I’m very proud of my little book club that could. This is one of those projects I started during the lockdowns, probably because I thought it would be a great way to get people reading, talking and—let’s be honest—following me. HA! It did not exactly become an internet sensation. What it did do was get my co-founder Jordan and me to read 58 books we likely would not have discovered otherwise. That is a total win! You can find the full history here.

This year is our Iron Anniversary. It symbolises strength, durability, and a solid foundation. I like that. It has a we got this feel.

As usual, I spent a few months building the shortlist from my Ap-Lit Master Library. Seriously, it now has more than 200 books on it, and it grows every year. I stay true to my own collection of rules and considerations that help me curate the books towards more diversity, this was also the first year I let the public vote on some of the books

Jordan and I chose six from the shortlist. I divided another eighteen books into six groups of three, then let the public vote one book out of each set. The results were pretty cool and I am really happy with the final twelve we have for this season.

Here are this season’s books:

The date listed with each book is its discussion date. That is when we meet to talk through the five core questions we ask about every book.

Discussions happen in The GM Tim Discord and everyone is welcome. The meeting time is usually 6:30 pm (1830) Pacific on the third Friday evening of each month, though we acknowledge life happens and dates sometimes change to accommodate as best we can.

You do not need to be a Game Master, and you do not need to have finished every page to join the conversation. We do our best to discuss without spoilers and remember the goal of this book club is not to rate on a did I like this book scale. We are interested in how I can use this in a game, thats why our rating system is based off the dice. Add the dates below to your calendar, grab whichever books interest you, and come tell us what they made you want to bring to the gaming table.

Read one book, read all twelve, or just choose the ones that catch your attention. When you’re ready to talk about them, join us in the Appendix Lit channel on Discord.

Five years and 58 books later, this little book club is still doing the part that mattered, bringing us stories we might not have found on our own and giving us new ideas to carry back to the gaming table.

Now Season 6! Twelve more books, twelve more conversations, and no idea which strange little bits of awesome will find their way into our games. That feels pretty solid to me.

Iron, even.