Geek Out

Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Today, our writers share what they’ve been reading over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been reading. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get things started with sharing what I’ve been reading over the past month.

Kyra’s Nonfiction

Shocker! I play roleplaying games, and I tend to serve as a game master. Recently, I’ve been leveling up my game mastering. No. Not exactly leveling up my game mastering. The two books I read this month, both written by Jonah and Tristan Fishel, allow game masters to offload some of their responsibilities and cause players to become active participants in tabletop roleplaying games. I love the ideas presented in both of these books. The Game Master’s Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying flips the usual tabletop roleplaying game (like Dungeons & Dragons) script. Instead of player characters reacting to plotlines the game master presents, player characters co-write what happens during play.

Typically, players wait for non-player characters (usually the big bad villain) to do something, and their heroes react. With The Game Master’s Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying, the players set out for specific goals (for their characters), and the game master then builds scenarios from the players’ goals. This offloads some of the game master’s duties. You don’t need to come up with world-shaking events alone. The players are sharing that responsibility. This grounds player characters in the world the game master has built. And it keeps players engaged.

Proactive Roleplaying may not work for every group, but for $15, it’s worth a shot. Here’s a link to its Barnes & Noble page if you want to give The Game Master’s Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying a try.

But Jonah and Tristan Fishel weren’t done. They’ve recently added a companion book to this series, The Game Master’s Handbook of Collaborative Campaign Design. I haven’t had a chance to finish this volume yet, but from what I’ve seen, it expands on The Game Master’s Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying by extending many of the concepts into campaign-length games. I’m sure I’ll find plenty of twists and turns with The Game Master’s Handbook of Collaborative Campaign Design. The Fishels have done a great job of shaking up the roleplaying status quo. If interested in ordering the second book, here’s a link to purchase The Game Master’s Handbook of Collaborative Campaign Design.

And I’m still reading through The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures. This book is loaded with fantasy/magical creatures from various points of origin. I’ve enjoyed my time with it. But I don’t know if the writers or publisher expected someone to read it from front cover to back cover. I will finish The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures.

Shakes fist at the sky.

Kyra’s Fiction

I just started reading The House in the Cerulean Sea, like a day ago, reading almost half of the novel in one sitting. That’s saying a lot for me. While I read a lot, I don’t read particularly fast. I agree with the dust cover. The House in the Cerulean Sea does feel like a warm queer hug. If you’re looking for a replacement for the Harry Potter franchise, The House in the Cerulean Sea is a great choice. Too bad it’s a standalone novel. I haven’t yet finished the novel–I just started reading it–but I can already tell I’ll want more time with Linus, Arthur, and the six kids on Marysas Island. TJ Klune’s writing oozes charm. He makes it look effortless to create likeable characters readers will care about deeply. With the world charging headlong into countless conflicts, it’s nice to read a book that offers hope. Sometimes, you just need a hug.

That’s all I have for this month. Let’s check in with Season.

Season’s Fiction

Hey, Geekly Gang! I know what you’re thinking. I’m totally doing a Whatcha Reading this time around. I have a huge reading list I need to get through and I just hit up Barnes & Noble for more books to add to the list. This month’s title is the first volume of The Husky & His White Cat Shizun by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou. Trigger warning: There are mentions of suicide and sexual encounters. Reader discretion is advised.

The Husky & His White Cat Shizun is a light novel series. If you’re unfamiliar with light novels, they’re chapter books with manga pictures scattered throughout. They tend to be YA novels, but genres can vary. The Husky & His White Cat Shizun is an xianxia novel, which is a genre of Chinese fantasy that incorporates a lot of Chinese mythology. It also falls under BL (Boys’ Love).

The Husky & His White Cat Shizun follows Mo Ran (previously known as Taxian-jun) after he takes his own life by poisoning himself. Taxian-jun was a tyrant who took countless lives and committed atrocities that are briefly mentioned in the beginning of the story, but get revealed bit by bit as the story progresses. Mo Ran wakes up in the bed of Rong Jiu (a male sex worker), during a time before he became a tyrant. He gets angry with Rong Jiu, steals his valuables, and cuts his face. Mo Ran mentions he wants to redeem himself and live a less destructive life. So, you know, he’s off to an amazing start.

Mo Ran runs into his “shizun” (mentor) Chu Wanning, who strikes fear and hatred into Mo Ran. Chu Wanning is the only person who doesn’t coddle Mo Ran, and Mo Ran killed Chu Wanning in his previous life. Mo Ran is determined to kill Chu Wanning again. So far, all he’s managed to do is irritate the snot out of his mentor. I haven’t gotten too far into The Husky & His White Cat Shizun, but I’m enjoying the Chinese mythology aspect of it. The footnotes are hilarious since there are many Mandarin words that have double entendres. If you’re interested in Chinese mythology but don’t know where to start, The Husky & His White Cat Shizun is a digestible jumping-off point.

That’s all I’ve got for this week. What have you been reading, Geekly Gang? Let us know in the comments.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle again. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.