Episodes
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Whether or not you celebrate love day, it can be nice to dive into some romance. In this episode, Brenna shares her top 5 romance books and Orin shares 5 boardgames themed around love. We'd love to hear your favourites as well! You can find us on social media @thehobbyshelf, or send us an email at [email protected]. And remember, keep expanding your shelf!
Books:
Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Zu
Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali
Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Armorers Handbook by Heavyarms
Strongholds and Followers by Mathew Colville
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Everything leads to You by Nina LaCour
Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Games:
Ticket To Ride
Dice Forge
Wavelength
Azul
Fog of Love
Love Letter
Red Flags
Valentine's Day
Love Will Tear Us Apart
Recs:
Imaginary Friends
Encore
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Evan Lewis joins us today for a deep dive into Dungeons and Dragons! If you're interested in tabletop RPGs, this is the episode for you. We discuss our favourite parts of D&D and give some insights from both a player perspective and a DM perspective. All the games and books we mention in the episode are in the show notes, along with our recommendations of the week. And remember, keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Wingspan
Dungeons and Dragons
Pathfinder
Books:
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Living a Feminist Life by Sara Ahmed
"The Lady's Dressing Room" and "Description of a City Shower" by Jonathan Swift
The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
The Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
Recs:
Mythender by Ryan Macklin
Ehdrigohr by Allen Turner
DawnforgedCast
MonarchsFactory
MrRhexx
XP to Level 3
RuneSmith
Go play D&D!
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Missing episodes?
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Do you want to publish a book? Are you interested in designing or publishing a boardgame? This is the perfect episode for you! In this episode, we look at the production process for both books and boardgames. We give tips for finding editors, publishing your book, designing and play-testing a boardgame, and more. All the books and games we mention are in the show notes. And remember, keep expanding your shelf!
Books:
Ten Blind Dates by Ashley Elston
Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren
The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
Semicolon: The Past, Present, and Future of a Misunderstood Mark by Cecilia Watson
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Games:
Dungeons and Dragons
Wingspan
TINYforming Mars
Wavelength
Everdell
Skyrise - Roxley Games late 2020
Gorilla Marketing - Roxley Games being announced in February
Santorini sequel - Roxley Games 3rd or 4th quarter 2020
Resources:
The Boardgame Design Lab with Gabe Barret
Board Game Business Podcast with Bryan and Jeremy
Stonemaier Games Kickstart Blog
5 Podcasts for Writers
Writer Beware: Vanity/Subsidy Publishers
Louise Harnby Fiction Writing Resources
Why Do You Need An Editor?
What Type of Editing Do You Need?
Finding An Editor
Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing
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Time for a deep dive! This is our first in-depth review episode, and we're looking at Everdell and Ninth House. All of the books and games we mention in the show are in the show notes, and we would love to hear your recommendations. You can send us an email at [email protected], or you can find us on Twitter and Insta at @thehobbyshelf. Remember, keep expanding your shelf!
Our discussion of Ninth House begins at 40:20.
We apologize for messing up one of the character names—whenever we say "Dean Sanderson" we mean "Dean Sandow."
Games:
Prêt-à-Porter by Portal Games
Everdell by Starling Games
Wingspan by Stonemaier Games
Everdell: Pearlbrook by Starling Games
Books:
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Front Lines by Michael Grant
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
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It's a new year, and there are tons of new books and boardgames coming out. In this episode, we share a few of our anticipated 2020 releases.
We'd also like some feedback so we can make the podcast even better. What do you like about our show? What books and/or boardgames would you like us to talk about? What are your top recommendations? Let us know on Twitter or Instagram (@thehobbyshelf) or send us an email at [email protected].
All of the books and boardgames we mention in the show are in the show notes. And remember, keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Black Angel
Everdell
Everdell: Pearlbrook
Kemet: Blood and Sand
Mariposas
Ride the Rails
Return to Dark Tower
Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef
Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun
Wavelength
The Great Wall
Hunted
Almanac: The Dragon Road
Books:
Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson
The King of Crows by Libba Bray
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
Sadie by Courtney Summers
Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon
The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya
Out Now: Queer We Go Again ed. Saundra Mitchell
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It's the first episode of 2020! Since it's a new year, we decided to set some book- and boardgames-related goals. What are your goals? Share them with us on our Twitter or Instagram (@thehobbyshelf) or send us an email at [email protected]. All of the books and game we mention in this episode are here in the show notes. And remember, keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Everdell
Santorini
Black Angel
Wingspan: European Expansion
7 Wonders
Gloomhaven
Frosthaven
Books:
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin
Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
Recs:
Focus on your Mental Health, we recommend Headspace
Orin's Goals:
Play 30 new Boardgames
Keep diversity in mind when choosing new boardgames
Finish the base game of Gloomhaven
Run at least 12 tabletop roleplaying sessions
Create 10 new CG models
Create and playtest a boardgame
Read 10 books alone
Support Brenna's writing by doing NaNoWriMo with her
Brenna's Goals:
Read 50 Books
Read more books that I own
Support local libraries and bookstores
Read more diversely
Keep track of all books that I read on paper
Participate in NaNoWriMo & Preptober
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2019 is almost over, so it's time to review the year. We share our favourite books and boardgames of 2019, and we discuss how our years went in general. You can find all of the books and boardgames we mention in the show notes along with our recommendations of the week. Keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Terraforming Mars
Keyper
Snowdonia
Gloomhaven
On Tour
Welcome To...
Wingspan
Clank! In! Space!
Dice Forge: Rebellion
Scythe
Splendor
Tiny Epic Zombies
Wavelength
The Final Flicktier
The Island of El Dorado
Frosthaven
Books:
The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester
The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A Flynn
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
How Long ’til Black Future Month by NK Jemisin
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Recs:
Wyrmwood
Rosalynne Love (@rosalynnelove)
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Looking for something wintery to read or play? We have a list of great recommendations for you. All of the books and boardgames we mention in the show are in the show notes. And remember, keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game
Champions of Midgard
Reavers of Midgard
Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries
The Final Flicktier
Flip Ships
Risk: Game of Thrones
Books:
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Highway of Tears by Jessica McDiarmid
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
East by Edith Pattou
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Scion of the Fox by SM Beiko
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
Front Lines by Michael Grant
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Recommendations of the week:
Do a puzzle
Cheg (chai latte with eggnog)
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It's the holiday season, so we're sharing our 2019 wish lists! What's on your wish list? You can find all the books and games we mentioned in the show notes along with our recommendations of the week. Keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Clank! In! Space!
Edge of Darkness
Smash Up
Sleeping Gods
Above and Below
Brass: Birmingham
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
Root
Tapestry
Everdell
Dice Throne
Books:
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
Pressure Cooker Love Bomb by Sharanpal Ruprai
Some Great Thing by Lawrence Hill
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Highway of Tears by Jessica McDiarmid
Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno
The Library of the Unwritten by AJ Hackwith
Semicolon: The Past, Present, and Future of a Misunderstood Mark by Cecelia Watson
The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A Flynn
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
The Broken Earth Trilogy by NK Jemisin
Recommendations:
Roxley Game Laboratory
Food Network Baking Championships
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*Some spoilers* We love gushing about our favourite things, and on today's episode we talk about our favourite game mechanics and book tropes! You can find all of the books and games we mentioned in the show notes along with our recommendations of the week. Keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Quirkle
Clank! In! Space!
Charterstone
Lords of Waterdeep
Dice Forge
Dominion
Legendary
Scythe
Small World
Villainous
Gloomhaven
Final Flicktier
Root
Carcassonne
Catan: Seafarers
Betrayal at House on the Hill
Books:
Women of the Dunes by Sarah Maine
The Truth About Magic by Atticus
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
The Outsiders by SE Hinton
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Recs:
Black Sails
Not Too Deep by Grace Helbig
Divinity Original Sin
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Looking for some games to play or books to read with large groups of people? We've got you covered! This episode was requested by one of our listeners, @threecrownsbooks on Instagram. You can find all of the books and games we mentioned in the show notes along with our recommendations of the week. Keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Outer Worlds
Dice Forge
Cards Against Humanity
Two Rooms and a Boom
Codenames
Telestrations
Fog of Love
Wavelength
On Tour
Welcome To
Sushi Go Party!
Books:
West by Edith Pattou
East by Edith Pattou
The World on Either Side by Diane Terrana
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
Emergency Contact by Mary HK Choi
Front Lines by Michael Grant
Recommendations:
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
The Mandalorian
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Everyone gets annoyed at things, and today we share our pet peeves about books and boardgames. We have some strong opinions, so brace yourselves and be prepared to laugh. You can find all of the books and games we mentioned in the show notes along with our recommendations of the week. Keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Gloomhaven
Final Flicktier
Scythe
Wingspan
Charterstone
Mysterium
Pandemic
Unbroken
Books:
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
Vicious by VE Schwab
Vengeful by VE Schwab
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Illuminate Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Recommendations:
Hunted
BoardGameDesignLab
Book Riot
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Game time! We challenge each other to find books and boardgames that match in theme, concept, or execution. Let us know if you think our matches actually match! You can find all of the books and games we mentioned in the show notes along with our recommendations of the week. Keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Gloomhaven
Phase 10
On Tour
Welcome To
Railroad Ink
Ticket to Ride
Betrayal at House on the Hill
Pandemic
Escape Room: The Game
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
Sheriff of Nottingham
Fog of Love
Books:
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Copyeditor's Handbook by Amy Einsohn and Marilyn Schwartz
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
If We Were Villains by ML Rio
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
Recommendations:
Calgary Public Library
Outer Worlds
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Sometimes we miss our childhood, so in this episode we talk about the books we read as kids and the games we used to play! Bring on the nostalgia. You can find all of the books and games we mentioned in the show notes along with our recommendations of the week. Keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Gloomhaven
Catan
Sushi Go!
Nertz
ChickenFoot
Monopoly
Trouble
Sorry!
Game of Life
Phase 10
Skip-Bo
UNO
Books:
Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft ed. Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe
His Hideous Heart ed. Dahlia Adler
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park
Warriors by Erin Hunter
Storm Thief by Chris Wooding
The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes by Anne Mazer
Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne
Animorphs series by KA Applegate
Dear Canada series
Bone by Jeff Smith
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
Soul Eater by Atsushi Ohkubo
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Recs:
Currently Reading Podcast
YETI Miniature Printing
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If you could step into your favourite fictional setting, where would you go? On this episode, Brenna and Orin discuss their favourite book and boardgame settings! You can find all of the books and games we mentioned in the show notes along with our recommendations of the week. Keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
D&D
Wingspan
Sagrada
Dice Forge
Tidal Blades
Terraforming Mars
Tang Garden
Ishtar: Gardens of Babylon
Gloomhaven
Black Angel
Deja Vu: Fragments of Memory
Books:
Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray
Handling The Truth: On Writing of Memoirs by Beth Kephart
Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft ed. by Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe
Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Harry Potter by JK Rowling
The Night Circus by Erin Morgernstern
How Long 'til Black Future Month? by NK Jemisin
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab
Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Other:
Witch Please
Pokemon Ruby
Pokemon Sapphire
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
God of War 4
Recommendations:
Hollow Knight
Lara Jean’s Cowgirl Cookies from To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
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Sometimes we like to read books together and play games with just 2 people. On this episode, we talk about our experience reading books and playing boardgames together as a couple. You can find all of the books and games we mentioned in the show notes along with our recommendations of the week. Keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Tsuro of the Seas
Sushi Go Party!
Wingspan
Gloomhaven
Abyss
Clank! In! Space!
Dice Forge
Small World
Terraforming Mars
Splendor
Books:
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Lair of Dreams by Libbra Bray
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Recommendations of the week:
Critical Role
PARKS
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Halloween is our favourite event of the year, so it’s time to talk about spooky books and games! You can find all of the books and games we mentioned in the show notes along with our recommendations of the week. Keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Welcome To
Wingspan
Eldritch Horror
King of Tokyo
Mysterium
Last Night On Earth
Tiny Epic Zombies
Zombicide
Betrayal at House on the Hill
Tang Garden
Dread
Nyctophobia
Books:
The Diviners by Libba Bray
The World on Either Side by Diane Terrana
Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
The Devouring by Simon Holt
Soulstice by Simon Holt
Malice by Chris Wooding
Havoc by Chris Wooding
Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman
Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft ed. Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Other:
Unplugged Book Box
Recommendations of the week:
Hilda
Vindication
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On this episode, we talk about how we experience stories. We talk about what stories are, what we find interesting in stories, and how stories are important for creating empathy. You can find all of the books and games we mentioned in the show notes along with our recommendations of the week. Keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Scythe
Abyss
Underwater Cities
Dungeons and Dragons
Gloomhaven
Pathfinder
Books:
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
The Diviners by Libba Bray
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
The Night Circus by Erin Morgernstern
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Other:
Critical Role
Recommendations of the week:
Untitled Goose Game
Erin Servais: @GrammarParty on Twitter; NaNo Survival & Success: https://www.dotanddashllc.com/nano-survival-success
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Excited for fall? We give our fall book and boardgame recommendations. You can find all of the books and games we mentioned in the show notes along with our recommendations of the week. Keep expanding your shelf!
Contact info for our amazing cover art designer, Stephanie Limb:
Twitter: @Stephaniel_Arts
Instagram: @steph_is_the_stove
Games:
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Root
One Night Ultimate Werewolf
Takenoko
Catan
Keyper
Tokaido
Groves
Photosynthesis
Books:
The Kingdom of Copper by SA Chakraborty
Love From A to Z but SK Ali
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Recommendations of the week:
What Should I Read Next
Secret Feminist Agenda
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Welcome to The Hobby Shelf, a podcast where we discuss books, boardgames, and sometimes other hobbies. On this episode, we introduce ourselves and talk about the podcast. You can find all of the books and games we mentioned in the show notes along with our recommendations of the week. Keep expanding your shelf!
Games:
Scythe
Snowdonia
Terraforming Mars
Dice Forge
Gloomhaven
Wingspan
Tapestry
Keyper
Books:
Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling
Burnout: the Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski
The Kingdom of Copper by SA Chakraborty
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
This Is All by Aidan Chambers
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Recommendations of the week:
Rahdo Runs Through
He Read She Read
