Middle Grade Books By Black Authors

 

(Warning: this post references racism and police brutality)

 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.

There are three important reasons for me writing this post:

1. Black Lives still Matter.

2. It's always a good time to highlight diverse books.

and 3. There are so many amazing Black creators out there, who don't always get the recognition they deserve.

So here's a small selection of some of the Young Adult (YA) and Middle Grade (MG) books on my TBR list that were written by Black authors.

For those of you who don't know the book-blog lingo - a TBR is a 'to-be-read' list. Mine is immortal and cannot be stopped. Send help.

For those of you who are British like me, and/or haven't heard the book blogging term, Middle Grade books are those aimed at (roughly) ages 8-12, or 8-14, depending who you ask.

(Quick disclaimer: obviously, I haven't read these books, just their synopses, so I don't know what they're like in terms of content, quality, etc.)

I hope you find something to add to your own TBR, and remember to support Black authors, and other Black creators.

There're so many talented Black authors out there who deserve our attention!

Review Time! - Queer As A Five-Dollar Bill by Lee Wind

(Warning: this post discusses Homophobia and bigotry, including physical violence)

 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.

Title: Queer As A Five-Dollar Bill

Author: Lee Wind

Genre: YA, Contemporary, LGBTQ+ (Gay & M/M)

Amazon: USA

Review Time! - Can Everyone Please Calm Down? by Mae Martin

 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.

Title: Can Everyone Please Calm Down?: A Guide To 21st Century Sexuality 

Author: Mae Martin

Genre: Non-Fiction, YA (NA crossover appeal), LGBTQ+, Memoir(-ish)

Amazon US

Friday Fics Fix - Drarry In An Elevator

They stand in another stretch of silence before a great screeching sound reverberates throughout the elevator.

For reasons best known to yourselves, dearest nerdlets, one of my perenially popular posts - especially with Google searches - is Drarry In A Cupboard.

So, if you're a fan of Drarry in a cupboard, then I have a treat for you today - Drarry in an elevator!

(Anybody else mentally singing Aerosmith's 'Love In An Elevator'? Just me. Ok.)

(Fangirling notes: Drarry is Draco and Harry with a romantical and/or sexy-ness relationship.)

Friday Fics Fix - Witches Loving Witches

'Ginny started to laugh. The Death Eater stopped walking. He was speaking angrily now, growling or snarling something.'

Argh, how do I explain this week's fic?!?!

Well, for a start, it turns out good F/F fics are like buses - nothing for ages, then they come along one after the other.

Mini-Review! - Legendary by Stephanie Garber

 ***All Amazon.com links in this post are commission links. This means I earn commission from purchases made in the US*** 

Please do not use my links to make UK purchases.

Title: Legendary


Author: Stephanie Garber

Series: Caraval #2

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Amazon: USA

The Verdict:

I don't think I've ever enjoyed a second book so much when I found the first book so... meh.

Don't get me wrong - Caraval was ok. 

It was an enjoyable enough read. 

I did have some... issues... with it when I reviewed it a few years ago, but overall it was just ok.

Friday Fics Fix - The Self-Care Fanfic Rec-List

Fanfiction is a fab form of self-care (which I know I've said more than once, but that's because it's true!)

And seeing as how:

a) we could all do with all the self-care we can get atm...

and b) I have written a lot of fanfiction posts over the years...




I figured I'd take a look over my blog archives, and select some of the most useful fics for self-care.

(Side-note: looking through my archive is super-weird!)

Friday Fics Fix - Harry Potter Fics With Transgender Main Characters

(Warning: this post discusses Transphobia throughout, as well as referencing an abusive ex-rock-star)


Oh God, J K Rowling. *sighs*

I know a lot of people gave up on her before now, but the latest transphobia from Ms Rowling seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back* for most people.

*Do people use that phrase outside the UK? I don't know. 

...I feel like it can't have originated here, cos we don't have camels... weird.

If you have no idea what I meant, then please just rest assured that no camels were hurt in the making of this blogpost!

Friday Fics Fix - 'Round the Houses

'Loki was left-handed and took a broom that was on the very end. He had plenty of flying practice at home, but he was still nervous. His first day had been going so badly, one more embarrassing moment would just be the cherry on top.'

It's a pet theory of mine that at some point, everything in fandom has been crossed with Harry Potter.

Sometimes this is a full-on cross-over, with the characters from the Harry Potter books/films running around with characters from Marvel or DC or Torchwood or whatever.




Sometimes, though, this crossover takes the form of a Hogwarts/Harry Potter AU.

A Hogwarts and/or Harry Potter AU is an Alternate Universe where the characters from a fandom are placed in the setting of the Wizarding World, attend Hogwarts, work as Aurors, etc.

This may or may not involve actual appearances from Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Friday Fics Fix - HP Halloween: The Ones Who Won't Grow Old

Warning: this post talks about war and related trauma

'Even in the summer, it was cold here. Once, Ginny had been used to it, spending most of the year here, but now it was more of a distant memory.'

This is the last week of HP Halloween!

Yes, November is fast-approaching, which means our month-long Harry Potter fanfiction fest is over.

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. 😅)