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.

 



The Writer Diaries (Or NaBloPoMo, Week 4, Re-Cap)

Almost there now - woo! Just two days and the dying embers of November NaBloPoMo 2015 will be all but extinguished (check me out, being all poetical and sh**!) I'm happy to say, with the finish line in site, that I rose to the challenge.

But we have some unfinished business to attend to, so here it is, my re-cap of Week 4:

(A reminder that I use the British/European date format of dd/mm/yy.)

Sunday, 22/11/15
Nerd Church - Four Tales of Incredible Courage


Monday, 23/11/15
Reviewing the Evidence Time! (Graphic Novel Edition!) - The Hockey Saint by Shapiro, Inoue, and Mossa


Tuesday, 24/11/15
Survival Kit For A Winter's Day


Wednesday, 25/11/15
Why Do Books Make Great Gifts?


Thursday, 26/11/15
Comics Wrap Up + MCU Fangirling - Hockey and Family Problems PLUS CIVIL WAR TRAILER!!!!


Friday, 27/11/15
Friday Fics Fix! - In Which Olicity is Fluffy

Friday Fics Fix - In Which Olicity is Fluffy

Last week, I promised you all that I'd try to come up with some fic recs (which, if you haven't gotten the point by now, are fanfiction recommendations,) that weren't related to Marvel, the Avengers, or Loki in any way.

I did find one! Just the one because... well, usually the fanfiction I read involves Loki. Lots of Loki. And then some more Loki - often kissing and/or romancing Tony Stark, amongst doing other things which are a lot less wholesome.

But, this week there is fanfiction from the DC side of life for you - more specifically, from the TV series Arrow, and the Olicity ship (Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak - I know, a straight couple, in fanfiction. I was confused for a moment too.)

Girls Night In: 101 by angel-death-dealer

This fic is sweet and fluffy and romantic-y. Felicity needs a girls' night, but the others all cancel on her. Oliver to the rescue! Ok, so it's a bit random. But no more so really than any other fanfiction, or rom-com for that matter. And it's cleaner than most of what's out there (there's some stuff out there that I can never un-read. Ever.)

Oh, there might be some spoilers for The Notebook in this fic - so maybe skip past that bit, or just plain ignore it.

Comics Wrap-Up + MCU fangirling - Hockey and Family Problems PLUS CIVIL WAR TRAILER!!!!

THE FIRST TRAILER HAS LANDED!!!! CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR!!!!

Sorry, I just had to make that perfectly clear. This is like - me have an EXTREME fangirl moment. I might actually cry. And I don't even know why. AND IF MARVEL HURT BUCKY I AM TRACKING THEM THE F**K DOWN!

SERIOUSLY, THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HURT MY BUCKY BEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly, I will be an emotional wreck. Bucky is a victim, not a villain - and nothing will cover the level of feels should something happen to him.

I could do a trailer review of this but... I get the feeling it will degenerate into hdfgjkrhiglowehrofjhtiwrhgofikghporenhlk fangirl-ian pretty quickly. You're probably best watching it and making up your own minds.

So, moving on to the rest of this week's comics wrap-up...

Graphic Novels

The Hockey Saint (US link) is a graphic novel about a hockey star and a growing friendship - honestly, it's a lot better than I just made it sound, and raises a lot of good points about celebrity, sport, and the media. I actually really enjoyed it, and you can see my full review here.

Single Issues

Uncanny X-men #444 (US link) is an X-men title (which you'd probably already figured out,) which shows the X-men trying to police the growing and sprawling community of global mutants. Basically, to keep the peace.

What I really enjoyed about this was the baseball game at the beginning - which showed off some awesome mutant powers, and kept the tension within the group visible. This is X-men; there's always going to be tension about something. I did think that, seeing as how the cover was Nightcrawler's tail, he could've featured a bit more (I adore Nightcrawler.)

X-men Vol 2, #26 - Bloodties Pt 2 (USA link) is a 90s title - part of a cross-series event (Bloodties.) Genosha (one of Marvel's fictional countries,) is at civil war between human and mutate (their country's mutants.) Genosha has a history of genocide and bloodshed, and the current mutate faction are followers, or 'disciples,' of Magneto.

Magneto, though, is out of commission - and so the rebel leader, Cortez, has kidnapped Magneto's granddaughter, Luna. Luna is the child of Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff) - who, back in the 90s, was still allowed to be the son of Magneto and an adopted son of a Roma family (recent re-writes have essentially got rid of Pietro and his sister Wanda's entire history, and very quickly replaced it with one that fits into Avengers film rights - which is in no way suspicious.)

Kidnapping the child of an Avenger with firm links to the X-men is probably not the brightest of ideas. So a bunch of superheroes descend on Genosha, attempting to find baby Luna, and not add too much to the bloodshed.

The Mighty Thor Vol 1 #1 (2011) (USA link) is likewise concerned with family issues - though of an Asgardian nature. This is early on in Loki's regression to little boy-god - and he's so sweet! Sorry, couldn't resist pointing that out. This definitely has the air of the start of a series rather than a full story.

Why Do Books Make Great Gifts?

Stuck for Christmas pressies for auntie so-and-so, or what's-his-face and whatshername from work? You could give them a book - no, I'm totally serious. I am the Reading Addict around here after all.

Books are personal

No-one ever reads the same book as anybody else: no, really. Don't look at me all squinty - I have a point here.

No-one ever experiences a book in the same way as the very next person who reads it - the reader is part of the book. What you get out of a book makes it what it is - and no-one ever quite has the same experience as anybody else.

Therefore you can get your family and friends one of the most personal of gifts - without having to shop in the undies section.

There's a book in every price range

Don't have the budget for a super-duper bestselling new hardback? Fine - get another of the author's books instead, they're likely to be cheaper now that there's a new one out.

Get a box-set of a trilogy (you can find plenty on offer - especially this time of year,) and give them a good value gift that also looks the part.

You can go seasonal

This works exceptionally well with children's picture books, which can be read at Christmas to keep the little ones happy while dinner's cooking or the washing-up is being done.

Plus, who doesn't like something with a Christmas theme? Makes everything brighter somehow.

There's a book for every age and taste

Books come in so many types, and so many different genres, and authors, and... well, you see what I mean.

There is a book to suit pretty much everyone. Especially kids - you can attract them with shiny things and get them hooked on reading for life (ok, slight evil plan, there, but it's all good.)

They're easy to wrap!

Never underestimate your levels of thankfulness for easy-wrap gifts. Sure, books can sometimes be heavy - but it's so much easier to wrap than that oddly-shaped box of chocolates, the pair of socks, the hair accessories, and the mug set with the sticky-out handle.

I'm just saying, after all that, you're going to be happy to have a nice rectangular object to wrap for once!

Survival Kit For a Winter's Day

Winter can be uber-cold, and uber-crappy. Particularly if you're of a depressive nature and/or living in Britain (so much rain! so much dark!) So, sit tight and take my advice on warming (and actually enjoying) a cold winter's day.

A Kitty!
Kitties are all fluffy and cute and sweet and special ;) And luckily, on cold days, they're not adverse to a warm lap to snuggle up on. I love kitties, they're like a reader's best friend - amongst other people of course. And I have two, which is really cuddly and really cute (Yay!) :)

Tea/Coffee/Pick Your Poison
Never underestimate the power of a hot drink in your favourite mug (or something stronger in a posh glass, I'm not here to judge!) Plus, you know, you have an excuse to drink, and warm your hands on, a nice hot cuppa. (and any excuse to drink coffee, and I'm there!)

A Blanket
Blankets are snuggly! Never forget this fact! Never! Also, they are handy as bait to attract kitties (look *insert kitty's name* - cwtchy blanky! (cwtchy is a Welsh/Wenglish word for extra snuggly things, and/or the best of hugs.)) I have lots of nice and snuggly blankets - and they certainly come in handy as the nights (and days - it's chilly here!) get colder.

Chocolate and/or Cake
Never underestimate the power of cake. Cake (as far as I'm concerned,) is one of the major food groups - it's just that, occasionally, it gets left off the chart. Ditto for chocolate. And chocolate cake is sacred. There are some things in life which you just shouldn't deny yourself - chocolate cake is most definitely one of them. :)

And last but certainly not least...

A Good Book!
(And I like to think I give you plenty of advice on that front.) ;-)

Reviewing the Evidence Time! (Graphic Novel Edition!) - The Hockey Saint by Shapiro, Inoue, and Mossa

Title: The Hockey Saint. (US Link.)

Author: Howard Shapiro, Marica Inoue, Andres Mossa.

Genre: Graphic Novel.

Series: Forever Friends Trilogy (#2.)

A few starting notes:

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

I approached this graphic novel with a little hesitation. I know nothing about ice hockey. Like seriously, nothing. It's just not a popular sport in the UK in general - and Wales is more about the rugby than anything else.

You'll be happy to hear that, despite my hockey ignorance, I enjoyed this book a lot.

This is apparently #2 in a trilogy - but I read it as standalone and had no difficulty with reading it as such.

Premise:

Jeremiah Jacobson, or 'Jake,' is a 21-year-old hockey star. Tom Leonard is a 19-year-old college hockey player whose life is going through a rough patch - he also idolises Jake.

The two somehow form a fledgling friendship, but can it survive the demands of the sport, the press, and life?

Best bits:

I really did enjoy this - it was very readable, and the characters were actually a lot more involving than you would think on first glance. To such an extent that I basically zipped through reading this.

The art is perhaps a touch on the unusual side, but while a lot of artists make the mistake of becoming too radical in their attempt to bring a fresh style to their work, the artwork here keeps the balance well. I'd even go as far as to say it's charming (in a mature way, of course.)

The social issues touched on here are dealt with carefully and sensitively - and it gives the book a real heart that shines through excellently.

I also love the questions raised about the role of sports stars/athletes, and their glorification by a media that would just as soon tear them to shreds if it'll mean more viewers, readers, listeners, whatever.

Not so great bits:

Some of the issues dealt with might upset some people - notably that of alcoholism and drink-driving. Also mentioned are poverty, illness/cancer, the treatment of veterans, parental death, and suicide. All are dealt with sensitively, and, in my view, with great skill and balance - but this may still be upsetting to readers dealing with similar issues.

I think this book was set in Canada - but I'm not 100% on that. Enough places in the USA were mentioned to give me some doubt. On balance, it was probably Canada... probably. The names of the leagues etc. would probably tell most North Americans where it was, but as a British girl with no interest in hockey, I was left just a little confused.

Occasionally, the dialogue is a touch stilted and/or naïve, but really, this is barely noticeable, and the vast majority of the speech flows well.

Verdict:

This is a readable and eloquent graphic novel, absorbing and charming, and accessible to people outside the world of hockey, this has some stuff to say in style.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA - Goodreads