Thursday, 1 November 2018

Comics Wrap-Up - Teeth Ground Sharp and Eyes Glowing Red





comics wrap-up title image with manga-style lady handing her living shadow a flower




OK, you all full of chocolates and sweets and Halloween sugar-hangovers?

Well, our favourite trickster God's been at his own Halloween tricks, and you know what that means - everything's in the 'Other Stuff' category!

Well played Loki, well played.




Loki pulling a wtf? face
Via Giphy



Wednesday, 31 October 2018

Four Years of Blogging, Dearest Nerdlets, and Many More To Come (+ FREE Printable Bookmarks PDF)





It's Halloween, and you know what that means:

Dora Reads is four years old!

And yes, I'm gonna gush like hell. Cos y'know I looooove all of youuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I don't mean that in an 'OMG, I'd like to thank my fans, the little people' kind of way.




balloons and a masquerade mask against a pink background





I MEAN I ACTUALLY LOVE ALL OF YOU.

Even if you've never interacted with me, never let me know that you're out there reading my words, I still love you.

Because you care enough to read what I'm writing.

And that earns you a v. special place in my heart.

A special shout-out to everyone who's commented, shared, chatted on social media, and generally supported me!

I've met some awesome-sauce friends over the years, and I wish I lived closer to some of you so I could give you a hug IRL.



Sunday, 28 October 2018

Nerd Church - My Real-Life Ghost Stories






It's Halloween on Wednesday... let's make this week's Nerd Church spoopy!




scared Victorian-y chick reading at night in an armchair




Do you believe in ghosts?



I do...

Kind of.

(You know nothing is ever simple with me!)



Friday, 26 October 2018

Friday Fics Fix - Highjinks





'Chang snorted, “Are you trying to be breezy, Draco?”


“I am breezy, Chang.” Draco said, slumping even further back in his chair to prove his point. “Totally breez-”

It was then that Draco fell off his chair.'




fics fix title image with purple background and white lightning bolt shape






More shenanigans to finish off our month of Harry-Potter-themed fanfiction!

Because October is for Harry Potter. *Nods sagely*

I didn't have long to throw this post together, so apologies if it's a little shorter than usual!


Wednesday, 24 October 2018

Really Mini-Reviews - Escorting the Escort by Lyss Em and Babyvamp by Lyssa Dering





Really Mini-Reviews title image with inset title images for Escorting the Escort and Babyvamp, and icon of books in bottom corner



You want some awesome M/M New Adult romance novellas?

Of course ya do!

Today I've got reviews of Escorting the Escort by Lyss Em and Babyvamp by Lyssa Dering - which are both written by the same author, just under different names.

They explore orientations beyond just Gay or Straight, and are pretty damned awesome t'boot!




Sunday, 21 October 2018

Nerd Church - That Feeling When... Why Labelling Emotions Is Healthy (Ft. #Science)




(Warning: this post discusses mental health stigma, and grief.)



In the UK, there's a TV programme live on Sunday mornings sometimes called Sunday Morning Live.

(I know, right? How did they come up with that name?!)

It's a sort-of chat show with a moral/social/ethical/semi-religious basis.

It can be decent. It can be awful.

Largely I only watch it because before 1pm on a Sunday I don't exist beyond zombie coffee-drinker; my anger at the more extreme guests tends to help me wake up while the rest of the programme is still happily sleepy.




artsy face with multicoloured ink blots/paint






Anywho, last week, they were asking whether there's a mental health crisis in the UK.

Now, you can argue statistics and definitions on that one until you're blue in the face and unable to look at another decimal point or percentage sign for a good long time...

...but we can all agree that good mental health is... well... good.