Book of November 2023

Years ago, I used to make videos about video gaming. Every so often I would get an idea, or I try to write another video, but I just never got around to it. During that time, I bought a website without any plan or idea on how to use it. Seems like the best time to use, especially since I’ve been paying for it. Time to blog!

Today I want to give some quick thoughts about the books I’ve been reading for the month of November. I’ve slowly tried to get back into reading books that aren’t just Tabletop Role Playing Games. However, a close friend of mine, says though still count as reading a book. Which is good, that means I can continue my addiction hobby without feeling bad. My main goal was to just read at least 1 book, cover to back. I read about 5 books. I found easier for me to read when I alternated what I was I’m reading. A tabletop roleplaying game, then to fantasy back, then back to a tabletop roleplaying game supplement, and continue.

The first book I read was Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu Players Investigator Handbook. This is the player’s handbook for Call of Cthulhu, one of my personal favorite game systems. I haven’t played many campaigns of Call of Cthulhu, instead going with one shots adventure. This book is not a requirement for players to have, but I would I highly suggest for players to pick it. It has some great advice on player’s goal for investigation games which play completely different from super heroic fantasy. It also has wonderful sample organizations that players can join to give a reason why a hobo, a pilot, and a scientist are getting together to fight the mythos. A great asset to both players and the game’s Game Master aka “The Keeper” Also has a history nerd, I do love how it has some information about the times and people of the 1920s. It also has price sheets in the back for how much stuff cost in 1920! My only qualm is there were one or two times I wasn’t sure if what I was reading was real or fiction.

Then was The Combat Codes by Alexander Darwin. I heard good things about this one, but I kept my expectations. Been disappointed too many times by being too excited for stuff. However, this book captivated my attention. A martial arts story with a student trying to rise in the world and a grizzled mentor, in a world that loosely reminds me very much of Final Fantasy VII. It’s been a while that a book has got my interest so much that I was almost late for something, because I was so engrossed in the book. This is a book can not wait for the next book in the series.

Afterwards, I went back to Tabletop Role Playing Games with Wizard of the Coast’s Keys from the Golden Vault. *Sighs in Wizards* I enjoyed the book more as a reference book. This book is all about heists. if I need a bank heist, I can look it up and use this book with’s map, it’s NPCs, interesting roleplaying hooks. If I need a place to store a MacGuffin for the heroes to try to steal, I’ll use this book with several different locations for the heist. From museum to devil’s. If I need a campaign of thieves getting together to deal a lot of heists with a cohesive story, not so much. As a reference book, I think it’s fine. Just fine.

Once that was done, I went to a reference book, Guerrilla Data Analysis Using Microsoft Excel: Overcoming Crap Data and Excel Skirmishes Third edition. by Oz du Soleil, Bill Jelen. Why does the book cover go so hard? Because it can. Does the book go as hard as it’s cover? At times, F#@! Yeah it does. For no reason other than passion for Excel. Another great book that opens my eyes to the power of Microsoft Excel. I don’t use Excel as much but someday I hope I get a chance to deal with a large amount of data that I will have to come back to this book to Excel in using the program. This joke is specifically for the one friend who is sighing or going argh right now as they read this, you know who you are and I love you.

I then went to read the classic Chronicles of Naria: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, a book I never read as a kid. I saw the movie and it just didn’t interest me enough to read the series. I didn’t even know they made a sequel to that movie. On MonarchsFactory YouTube channel I recently heard Justin Alexander from the thealexandrian.net who gives great GM tips, talk with Dael Kingsmill about his Appendix N. He talked about how the series was great and influence him, it was enough to get me interested in reading them. In the interview he also mention to read them in publishing order, not in the order chronological to the lore. As my thoughts, yep it’s fantasy, and yep that’s lion Jesus. I plan to read Prince Caspian next. I’m not enraptured by the first book, though I do think I would’ve enjoyed it quite a bit if I was a young kid again.

That’s all the books, I’ve read so far for November. I honestly am very glad i got back into reading and can’t wait to see what new books i can get my hands on.