Review! (Poetry Edition!) - Blood Season by Claire Meadows

Title: Blood Season

Author: Claire Meadows

Genre: Poetry

Amazon: UK - USA

A few starting notes:

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

You may know that I love poetry - and I've been getting back into it more lately.

That said, this collection seemed interesting. Something about it quirked my distracted-toddler-style interest, and I decided to give it a shot.

Premise:

A poetry collection from Claire Meadows talking passionately about life, love, death, and blood.

Best bits:

Meadows can create imagery in her sleep. Her poems are stuffed with powerful, vivid, imagery - sometimes strikingly stark and raw.

Clearly, she also knows her writing techniques, inside and out.

There's an awareness present throughout this collection of the way in which words weave together to create those strong images she confronts us with time and again.

There's also meaning in buckets for those who like to pick apart metaphors with a fine tooth comb - there are impressive layers to this poetry.

The poet's passion shines through - there's definite feeling throughout.

There's also the slightly uncomfortable but beautifully powerful sub-text of domestic abuse/violence (I'm not sure whether it was intended or not, but this sub-text is most definitely there - whether a metaphor for something else or not.)

Yes, this is going to be problematic for some people - but the raw feeling involved is undoubtedly something to admire.

Not so great bits:

The main problem here, to me, was the cohesion of the collection - or the lack thereof.

I was left really uncertain over whether the speaker (the 'voice' of the poem) was meant to be the same in several places.

Likewise, sometimes it felt like the addressee (the person being talked to) of the poem was the same over several separate poems, and then a detail here or there would throw a discordant note into the mix and confuse me.

This was a problem with the collection arrangement, I think, more than the individual poems. The flow was damaged by the sense of same-but-different in the placement of the poems.

A few poems I didn't like as much of others - but that's a matter of individual preference, and is going to occur in any collection of poems.

Here and there I felt that the images within the poem - though undoubtedly still very vivid - didn't quite gel together into something (and here's that word again) cohesive.

Also, several topics here - specifically the under-tones of abuse and violence - may be distressing to many.

This is a personal thing again - I didn't have a problem with it - but I could completely understand if some of this is too much for some people.

Verdict:

Look, book, me and you? We had some issues, true. But I think we could make this thing between us work.

What do you say? You up for another round? ;)

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

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Reading Roald Dahl in Welsh (Part 1)

If you read this blog a lot - firstly, you're an awesome person and I love you! But secondly, you may be aware of my New Year's resolution to read 5 books in Welsh in 2016.

I'm first-language English (due to, y'know, history, politics, etc.) but I think it's really important to at least attempt to improve my Welsh-language skills.





I can now tell you, my dearest nerdlets, that I have completed part 1 (of 5, obviously) of my goal!

I have now finished reading Moddion Rhyfeddol George  - a translation into Welsh of the much-loved Roald Dahl book, George's Marvellous Medicine.

Roald Dahl, of course, was a fab author from the Welsh capital, Cardiff. He wrote in English, but it's great to have his books available in Welsh - especially since so many kids love them.

Plus, for me, there was the added bonus of already being familiar with the story of George's Marvellous Medicine, so I could get my bearings even when the language was more difficult to me in places.





But, what about Roald Dahl's famous skill with language?

Well, obviously, things are different in translation.

The things George's grandmother says (or 'Nain,' as she is in this version,) seem much more sinister, somehow, when said yng Gymraeg (in Welsh,) but a lot of the fun is still there too.

A lot of Welsh words are pretty funny to start with, without the help of a Roald Dahl story behind them, but I have to say that the translator (Elin Meek) did a good job of keeping the flavour of Dahl's original.





My plan for the other 4 books I want to read in Welsh? To read more Roald Dahl wrth gwrs (of course.)

One day I'd love to graduate to books which were actually written in Welsh, but as things stand, this means I have a frame of reference for the story I'm reading - which helps me get less lost along the way!

Like this post? Try these:

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Nerd Church - The Real 'You'

I'm sure you've heard, time and again, that real life is not as 'glamourous' as it's portrayed by people on social media accounts.

And that's totally true. We, as people, like to impress and/or shock, so we tend to spin things to their fully exaggerated potential.

I hope that I personally don't do this - since I largely like to be honest with you lovely folks, and since most of my social media consists of me tweeting about how I want coffee. Because... well, coffee.

The Bestie will agree that this is a relatively accurate portrayal of my caffeine-habits (though maybe not much else.) I am essentially made up of coffee and cake - which maybe isn't traditionally 'healthy' but I think they get ignored too much in our diets #JustSaying. ;)





Still, when interacting with other people online, an element of trust is required.

You guys don't know my real name (because I'm paranoid about axe-wielding stalkers - it would be just my luck,) but you trust me when I tell you that I'm Welsh, or when I discuss my depression.

via GIPHY

For all you lot know, those things may not be true (they are,) so there's definitely an element of you trusting me not to lie to you.

But the point has been argued (many times) that ignoring the mundane, the painful, or the less-than-glamourous, gives a less-than-accurate depiction of our lives - creating two of us: the online us, and the real us.





Now, from where I stand my life is pretty mundane all-in-all. It's only when I describe events to other people that it begins to sound like something that might be worthy of sensationalising in a made-for-TV movie.

Is this my fault? Is there something I do when I speak/write which makes things seem more exciting or dramatic than they really are/were? Am I subconsciously trying to make myself seem more interesting?

Or is it that we have a tendency to downplay things which happen to us? Are we trying to distance ourselves from the emotions they might cause if we looked at them objectively? (Or is this just me with my depression-logic?)

via GIPHY

I can sit here, in my living-room, legs crossed as one foot falls asleep beneath me, and tell you about the time I spent as a carer for my mother while she had cancer, or the days I suffered through gut-convulsions, which put a random end to my uni studies before they'd even started.

Or I could tell you about all the painfully-long days I had, when I was trying to work through my office temp. job, when really all I wanted was to not exist. I could tell you about the time I spent wishing to be dead.

But still, to me, none of that feels dramatic.

Because even the painful stuff was interspersed with very long periods of boring day-to-day life. And even that very same painful stuff just seems... well, like par for the course.





As far as I'm concerned, my life is, indeed, boring.

I'm not a jet-setter, I'm not a famous writer (yet! fingers crossed!) and I've never been a militia-fighter or a drug-smuggler, or the CEO of a multinational corporation.

Yet if I think about the events of my life happening to someone who is not me - say, a character on a TV show, or in a novel - they take on a dramatic hue that I didn't realise they had. Suddenly, my boring, average, life becomes something worthy of note.

via GIPHY

And that totally baffles me. Because, like I said, in my life, they just felt like something that was. Nothing extraordinary - just life being life.

So maybe, just maybe, the real 'you' isn't the one you portray on social media or the one you think of when you think of your day-to-day life.

Maybe it's a mixture of both - with a couple more ingredients thrown in for luck ;)




Nerd Church is a weekly post where I talk utter nonsense discuss topics and stuff like that!









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Month In Review(s) - July 2016

Ahhh, July - funny old month, some good things, some not-good things.

But, y'know, I'm still standing, and blog-wise things are looking uber-awesome if I do say so myself! :)

This is me this month. #TrueStory ;)

This month has been rockin' as far as blog-stats are concerned:

I hit over 20k page-views in all, with over 5k views just this month.

A lot of this was due to my most popular post of the month - my review of Luna the Vampire, which hit over 2k page-views all on its lonesome! (Honestly, I don't know why that post was so popular, but I'm not complaining!)

Diary of a Reading Addict now has 50+ followers on BlogLovin'.

I now have 900+ followers on Twitter!

I reviewed some awesome-a*s books this month - stand-outs for me include Nina Is Not OK by Shappi Khorsandi and Monstress, Vol: The Awakening. But honestly, I reviewed a lot of rockin' stuff this month!

And yes, before you say anything - I realise that of the 8 books I reviewed this month, 4 were graphic novels *shrugs* - there's nothing wrong with that!

As July 2016 faffs off into the sunset, I'm going to shamelessly point you at my post for The Diverse Books Tag.

I will also point you at Naz's awesome Read Diverse Books blog - check it out :)

And without further ado, here are the book reviews I wrote this month:

Kids

Thor: Dueling with Giants by Keith R A DeCandido - Fantasy, Media Tie-In

Young Adult

Panic by Lauren Oliver - Contemporary

New Adult

Nina Is Not OK by Shappi Khorsandi - Contemporary, LGBTQ+ (M/F and F/F)

Adult

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson - (Modern) Classics, LGBTQ+ (F/F)

Graphic Novels

 

   

Disney's Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland Vol 1 by Jun Abe - Manga, Fantasy, Media Tie-In

Luna the Vampire, Vol 1: Grumpy Space by Yasmin Sheikh - Humour, Sci-Fi, Paranormal, Vampire

Monstress, Vol 1: The Awakening - Fantasy

Mythic, Volume 1 - Fantasy, Mythology

Friday Fics Fix - Carry On Fluffiness

OK, so maybe, just maybe, we sometimes need stories which have the intellectual value of cotton candy.

And there's nothing wrong with that! Everyone likes a bit of fluff every now and then, right?

Well, at least I did. Because the amount of fanfiction smut and angst that exists in this world was starting to get to even yours truly - valiant warrior of fanfiction nuttiness!

(If there was an 18+ version of this blog, I'd tell you about it. But I can't, because there isn't.)

via GIPHY

So, in order to give me some faith back in humanity *laughs a little desperately* I read a fluffy SnowBaz fic from the fandom of Rainbow Rowell's novel, Carry On (US.)

(I reviewed Carry On a while back - and you can read my review here. *Cheesy salesman's grin and thumbs up*)




For those of you who don't know, Carry On is a spin-off of a separate Rainbow Rowell novel, Fangirl (US,) where it's featured as a series of books which the main character wrote fanfiction about.

So what we have here is fanfiction based on a novel, based on fictional fanfiction, based on a series of fictional books, within a novel.

You got all that? ...Yeah, me neither. Isn't it great? XD

via GIPHY

So this week's fic is about Simon Snow waiting for Baz to return to Watford magic school at the start of the term.

But he's not that bothered - because there's a kitty taking up residence in Baz's bed. A black kitty, with a haughty expression, who always seems to be judging him...

And the kitty is excellent company!





This week's fic then, my dear nerdlets, is:

Good Fortune by arituzz



Enjoy this dose of sugary fluff, and I'll see you for more fanfiction-y-ness next week!






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Comics Wrap Up - Just Gotta Get Right Out Of Here

Even for us unlucky folks who may very well never make it to the holiest of nerd-pilgrimage sites which is San Diego Comic Con (SDCC,) (dude, it's expensive!) this uber-celebration of geekery is important for all of us who love the nerdy-stuffs!

And, due to the magic of the interwebs (particularly YouTube) we can share in the goodies that are the interviews, announcements, and reveals of the event.

(And there's loads of them! Yay!)




This week's wrap-up is a look at some of the awesome things coming out SDCC - not all of it though, because, dude, I'm human!

So here are my picks of the fresh vids and news of SDCC, as well as the usuals from my week faffing around the medium of comics.







Film Trailers

Second Doctor Strange trailer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

(Still can't get over Benedict Cumberbatch & that accent though.

Like when Martin Freeman was putting on a Yank accent in Captain America: Civil War.

Reckon they'll end up in a movie together? With their awkward American accents and everything... lol!)

-0-

This teaser-type-trailer for Suicide Squad was actually released last week - but I only saw it this week, so it counts under this week's wrap-up. Because I said so. ;)

-0-

The trailer many people were waiting for was for Wonder Woman:

I have to ask though... is that supposed to be WW1 or WW2? Because there are parts that kind of look like both to me...

Anyway, this looks like it could be pretty cool... or not. Let's hope for cool ;)

-0-

There was also footage released of the upcoming Justice League movie.

I'm really not sure about this one... for several reasons that it would take too long to go into here but which start with Ben Affleck and the Batman costume, and move through various niggling points from there.

But what you gonna do? DC man, DC.

-0-

And last but not least, we have the character-focussed Suicide Squad trailers which've been released over the past week, featuring Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and The Joker:

DEADSHOT

HARLEY

THE JOKER

TV Trailers

I love this trailer for Legion. Legion is an X-men character who really hasn't been explored all that much - but has so much potential.

I'm glad FX have decided to pick this up. (Though of course, I still mourn the loss of the 'Marvel's Agent Carter' series.)

-0-

There are SPOILERS for the most recent  series of Gotham in this next vid - a show-reel of the craziness we went through last series, and a glimpse of the next series to come.

If you don't watch Gotham then why the hell not?! Seriously. Go think about your life choices ;) (and then watch it.)

-0-

There are also SPOILERS for the previous series of Arrow in this next vid:

Much as it pains me to say this - and it does pain me, of all the DC series this is one of my faves, and I'd even put it ahead of some Marvel properties (Gasp!) - I think this series has more than run its course.

I may be wrong - and lord knows I'd be happy to be - but it feels like we've actually come to not one but two natural endings over the course of the last 4 series, and now we're trying to reinvigorate something which maybe should've just been let be. #JustSaying

-0-

Annnnnddd this vid has SPOILERS for the previous season of The Flash:

Fans: Barry, don't do the thing.

Characters: Barry, why did you even TRY to do the thing?

The forces of good storytelling: Barry, please don't do the thing, please!

Everyone: FOR GOD'S SAKE BARRY, DON'T DO THE THING.

Barry: ...Guys? ...I did the thing...

Hopefully they can fix this, and not make it too irritating while they're doing it *buries fangirling head in hands* - we live in hope.

-0-

Some SPOILERS in this vid too, for the previous series of DC's Legends of Tomorrow:

Oh my gosh, this looks like it's going to be so GOOD! :)

One of my favourite things about Legends is that it's essentially the dregs of a bunch of DC shows cobbled together. It really shouldn't work. BUT GOD IT DOES.

*Brief interlude for me to hop about like the insane fangirl that I am*

Seriously, whoever decided to take a chance on this wacky beauty of a show - well done!

Other Stuff

I found this interview with G Willow Wilson (Ms. Marvel writer) uber-interesting - check it out:

-0-

Stephanie Tran @ Women Write About Comics discussed her reservations over Mark Millar's decision to make the new Kick-Ass lead a young black woman (as I mentioned a few weeks back.)

This includes a discussion of Millar's repertoire with regards to people of colour (PoC) and female characters, as well as his track-record when it comes to inclusions of rape in storylines.

There are some very interesting points made. I don't agree with all of them, but, then, when do I ever?

I certainly understand the trepidation over Millar's potential plans with this latest character, but also think that Millar has a reputation as a boundary-pusher. No, I don't always agree with his decisions (no way, no how!) but do I think we need boundary-pushers in comics? Hell yes!

Likewise, though, we need people like Stephanie Tran to question the decisions those boundary-pushers make, and explore the repercussions of the representations they decide to portray.

So yes, I understand the trepidation and worry about what Millar may or may not do with a black female Kick-Ass, but personally I reserve judgement until we've had a chance to see what Millar actually comes up with.

-0-

Danika Ellis @ Panels wrote a list of '5 Lesbian Mermaid Comics You Need To Read.'

Never say I don't provide you guys with variety. :)

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UK people can see a documentary - we Brits do love a good docky-wocky ;) - on 'Britain's Favourite Superhero' on Channel 4 @ 7.30pm on Saturday, 30th July.

It features Stan Lee. You have to love Stan Lee. It's the rules.

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The Writer Diaries - Micropoetry, July 2016

If you read this blog and/or my Twitter account a lot, you might know that I like to dabble aimlessly in micropoetry.

Micropoetry is basically poetry in the length of a tweet. Which is awesome, no?

So, without further ado, here's the micropoetry I wrote in July (which is hopefully a little more up-beat than a lot of my micropoetry has been in recent months!)

12th July

Can you know

I'm fragile glass,

And yet know

I'm strong as steel?

Can you take

Conflicting truths,

And believe

Both truths are real?

14th July

I know

It's never easy.

Just once

I wish

It wasn't quite

so hard.

18th July

You still don't get it

I'm not like you -

never was.

You're all made of sunshine,

but honey, I'm not.

I'm starlight,

I'm the stars.

21st July

Fingers dance across the keyboard

Pull the letters into the beat

Pirouette into a woven textile

Heart strings pulled along to the beat

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