Mini-Review! - Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

Title: Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

Author: Jeanette Winterson

Genre: (Modern) Classics, LGBTQ+, F/F

Amazon: UK - USA

Verdict:

This is held up to be a modern classic, so I figured - why not? It looked interesting, after all.

I think this book doesn't get read enough because it's about *whispers* lesbians. We need to get over the narrow-mindedness, in all honesty.

Let me explain something straightaway, though - given the knowing glances and reluctance to talk about this book, I was expecting there to be sexy-times.

There was none of the sexy-times in this book. There were references to the sexy-times, but that's all. And even those are fairly tame, to be perfectly honest.

And I'm always honest with you guys ;)

This is a book about the fictional Jeanette (not to be confused with the real Jeanette,) a girl being raised in an evangelical Christian family up North in the 60s/70s.

They're raising her to be a missionary and do the Lord's work.

This is fine until Jeanette falls in love with another girl. Then the problems start.

This is a semi-autobiographical novel, where the author uses aspects of her own life to create a fictional version of herself.

I really enjoyed this book. The fable-style interludes were cool, and the way the characters were written was the right mix of affection, humour, and frustration.

It was also hugely readable, and quite short (less than 200 pages - practically bite-sized!) And if you want an interesting read, it's a sure-thing.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads – Author's Site

Liked this post? Try these:

• The Diverse Books Tag
• Review! (Classics Edition!) - Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Nerd Church - Getting Back Up Again (And Again, And Again, And...)

Ever feel like life is just smacking you in the face constantly? My dearest nerdlets, you are not alone.

This week, life decided to knock me again.

Nothing big or dramatic, really, but when you've been hit a bunch of times already, any life-smacking-face action hurts a whole lot more than it would have before.

Ever been hit in a place where there was already a bruise? Exactly.

(It can be tough sometimes in the assassin princess business; someone gets maimed instead of killed and suddenly it's this whole thing and... ugh! Lucrezia Borgia wouldn't've put up with this sh**. #JustSaying)

The Poetry of Biffy Clyro

'Angels fall to the floor

Like they would if I was Captain

'Silver children' she roared,

I'm not the son of God'

- Biffy Clyro, The Captain

Amazon link (UK - US)

'The Captain' is one of my favourite Biffy Clyro songs. One of my favourite songs over all, actually. And the perfect example of poetry in song lyrics.

It's a song of hurt and hope, all woven together. It's a song with something ancient in it's heart - something that beats drums and dances for a pagan God.

Biffy Clyro's lyrics are a beautiful mix of imagery. No-one will ever be able to tell me that their lines aren't poetry.

Their lyrics (sung beautifully in lovely Scottish tones) are some of the most meaningful I've ever come across.

And they're proof that poetry belongs to everyone - not just academics and arty-types. Poetry is not sovereign territory, and can be enjoyed by everyone.

'This river is particularly sinister
Close your eyes and take my hand'

- Biffy Clyro, That Golden Rule

Amazon link (UK - US)

To me, the imagery in Biffy Clyro music - just that blend of the religious, the natural, the mystical, and the mundane - is just incredible.

Don't get me wrong, Biff' aren't a religious band. But they take religious imagery - angels, God, heaven, demons - and turn it into a beautiful complex weave of metaphors.

OK, so maybe I'm making them sound a lot more intellectual than I should be. They're a rock band, not a literature seminar.

But then, that's kind of the point. They've got genuine heart and a genuine rawness.

'Cause when my back is turned,
My bruises shine.
Our broken fairytale,
So hard to hide'

- Biffy Clyro, Many of Horror

Amazon link (UK - US)

'Many of Horror' is a beautiful, horrible, song. Brokenly stunning, it's just... wow.

It's about how love hurts - physically and mentally. And it's one of the few songs with the ability to make me cry - which is an achievement in itself ;) 

If you don't know much about Biffy Clyro, then you should totally check them out. They're awesome.

And, just because it deserves to be heard in all it's glory, here's 'The Captain':

What about you guys? Do you think music can be poetry?

Like this post? Try this:

• What Is Poetry?

Friday Fics Fix - Under the Sea, Just Bucky and Me!

There's an AU for everything - I'm sure I've said this before.

(Meh, maybe I haven't said it before. Who can remember any more?)

There's an AU for baristas, werewolves, vampires, colleges... plus that one time when I found a fic which literally had all the things I just mentioned, and more. :)

(Fangirling note: AU = Alternate Universe, of which there are many.)

And this week, I'd like to introduce you to the mermaid AU.

But first, let me level with you - I haven't been able to read as much fanfiction this week as I would've liked to.

So what I've done is pick the best of the handful of fics that I have read this week. Hope you like my selection ;)

There are a lot of mermaid stories out there - for multiple fandoms.

It's honestly not something I would naturally write about, or go out of my way to read, but I've stumbled across more than a few in my fangirling travels.

via GIPHY

This week's fic is a Stucky re-telling of The Little Mermaid.

(Fangirling note: As you probably know if you've been anywhere near this blog before, Stucky is the romantic entanglement of Steve 'Captain America' Rogers and Bucky Barnes.)

I'm not kidding.

It's made up of two chapters - chapter 1 is basically the whole story... and chapter 2 is the shameless smut!

Chapter 2 is 18+ only little nerdlets! I have to attempt to preserve what's left of your innocence.

Strangely, chapter 1 is pretty PG. So knock yourselves out with the first part, and show proof-of-age ID at the second ;)




This week's fic is:

In a Palace by the Sea by mylifeisloki



So enjoy the fluffy mermaid-ness (and the smutty mermaid-ness if you're old enough) and I will see you here next week for more fanfiction shenanigans ;)

(And hopefully by next week I'll have had time to read more fanfiction!)








Like this post? Try these:

• Friday Fics Fix! - So Many Alternatives
• Friday Fics Fix - Can It Be The Way It Was?

Comics Wrap Up - Sugar Cane in the Easy Morning

Graphic Novels

This week I read & reviewed Mythic, Volume 1 (UK - US) - which was pretty wacky, quite trippy, and a lot of fun.

You can check out my review here.

I also read Limbo, Volume 1 (UK - US) - also a trippy li'l number, and one that I'll be reviewing soon. :)






Other Stuff



Philip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, will be releasing a graphic novel, illustrated by Fred Fordham, in 2017.

The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship will be released in the UK, US, and Canada in June 2017.

It looks pretty darn awesome :)

-0-

Marvel are releasing a mini-series where Marvel characters are Tsum Tsums (yeah... I didn't know wtf that was before I looked it up. I'm still not entirely clear on the concept...)

I don't know whether to be happy... or scared. Maybe both?

via GIPHY

-0-

Troy Wiggins @ Panels wrote this very considered, impassioned, and interesting piece about the importance of black superheroes.

-0-

Ryan Haupt, also @ Panels, wrote a post about fears and failings, and the inspiration of superheroes in the real world.

Like this post? Try these:

• Review (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Mythic, Volume 1
• Comics Wrap Up - If You Change Your Mind, You Know Where I Am

Review (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Mythic, Volume 1

Title: Mythic, Volume 1

Author: Phil Hester

Artist: John McCrea

Other Contributors: Willie Schubert, Michael Spicer, Rian Hughes, Rob Levin

Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy, Mythology

Series: Mythic (#1-8)

Amazon: UK - USA

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.

This looked interesting - mythological stuff and all that jazz.

So, me being me, and being easily amused, I gave it a shot.

Premise:

The world is in a very specific balance. That balance is helped (or damaged) by mythical beings.

To keep things ticking along smoothly, Mythic, run almost entirely by figures from myths and legends, acts as a sort mystical-world-police.

And now they're under attack...

Best bits:

I liked the retro-vibe to the art here.

It purposefully goes in for that sort of poor-paper-quality look that gives everything a slightly nostalgic, retro-comics, feel, and it really worked.

I also loved Cass - Cassandra, y'know the Cassandra, prophecies and all that? - because she was kind of kick-a*s, cynical, and fun, all at the same time :)

And Nate - the cell-phone salesman who gets dragged into this insane world - is just fab.

You have all these super-powerful people like: 'Nate! Little help?!' and he just steps right up and works that sh** out.

(Oh, and Cass and Nate? I totally ship it.)

There's also some pretty damned weird stuff here for us to enjoy - which made me smile, 'cos you all know that I'm all about the quirky stuffs ;)

Not so great bits:

Dudes, I could've done without the mountain-sex (yes, I actually mean 'mountain-sex') - it's just not something I needed in my life. #SorryNotSorry.

So there's some sexual content here, and a lot of adult humour. There's also a butt-tonne of swearing, gore, and violence. So if any of that is an issue? Not the book for you.

A lot of people are also going to find a little bit... I'm gonna go with 'trippy,' but 'bat-sh** crazy' also kind of works.

Again, I'm all for the wackiness, but it might out-weird a lot of people. Trust me, this is wacky.

Also, the Mythic uniforms made me really, really, want pizza. They look like delivery people - and I got really hungry.

Verdict:

OK, this is gonna be a bit much crazy for some people's systems.

But dude, I thoroughly enjoyed the sh** out of it ;)

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads

Liked this post? Try these:

• Review! (Graphic Novel Edition!) Luna The Vampire by Yasmin Sheikh
• Review! (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Monstress, Volume 1: Awakening

The Diverse Books Tag

**This post contains Amazon.com affiliate links, which allow me to earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.**

**Please only use my affiliate links for .COM purchases, as I do NOT earn from other Amazon sites**

This tag was invented by Naz @ Read Diverse Books, who wants to get everyone reading diverse books.

And you guys all know that I want to get everyone reading books of any type. So there's a lot of crossover space there ;)