At Nerdarchy.com: 2015 gift guide for gamers

Okay, maybe not a full gift guide, but this week's Nerdarchy article does offer up 5 suggestions of gifts for tabletop gamers this holiday season. Chocolate dice, anyone?

Books read in 2015: No. 38 -- Thread of Hope

by Jeff Shelby

Started: Dec. 8
Finished: Dec. 12

Notes: I've heard good things about this thriller author, so I thought I'd check out his work.

Mini review: A cop's young daughter goes missing, and years later he's a private investigator returning to his old stomping grounds to help a pal in trouble. From there opens up some old wounds and some old friendships, as well as the seedy side of a wealthier section of the San Diego area. All in all, I have to say this was a damn fine read, almost too clean, reminding me a bit of a young Dean Koontz, back before all of Koontz's books started reading the same. I'll have to look into more from this author.

At Nerdarchy.com: Precision dice from Gamescience

Among serious war gamers, board gamers, and tabletop role players, the subject of dice is often a weighty issue. Sometimes literally weighty. But over the years one company has consistently put out not only great dice for gamers, but precision dice, the type of dice used professionally by casinos. That company is Gamescience, and this week at Nerdarchy I interview the man behind the dice, Louis Zocchi.

Books read in 2015: No. 37 -- There's Snow Time Like Cookie Time!

by Suzanne Heins and Andrew Blackburn
Illustrated by Mike Esberg

Started: Dec. 8
Finished: Dec. 8

Notes: I'm not much of a reader of children's books, but this one has personal significance for me. For the last 12 years, Hallmark each Christmas has released a plush singing snowman (about 12 inches tall) with a short children's book. While she was living, my wife collected all of these snowmen, though she didn't have all the books. After her passing, I have continued the tradition. This book is the one for 2015, and below you can see and hear the accompanying snowman.

Mini review: I'm also not much of a cutesy kind of person, not normally, but I have to say this was definitely a cute tale of a snowman and his family and a little situation they find themselves in concerning holiday cookies. Young kids should like this one.

Books read in 2015: No. 36 -- The Case of the Demure Defendant

by Erle Stanley Gardner

Started: Dec. 4
Finished: Dec. 8

Notes: Having just finished reading my first Perry Mason novel with mixed feelings, I now give the author another shot at winning me over.

Mini review: Not as bad as the earlier Perry Mason novel I read, but it's still quite clunky. These books shine their best once the criminal trial begins, but the stories leading up to the trial are often rubbish. Also, this one was one of the most complicated mystery novels I've ever read, but not necessarily in a good way. It's impossible for the reader to work out who the true villain happens to be because there is always information that's not provided until the ending when someone usually confesses. Kind of glad I read a couple of these novels as I always like to study different writers, but I doubt I'll be returning here anytime soon.

Books read in 2015: No. 35 -- The Case of The Foot-loose Doll

by Erle Stanley Gardner

Started: Nov. 29
Finished: Dec. 4

Notes: I've a couple of these Perry Mason paperbacks left behind by my late dad, who wasn't a big reader of fiction, though when he did dip into fiction it was usually detective related. As I've never read any works from this author, this should be a new experience for me.

Mini review: I felt an extreme dislike for the first half of this novel. The writing was so amateur, I had to wonder how this series and the Perry Mason character had ever become so popular. "Repetitive" is the word I used to describe the first half of the book. In one chapter and character will discuss actions he is going to take, then in the next chapter he will take those actions, and finally in another chapter he will go into excruciating detail about the actions he has taken. And this happened more than once. However, the second half of this book was an actual pleasure to read, the portion of the novel which included the courtroom scenes. So, I guess I now see the appeal, though I can't say this author is someone I want to read religiously. That being said, I do have one more of these novels, and I will now turn to it in order to give the author another shot at winning me over.

At Nerdarchy.com: Music for your tabletop role playing games

This week over at Nerdarchy.com, I list some of my favorite soundtracks I've used over the years during role playing game sessions. Ennio Morricone and Basil Poledouris are some favorites, but there are others.