Spread out on our dining room table are, what I believe to be, all of the books that I had scattered throughout our house. On a cursory glance I have read to completion 40 or so of the books.
The surprise of the year has been “Shakespeare’s Restless World” by Neil MacGregor. Twenty chapters each with an artifact as the focal point of the chapter: food, plague, espionage, national pride, religion, etc.
This is not all of the books that I’ve read or worked on during the year. I also read:
- The first 5 books of the Chronicals of Amber by Roger Zelazny 📖
- The Search for Wandla by Di’Terlizzi
- Autobiography of Mark Twain 📖 (started)
- Several short stories of Jorge Luis Borges 📖
- and re-read parts of Beowulf as translated by J.R.R. Tolkien 📖 and Christopher Tolkien
This coming year, I plan to spend more time reading and creating. This past year has felt as though much of my time has been spent idling away on social media, checking for new content.
As you can see, I have in front of me the raw materials for most any kind of euro-centric medieval-ish role-playing game I’d ever want; And plenty of fodder to make things unique.
For those keeping score at home, from bottom right corner, reading “up” the photo, then starting in the next column from at the bottom:
- Master of Shadows: The Secret Diplomatic Career of the Painter Peter Paul Rubens by Mark Lamster
- Scourge of the Demon Wolf by Robert S Conley
- Dungeon Master’s Guide Dungeons and Dragons: Fifth Edition (5E 📖)
- Advanced Edition Companion by Goblinoid Games
- Epyllion: A Dragon Epic by Marissa Kelly
- Labyrinth Lord by Goblinoid Games
- The One Ring Roleplaying Game" by Francesco Neptello
- Grim World by Deanna Nygren and Trenton Kennedy
- Cortex Hacker’s Guide
- Mind Jammer by Sara Newton
- Ars Magica 5E by Atlas Games
- Dwimmermount by James Maliszewski, Alexander Macris, Tavis Allison
- The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun by JRR Tolkien
- Demonspore: The Secret of the Shrooms by Matthew J Finch
- No Salvation for Witches by Rafael Chandler
- Tower of the Stargazer by James Edward Raggi IV
- Geek Sublime by Vikram Chandra
- The Greatest Knight by Thomas Asbridge
- Castles by CharlesStephenson
- Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser by Howard Chaykin, Mike Mignola, and Al Williamson
- The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights by John Steinbeck
- Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Grindhouse Edition by James Edward Raggi IV
- Torchbearer Gamemaster Screen
- Dwimmermount Map
- A Mighty Fortress: A History of the German People by Steve Ozment
- The Clay that Woke by Paul Czege
- The Dungeon Dozen by Jason Sholtis
- Narcosa by everyone
- Diaspora by B. Murray, O.W. Marshall, T. Dyke, and B. Kerr
- The Broken Sword 📖 by Poul Anderson
- Shakespeare’s Restless World: A Portrait of an Era by Neil MacGregor
- The Majestic Wilderlands by Robert S. Conley
- Burning Wheel Gold 📖 by Luke Crane
- Kagematsu by Danielle Lewon
- Reign Enchiridion by Greg Stolze
- Sword and Wizardry: Complete Rulebook by Matthew J Finch
- Apocalypse World by D. Vincent Baker
- The Dead of Winter by Oliver Kapp and Frank Bohnsack
- Call of Catthulhu Deluxe: Book I the Nekonomikon by Joel Sparks
- Dread by Epidiah Ravachol
- Better than Any Man by James Edward Raggi IV
- The Idea from Space by Simon Carryer
- Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Player Core Book by James Edward Raggi IV
- Torchbearer by Thor Olavsrud and Luke Crane
- Fate of the Norns by Andrew Valkauskas
- A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe by Expeditious Retreat Press
- The Metamorphica by Johnstone Metzger
- The Seclusium of Orphone of the Three Visions by D. Vincent Baker
- Kingdom by Ben Robbins
- Chronica Feudalis by Jeremy Keller
- Neoclassical Geek Revival by Zzarchov Kowolski
- The Fall of Arthur by JRR Tolkien
- Sagas of the Icelanders by Gregor Vuga
- Collapse by Jared Diamond
- Inverse World by Brandon Schmelz and Jacob Randolf
- Deep Carbon Observatory by Patrick Stuart
- Iron Empires: Void by Christopher Moeller
- Magical Theorems and Dark Pacts by Dyson Logos
- In Search of Unknown by Mike Carr
- Castle Amber by Tom Moldvay