Dora Reads is the book blog of a Bookish Rebel, supporting the Diversity Movement, bringing you Queer views and mental health advocacy, slipping in a lot of non-bookish content, and spreading reading to the goddamn world! :)
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This wrap-up isn't late, it's fashionably detained. 😎
So, in another round of let's-help-2016-get-the-hell-out-of-here, I'm tying up some more leftover 2016 business.
December was OK, for me, anyway.
There was Christmas, and I love Christmas, so s'all good. Plus, we all said goodbye to 2016. Which up until it's very last days was a b**ch. (Don't do what your big sibling did, 2017 - you can be better!)
January may have rung in, bringing 2017 with it, but I'm sure I won't be alone in having 2016 business outstanding. So, to that end, let's get one piece of that business done and dusted, shall we?
This is all the micropoetry I wrote in December. I've grouped the poems for the 9th and 12th together because they're sort of... companion poems.
Hope you like it!
1st December I remember
That she said to me
'Honey,
I'm a worker bee,
but the taste
is not so sweet,
as it should be.'
9th December
A silent agreement
That we would give our hearts to each other
but each keep our own.
I knew & you knew. We knew we'd never speak of it
12th December
We danced in serious nonsense
Words of Narnia & diamond smuggling
They thought we were fools
& we knew that our game was reality's mask
15th December
There was a murmur,
A rustle in the secret-keeping trees,
And our open secret turned out to be the tragic truth.
Your death killed her.
29th December When we grew up
We learned
That the woods are full of big bad wolves
And we must defend Red Riding Hood
With sticks and stones
31st December To you
You incredible people,
Who made me feel worth something
Who made me smile
Who inspired me & kept me going Happy New Year
It's traditionally New Year's resolutions time. So why don't we make this year a year for learning?
What type of learning you ask? Why any type! But here's some ideas:
Learn to listen to other people
Learn to think critically about the media we consume
Learn that learning doesn't have to have a point
Learn about the world around you - it's more difficult to have the wool pulled over your eyes that way
Learn that keeping your mind open is one of the most important things you can ever do
However you choose to learn - in a classroom, by listening to people, by reading, by watching YouTube videos, whatever - let your brain think.
Read the thoughts and opinions of people you wouldn't normally come into contact with. Learn about the environment, the economy, or anatomy. Learn a language, or just a few words of one. Learn about the world.
Knowledge is the first step to wisdom my nerdlets, let's try to gain some in 2017.
If you haven't seen the TV show 'The Librarians,' then I suggest you track it the hell down and have a binge-watching session (or just watch a bit at a time, whatever.)
Why? Well, lots of reasons, but two in particular.
Firstly, Noah Wyle faffs in and out in an adorable Sherlock-Holmes-meets-Indiana-Jones kind of way.
He also adds a decent chunk of lovable nerd, just for luck.
That's the premise guys - big library. With magic. Do I really have to sell it to you more than that?
Anyways, I also enjoy the odd snippet of fanfiction for the show (because I'm an out-of-control fangirl a dedicated supporter of all things reading, including the wonderful phenomenon of fanfiction.)
So this week's fic is based around The Librarians - which by now, you'd probably guessed.
Look, I can't lie to you - this week's fic is a little clumsily written in places.
That happens with fanfiction. #SorryNotSorry.
It's attitude and topic though? Has my support, 100%.
Because this week's fanfiction deals with asexuality, and people's ignorance of it. And the points it makes are important. There's also a touch of m/m romance where one of the couple is asexual - which is awesome.
This week's fic then, is:
Since Comics Wrap-Up took a break over Christmas, this week's edition is a catch-up of my comics reading and all related stuff in the last couple of weeks :)
Film Trailers Here's an extended Batman TV spot for you all :)
(This film looks hilarious!)
Single Issues I read a butt-load of short and preview comics to help prop up my Goodreads challenge total, so I'll just give you my three top picks.
(Trust me, these three are the ones worth mentioning!)
Heart of a Corpse: An Undead Engagement #1 (UK - US) and Bloody Dreadful #1 (UK - US) are two comics by creator Justin Sane.
Both are fairly interesting, creepily executed, tales of Victorian Gothic horror. Heart of a Corpse actually plays out like a silent movie in silhouette - and was really moody and cool. :)
I enjoyed both, and they def. came as a pleasant surprise.
Loki: Agent of Asgard #1 (UK - US) is the start of the whole Loki-as-a-teen series.
(Fangirling note:
Loki is one of the most difficult Marvel characters to define because s/he spends periods of time as a child, a teenager, a woman, a man, and two people. In honesty, I've probably missed something out.
Just trust me. In this period of time, Loki = reincarnated teenager. Thor = adult. That's as basic as it's gonna get, so let's leave it there.
You can't sweat the small stuff in comics. Your brain will explode. #TrueStory.)
This is the first part of Loki: Agent of Asgard Vol 1 (UK - US) and is pretty awesome. I really want to read the full volume soon for more sassy Loki awesomeness!
Webcomics
Over Christmas, I also read webcomic Princess Princess by Kay O'Neill
This is about two princesses who are faffing around a magical kingdom, challenging gender norms, and falling in love with each other.
One of the princesses is black - so there's a strong person of colour (PoC) lead too 😄
Princess Princess: Ever After (to give it it's fancy in-print title) is also available in printed format (UK - US.)
For anyone who doesn't know, 'Women in Refrigerators' or 'fridging' is a phrase that was invented by comics artist Gail Simone for unnecessary acts of violence against women in comic books - often used as a plot device to motivate the male hero.
The origin of the phrase was an infamous storyline where the Green Lantern finds his girlfriend murdered and stuffed in his fridge by a super-villain - apparently just to make him angry.
Valente's book plans to give a voice to fridged women - and it looks incredibly poignant, and undoubtedly awesome.
Here it is! My link list of all bookish diverse things for 2017.
So, just like with the original link list, it'll start small and continue to grow throughout the year.
So what counts? Well, a variety of stuff, but just as an example:
Discussion blogposts
Lists of authors
Lists of diverse books
Goodreads lists
Articles about diverse books
Interviews with diverse authors and/or about diversity in books
Some stuff that DOESN'T count:
Book reviews (although link-ups and lists of reviews are acceptable, this isn't a place for individual reviews)
Amazon/Goodreads etc. links to individual books
Non-bookish stuff
Spam
For more info, see the 2016 list which has more details, or just ask - I don't bite!
I'm not responsible for 3rd party content, or for the books the links recommend. If there's a problem with any link, just let me know in the comments below
This post is FREE for all, but if you would like to support me, Dora Reads, and the Link List, you can buy me a coffee here.
Disability in Kidlit - website dedicated to representations of disability (inc. mental illness, learning disabilities, and non-neuro-typical people,) in Young Adult and Middle Grade (kids') books
An Indian Summer? - Book Trust #ownvoices list of Indian books Books about India - Book Trust list Queer and Indian - A Goodreads list of LGBTQ+/Queer books that are either set in India or have an Indian protagonist from user Smita Vanniyar
An Indian Summer? - Book Trust #ownvoices list of Indian books Queer and Indian - A Goodreads list of LGBTQ+/Queer books that are either set in India or have an Indian protagonist from user Smita Vanniyar
Religious Diversity in Fantasy - includes characters with spiritual and religious beliefs in fantasy novels, but NOT beliefs specific to a fantasy world. Goodreads list from user Miranda
(* Please let me know if I've made a mistake with someone's name! I try my best, but it's not always clear which names are surnames, and I'm really sorry if I've got something wrong.)
So I'm here to say Blwyddyn Newydd Dda a Nos Galan Dda i Chi!/Happy ('Good') New Year and Happy ('Good') New Year's Eve to (all of) you!
Please be safe tonight - it's better if you remember it, and never get in the car with a drunk driver, m'k?
Have a good one, and I wish you all the best in 2017!
Likely, you've heard the Nos Galan winter carol, without even realising it - the tune was later converted to a little thing called 'Deck the Halls.'
Traditionally, it was played as an arguing/bantering game - which often got quite rude, and/or quite lewd!
Nos Galan has recently had a resurgence here.
The Mari Lwyd (which I mentioned at Halloween) visits pubs and homes around Christmas & New Year more often now (though still not as much as it did previous to the 20th century) and the Nos Galan races are run at Mountain Ash to commemorate Welsh folk hero Guto Nyth Brân.
In my family, we have our own tradition - at midnight we open the front door to let the New Year in, and the back door to let the Old Year out.
This is a tradition scattered throughout Britain, which my mother's family has done for generations.
Whatever you're doing tonight, stay safe, have fun, & I'll see you in 2017!
