The Best Books I Read in 2022
The Witcher Series and Dungeons & Dragons
Photos and gifs are my own.
Greetings, friends. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and I hope that you are stepping into a beautiful new year with your family and loved ones. I have been going through my bookshelf in the last few days and to tell you the truth, I can say that I haven't read many ''novels'' this year.
At first, this seemed like something to be ashamed of? Why didn't I read more novels? I could have read personal development books? but there is a very good reason for that!
Instead of reading novels, I read Dnd books, I read creature tomes, I read adventure books.
Not only do I have to write my own stories and descriptions for our Dungeons and Dragons game, because I am the dungeon master in the game, but I also have to read a lot of Dungeons and Dragons books to write these stories.
You can see some of them in the picture below.
What will you find in this article?
I'm going to tell you a little bit about the Withcer Series. I'm going to be as spoiler-free as possible. Because I hate that, but most of you are either watching the Netflix series (which has nothing to do with the books) or have played the Withcer games. But still, you should definitely read it.
In addition to that, I will also tell you about the Dnd books and briefly explain what they are all about. Let's get started!
Books I Read Last Year In The Picture, Including Dungeons and Dragons, in no particular order;
- Witcher Series
- Curse of Strahd
- Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
- Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
- Monsters of the Multiverse
- Xanathar's Guide to Everything
- Tome Of Beasts
Online Books (from DnDBeyond)
- Explorer's Guide to Wildemount
- Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep
- Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft
But I am sure that this hobby will not be of interest to all of you, but if you have read this article so far, it means that you are someone who loves to read books.
I will tell you about the Witcher Series.
If you want to meet a whole new world, you should definitely read it. If you have read and loved Tolkien's books, if you have read and loved RR Martin, I am sure you will love this book series. Personally, I can say that I love this Witcher Series almost as much as Lord of the Rings. Of course, the LOTR Series will always have a very different place in our hearts.
The Witcher Series
I don't like to give spoilers about books. I even had a huge fight with a friend of mine, just because he gave spoilers.
Believe me, you can tell me about superhero movies until the end and I don't care, but if you give a spoiler about books, especially if it is a book I want to read... we will definitely have an argument.
I should mention that I played The Witcher 3 before I read the books.
That's what drew me to the books. If you are someone who has finished the games, don't be intimidated by these books. Because the writing style is very fluent and comfortable.
This hero is a Witcher and if you have watched the Netflix series or played the game, you already know who he is. Geralt of Rivia.
The thing is that a lot of books have many stories. There are different short little stories. So if I say short... After all, it's multiple books.
But you don't get tired while reading. I didn't get tired that adventure had a very gripping effect on me.
The relationship with the other characters in the book is also very interesting. It's not exactly as shown in the games. I can say that it is a little more Yennefer, not even a little more, but a lot more Yennefer. This surprised me a little bit. Especially Geralt's insistence on "choosing" her despite the things she did.
In order not to give spoilers about the stories, I can say that you will read a very enjoyable adventure while reading this book. You will see how manipulative and how deep the stories about love are. I think there is definitely a real life example here.
In addition to that, I would say that there is a sense of fatherhood. Yes, it's a sense of discovery and it shows well how much war affects people. He has gathered folk tales and put them into a whole new universe. He does it very successfully. The way he writes the adventure and the way he describes a new world in our minds is very successful.
While reading, some things may seem familiar to you, especially if you live in Central Europe. But there are myths from many parts of the world.
The benefit of reading it after playing the games is that you get the voices of some of the characters. I didn't like the series very much, but the fluency and immersion in the book are better than the series.
Yes, I admit that the books are better than the Netflix Series.
My Favorite in The Series: The Tower of the Swallow
This is my favorite book in this series. Because a lot of things happen with Ciri. The way she is taken care of, and the things we learn about her. Our discoveries about her character. The fact that she's ambitious and at the same time she doesn't really know the real world like a teenager. It's really well done in terms of that kind of thing. If you read it, I recommend you turn on the game soundtrack during the battle scenes. I won't go into details to avoid further spoilers, but it's really great.
A medallion mini that we made with my friend, which we printed out from the 3d printer and then painted.
I recommend this book to all my friends who love adventure and a bit of intrigue. You can also meet many new and original characters. I was wondering if you could tell me which one of them is your favorite, if you read it?
If you liked the Witcher series on Netflix, you will love this book.
If you like The Witcher games, this book is definitely, totally for you.
Dungeons & Dragons Books
I would like to do the reviews of the Dnd books separately over time. But if you want to read my review of Curse of Strahd in depth, you can check it out in this post I shared a few weeks ago. For now, let me talk briefly about what the other books are about. I plan to write detailed reviews of these books in the coming days, what do you think?
Curse of Strahd
This book is a dnd adventure book. You find yourself in a place called Barovia. You can think of it as a gothic and dark place where it rains all the time. It is impossible to see the sun even during the day. There are always dark clouds in the sky. And here you live your adventures with Strahd, the main villain. I think it's the best adventure book ever published so far. You can check it out in my old post for details.
Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
This time your adventures are lead to a ''portal'' to nine hells, and you play a couple of heroes who have to go there, to Avernus. First layer of 9 Hells.
This book is also very good, I mean really good!. But I don't recommend it for new DMs (Dungeon Master). Inexperienced DMs may find this book difficult to play. I think you need some experience.
If you want to try the themes of fire and creatures, if you want to see some moral dilemma in your group, I recommend this adventure.
Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
Tasha's book is not an adventure book. It's a bit of a rule and DM book. There are also classes that players can choose for their characters. There are detailed new options for each class. In fact, everyone is using the rules of this book to create characters right now.
Monsters of the Multiverse
If you are not a DM you do not need this book. Yes, there are fantastical species/races that the characters can play with. But you really don't need this if you are just starting, in my opinion. It's a book with in-game stats of the people who create the problems that creatures and heroes will fight. I'm going to talk about my favorite creatures in this book in a later post.
They tried to bring new stats to many old creatures to bring them to the new power level of the players.
Xanathar's Guide to Everything
This book came out before Tasha and again has a lot of character options. Obviously not only character options but also a lot of resources for DMs. For example, how to give magical objects, how much you need to give, what the characters can do in free time. What kind of encounters can be experienced in various parts of the world... It is a very useful and must-have book for such things.
Tome Of Beasts
This is not a book published by wizards of the coast. It's a standalone book and it's a book like Monsters of the Multiverse that you read above. It has a lot of creatures and their stats. All new and really enjoyable creatures. If you have been a DM for a long time and you want to surprise yourself and your players, you can use the encounters in this book. Your world will become even more colorful.
Explorer's Guide to Wildemount
It's about cities and organizations within a world, the world of Exandria. If you're not a Critical Role viewer, I don't think it's for you because it's not an easy book to read and it's written a bit like a traveler's book. It is good for those who want to know a whole new world, good for those who want to be inspired. There are a few player options, but it is not a must-have book to play dnd.
Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep
It tells of an adventure set in the world described in the previous book. It is also possible to take it in its entirety, play it yourself and place it in your own world. It's very easy to change a few names and adapt it to your world. But the problem is that the adventure is not very beautiful and enjoyable. So it seems from reading it. I haven't played it yet, maybe if I get a chance to play it at a table I will find it cool.
Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft
Here we come to one of the most beautiful books. Again, a very beautiful book based on the gothic theme and about Ravenloft. This is also a setting book. The things it describes can be easily adapted to any world. It gives you many tools to create your own Ravenloft Domain. It also gives you nice tools to create your villain and his motivation. The character options are very nice. I recommend this book. Yes, again, it is not a must-have, but if you want to play a gothic campaign like me, you should definitely check it out.
Conclusion
I know Dungeons and Dragons is not a hobby that all of you are interested in. But I am sure if you check it out you will love it.
Anyway, I read these books this year. Yes, it's different from standard novels or self-help books.
But reading new things about this universe that puts me in different worlds, learning about the adventures there and going on a journey with my friends in this game makes me have a lot of fun.
When I wanted to read a written story instead of thinking, I read the Witcher Series. I have already explained at length above why I love these Witcher books. Honestly, I would rather read the books one more time than watch the Netflix series. Anyway, I don't want to knock something that has so much labor, but since even Henry Cavill left... Good luck to the rest of the team I guess...
Last year I had the opportunity to read a lot of things that I loved. 2022 was a very enjoyable year for me. Thank you very much for reading.
I hope you enjoyed it.
This post was written for Community Contest #7 : Tell Us About The Best Books That You Read in 2022.
Honestly, I thought it would be a few words, but I think I got a little carried away. Until next time...
I did recognized the medallion, haha!
I never managed to play Baldur's Gate tho I considered doing it at some point (it just came to me too late) instead of that I became the fan of Fallout universe. But I appreciated the Witcher series a lot. Firstly, I read the original novels (and then re-read it twice), than played the game, 1st and 2 parts, and recently (just a month or so) I finally finished playing the part 3.
Got 100% achieves! Yes, I am perfectionist & completist. Which sometimes isnt a good thing. The Netflix series is questionable, I paused at season one. Maybe I will watch the season 2 one day, idk... not really intrested. the books are far, far better!
PS. judging by the book covers... are you Polish?..
I watched season 1 and stopped. I can say I watched it in pain. Anyway... Good luck to the producers. I'm sure they have their fans. 👍
I live in Turkiye. 👏
I want to play the Baldurs gate game too, in fact, it is something that my friends and I have been thinking about for a long time, but the book is incredibly beautiful. I can say it is much more independent than the game. I mean, as far as I watch game videos on the internet. Of course, they are both dnd. 😅
I've played the Witcher series a couple times. Triss or Yen? 😁😁
Ha! Triss. 146% She is redhead and warm/mild. Yen is.... (sorry) but she is a cold b...ch %%%% 😉
I watched Netflix serial with a bit of pain tooo.. but not that much. (Pain from 'Hobbit' was far, far, far more extensive!). It just all depends on your expectations... I didn't have high expectations (not anymore), and I didn't treat it as a Witcher adaptation beforehand. So... just someone have molded some shit (fancy, expensive, fashionable, shiny modern shit) that can be sold more efficiently under the "The Witcher" brand name than with the original and unknown to the public title... as simple as that. no expectations - no disappointments. 😂
!BEER
I agree!
Hobbit was... okay for me at least. yeah my expectations are also none right about now.
You explained it really well 🤣 I wish they would stop selling us modern ''shit'' under different wrappings...
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You make me want to read the Witcher, I currently have only watched the movie. I downloaded a soft copy though I just needed this little push. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much I hope you can finally read it! 🤗🤗
Me too🤗
Thank you very much 👏🤗🤗
I really enjoyed reading your content, the only thing I recognized was the medallion, and the witcher series, and it's amazing, I have an amazing person who is dying for the medallion you showed.
If we are in a place where we can reach each other, we can communicate about the medallion. I can 3D print it and send it to you
Hahahaha oh my gosh, here I go relating to you again 😂 I picked the Witcher series as well!
It's so interesting to read someone else's review after writing my own. Definitely goes to show that we all have different perspectives! Of course, you playing the games is probably a big part of that too (I haven't). However, we agree on the most important part— the books are much better than the Netflix show! !LOLZ
Yes, Cavil leaving says it all. How do you get an actor of that caliber, who's in love with the content he is portraying, then go and break your word to him? What did they think would happen after that monstrous season two?! UGH. (I have some passion here 😅) A show that followed the books wasn't just Cavil's wish, it was so many of ours! Maybe it's the ultimate pipedream of book lovers lol
The D&D books are cool too! I think I've already told you about my family dungeon and it's roughly 40 years of history... I've been wanting to do a separate series of one shots though, and your reviews help me consider what books I might want to utilize for that! Von Richten's sounds enticing, you had me at gothic 😂 !LUV
Thanks for being a kindred spirit, and sharing your love of awesome books !PIZZA
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Thank God I didn't go into detail because now I've gone through your post and this is something you have done beautifully. I'll go and answer you there ahaha 😁😁
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Que genial que haya otro amante de The witcher aqui en Hive. El primero que jgue fue el 3 hace varios años y nuevamente lo empece hace poco, pude revivir todas las aventuras y terminar todas las misiones. Me encanta el universo pero me falta adentrarme en los libros, tengo entendido que hay mucho material para leer y disfrutar.
A mi en lo personal me pasa que estoy tan efusivo a la hora de contar sobre algo que me gusta que no me doy cuenta y hago spoilers sin querer jejeje.
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