#off the shelf

[readtilyoudie]

Man oh man, we haven't done one of these in awhile. Really, we haven't done a lot in awhile. I know we don't get a lot of personal interaction here, but I (The Mod formerly known as Jo) personally love going back through our little blog of just the two of us and see what's going on. And SO MUCH has changed (or not changed) since we've done one of these.

So onto news and updates!

So Mod Jo has changed their blog name from joufancyhuh to howlsmovingapartmentcomplex for a lot of reasons, one of which is she doesn't want to be known as Jo in the Tumblr space anymore. Again, for personal reasons not to be elaborated on. Honestly, considering how much she loves Howl's Moving Castle, this is fitting. However, it does leave a new name to be desired. Do we go with Mod HMAC? That seems somewhat awkward. She's inclined to go by Mod Dot but that's not in the username so is that weird? This has been a somewhat chaotic recent change where all the tags have to change so this is all still being figured out.

We redid our intro post! It's been some time and with the name change, it had to be done. Mod Inu wanted a separate list for comics, so there's a little more about us now, including our general role in the blog running.

We are bringing some of our old blog stuff back, like this! Also our book of the month and book reviews. Like Mod Dot (pending title) said above, it's a nice little snapshot of where we've come as friends and as a blog. Both of us burnt out on reading there for awhile, but Mod Dot* is going hard on the books lately and Mod Inu is dipping a toe back into reading. The trick is how to pick books that suit both of us, especially when we TRIED before and it still didn't get us far. Is this just the fate of all book clubs? To consistently read bad books?

Anyway, new book of the month will be going out for March. We're doing things a little differently because Mod Inu's temperament for reading is so unreliable. Book picks are now picked solely by Mod Dot* and sent to Mod Inu for approval, depending on the outline set by Mod Inu. This is a temporary measure until Mod Inu has their reading wheels greased up again.

[readtilyoudie]

Jo’s End of the Year Wrap-Up 2025

Total # of books finished: 840

The goal for 2025: I'm not doing number goals anymore. I did have a personal goal of rereading/reading books I own. I uhhh didn't do well on that.

The goal for 2026: I'm going to keep it the same of reading what's on my shelves. Maybe focus on finishing series I started.

Favorite book from this year: I think it'd have to be the Murderbot Diaries, but it's honestly a tough call. I'm not completely caught up to what's out, I made it as far as Exit Strategy, but I've been immensely enjoying the audiobooks.

Other books that deserve mentioning: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Hamlet, Prince of Robots. The Kamogawa Food Detectives. I, Robot. The Queen of Attolia. The King of Attolia. The Salt Grows Heavy. I Touch the Earth, the Earth Touches Me. Yona of the Dawn. Yes, No, or Maybe? Love, That's An Understatement! The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All. Tomb Raider King. The Omniscient Reader. Survival Street. Firefly Wedding. Tamon's B-side. Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun.

Best book buy this year: ...I got another copy of Howl's Moving Castle. Apparently it's a fancy re-release. I am excited to see if they do the rest of the series too.

How I would describe my 2025 reading journey: I wish to read but I do not wish to use words. Comics it is.

What I learned about myself this year: The more I love a book, the harder it is to get me to read it. I hate that. Can we not?

An unexpected reading journey I went on: I feel like I've been regressing back into my younger self, and apparently that meant as much yaoi manga as I could devour. Thank you, local library.

An expectation for 2026: Finishing series, finishing books I own, finishing books I started. Lots of finishing.

Some books I’m looking forward to reading: More Murderbot and Queen of Attolia series. The Magpie Lord. Brothers Sinister series. Tomes & Tea series. Finishing up Bloody Rose.

[scormey]

Off The Shelf: Earthdawn

I love “Earthdawn”. I also hate “Earthdawn”. It is just one of those games, any roleplayer who has been a part of the hobby for a couple of decades knows what I mean. Look, “Earthdawn” is a pretty awesome game, it really is. The basic premise is this: It is a fantasy game, in a deeply post-apocalypse world, where magic is returning, and bringing with it horrors from beyond imagining. The world is…

Off The Shelf: Earthdawn

[scormey]

Off The Shelf: Monster of the Week

Let’s get one thing clear, right off the bat: “Monster of the Week” was my first ‘Powered by the Apocalypse’ game, and it set the standard by which I compare all other such tabletop roleplaying games. This is a very high standard to reach, but considering how much I enjoy PbtA games, that should tell you how good those particular games are. Okay, I’m gushing about PbtA again… My Bad. Let’s…

Off The Shelf: Monster of the Week

[scormey]

Off The Shelf: Fireborn

So, I said I would eventually get around to covering a game that I really don’t like, and today is the day! “Fireborn” sucks! Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Seriously, though, I am not a fan of this game. I want to like it, I really do. I bought the Players Handbook and Gamemasters Book for this TTRPG years ago, at my wife’s request. We both agreed that the game art was beautiful, and it…

Off The Shelf: Fireborn

[scormey]

Off The Shelf: Star Wars 2nd Edition

I really need to cover a game out of my collection that I outright hate… but this is not that game! “Star Wars 2nd Edition, Revised and Expanded” from West End Games (WEG) is easily one of my top five tabletop roleplaying games of all time. Considering I own roughly 300 games, and have played most of them, as well as many that I don’t own, that is indeed saying something. But let’s get into why…

Off The Shelf: Star Wars 2nd Edition

[scormey]

Off The Shelf: Vampire the Masquerade

From an obscure, extremely niche game last month in “The Whispering Vault”, today I bring you one of the most enduring and mainstream “horror” games of the last 35 years… “Vampire: The Masquerade”. And when I say we’ll be talking VtM, I mean old-school “Vampire”. I only own and have played 1st, 2nd, and 3rd edition, and I outright refused to buy or play any of the “New World of Darkness” (nWoD)…

Off The Shelf: Vampire the Masquerade

[scormey]

Off The Shelf: The Whispering Vault

So today I’d like to talk about one of my favorite tabletop roleplaying games of all time: “The Whispering Vault”. This game of creepy, cosmic horror came out in 1994, but I didn’t get a copy until a couple of years later, as I have the 1995 second printing. This softbound game may seem rather plain in appearance, at first glance, and also rather slim, at only 140 pages, but oh what wonders await…

Off The Shelf: The Whispering Vault