Nerd Church! - Happy Mother's Day!

Hope you and your mother have a fab Mother's Day!

I know I couldn't be without the support of both my mam and dad. They're fabulous.

Another excuse to show love to people who mean the world to us: just fab!

As a side-note: should there be more parents present in books?

In YA, often parents are either absent, or so useless that they may as well be.

I know this makes it easier for the plot - not easy to have your hero/heroine put themselves in dangerous situations if their parents keep dragging them home kicking and screaming; but come on, writers! Step it up!

It's the same in adult fiction though - people don't stop having parents just because they're now adults. You don't wake up on your 18th birthday and not recognise the people who gave you life and/or raised you - and then stride out into the world, never to speak to them again.

Why don't protagonists call their parents more? Y'know, just to catch up or something?

Do you agree? Or have I lost it even more than usual?



Nerd Church is a weekly post where I rabbit on about various issues. Feel free to continue the discussion, but please link back here :)



Like This Post? Try These:

• Nerd Church - Care Some
• Nerd Church - A Taste of Wales

Review Time! - Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

Title: Mr Mercedes

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Crime, Thriller

Series: Bill Hodges (#1)

A few starting notes:

I'm a fan of (good) crime novels, and a fan of Stephen King - put the two together, and we're ready to roll!

Premise:

Bill Hodges is a retired cop. But there's one case which he just can't let go - the Mercedes Massacre.

Now 'Mr Mercedes,' the psychopath who perpetrated the crime, has made contact. Bill should pass on what he knows. But...

Friday Fics Fix - It's Not a Problem, Honestly

Sooo... I'm pretty sure an addiction to FrostIron is, well, it's understandable right? Right?

It's not a problem. I can quit any time I want (shifty glances.)



 

OK. As you may have guessed, this week's fic is FrostIron. (Fangirl note: FrostIron is Tony Stark and Loki having romantic-al type moments.)

If you read 'Friday Fics Fix' a lot, you'll know that I read far more FrostIron than is healthy.

But, meh. I love it dammit! And it could be worse... I could be a drug addict, or a criminal, or join a cult (ok, so fandoms are close to being cults... but they're not technically, so shhh!)

This week's fic my dear nerdy ones is:

Salt and Circles by usedupshiver

I'm going to count this one as 18+ on account of S&M sexy-times.

I have warned you. I am not going to be held responsible for the corruption of the youth - besides, the Internet probably beat me to it.

So this is actually a really interesting fic - because Loki is human, and he accidentally summons a demon - Tony. An interesting AU with a bit more flavour than the usual tidal wave of college antics (not that there aren't some gems amongst those fics too.)

And Jarvis is adorable as an imp.

It actually ends up pretty sweet. Honestly. It's cute.



Like this post? Try these:

• Friday Fics Fix! - Love and Loki
• Friday Fics Fix! (In Which the Blogger Falls Off the FrostIron Wagon)

Comics Wrap Up - Doing It For The Thrill

Graphic Novels

This week I reviewed the fabulously funny Adulthood is a Myth: A Sarah's Scribbles Collection (UK - US.) If you want to check out my review then just click here.

Single Issues

This week I read Invincible Iron Man: Extremis (#1 of 6) (US) - this is seen to be one of the primary Iron Man storylines of the modern age (on which elements of the first Iron Man movie was based,) and it did start pretty damn well.

The artwork is certainly distinctive - but I'm actually not sure whether I liked it or not. It was kind of realistic - and kind of unrealistic.

Am I making any sense?

Let's put it this way: it was realistic in terms of depth and the feeling of there being 3 dimensions in this world. It was unrealistic in that there didn't seem to be enough variation in skin-tone, shadow, etc. - and that slightly freaked me out.

It was like just off real life - which I tend to find unnerving. But I'm sure a lot of people would actually really like this style - and I can't deny the skill it takes to pull this off. It just wasn't quite my cup of tea.

I also thought there was a touch too much exposition (check me out with my fancy words!)

But I did like the whole: what counts as good? What's bad? How do you change the world? ethical questions deal-y.

So, yeah, an interesting read - but one that I've got mixed feelings about; still, pretty damn good.


Liked This Post? Try These:

• Review (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Andersen
• Comics Wrap Up - Getting Ready For the Showdown

Review (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Andersen

Title: Adulthood is a Myth: A Sarah's Scribbles Collection.

Author: Sarah Andersen.

Genre: Graphic Novel, Humour.

Release Date: 8 March 2016.

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 thought that I didn't know anything about 'Sarah's Scribbles' - but then I started to read Adulthood is a Myth, and realised I had seen so many of these cartoons before!

St David's Day - My Top 5 Roald Dahl Books

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant Hapus! (Happy St David's Day!)


I figured that now was the perfect opportunity to celebrate one of Wales' most beloved writers, Roald Dahl.

Born and raised in Cardiff (our capital city,) to a Norwegian family, Roald Dahl would become one of the most loved children's authors of all time. And this September sees the centenary of his birth (in 1916.)


These, then, are my 5 favourite Roald Dahl books:



Matilda (UK - US)

I was a weird and bookish child: obviously then, I adored Matilda - and read it over and over (and over.) It's a fab story aside from the bookish-ness (although that's my favourite part,) and I always adored the sub-plots of Matilda's vengeance on her horrible family.

This is definitely my favourite Roald Dahl book :)




George's Marvellous Medicine (UK - US)

Everyone likes lists, because clearly we're all creatures of habit/neuroses at heart. So the main charm of this book to me, growing up (and still if I'm going to be honest about it,) was the listing of all the weird and wonderful things that George puts into his medicine to punish his horrible grandmother.

Horrible family members seem to be a theme in Roald Dahl books - just don't try any of this stuff at home!





Esio Trot (UK - US)

This one is a really sweet story about love, magic (sort of,) and tortoises. Of the same sort of length as George's Marvellous Medicine, but with far less bitterness.




The BFG (UK - US)

The story of a runty giant who likes to collect dreams, and his new friend, an orphan girl named Sophie.

This is a great book - full of iconic moments and scenes. And you have to love the BFG - he's just so sweet! And he has gigantic ears that you can sit in! What could be better?




Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (UK - US)

The sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, this is one that I really need to re-read because I don't remember an awful lot of it. What I do remember though is how utterly random it is - even for a Roald Dahl book.

And that is probably the reason why a) not many people have read it, and b) I remember it so fondly (I'm a fairly random person myself  >.< )





Like This Post? Try These:

• Nerd Church - A Taste of Wales
• Review! (Woohoo!) - The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams

The Month in Review(s) - February 2016

Ah, February - a month of storms and Valentine's cards. And books of course.

 

Check out all my reviews from this month...

 



Kids

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (aka just 'The Lightning Thief') by Rick Riordan - Fantasy, Mythology

Adult

Today Means Amen by Sierra DeMulder - Poetry
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Classics, Romance
The Trouble With Wolves (aka 'The Trouble With Weres') by Leigh Evans - Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Werewolves, Fairies/Fae
Omega Beloved by Aiden Bates - Romance (m/m,) Paranormal, Fantasy, Werewolves, LGBTQ+, Short Story

Graphic Novels

Grumpy Cat Volume 1 - Kids, Humour, Media Tie-In
Red Sonja/Conan: The Blood of a God - Fantasy, High Fantasy 

Popcorn Reviews (Film)

Seventh Son (2014)