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 

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!

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

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

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

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

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)

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)

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

*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