Tag: Non-fiction

How To Defend Your Lair by Keith Ammann

I love RPG books so much, I write my own. I also have a terrible weakness for buying more, especially if they’ll facilitate my own campaigns, whether solo or otherwise. Since most of my groups tend to play D&D (and I do a fill-in campaign for one of them. Oh, and professionally DM every so …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/12/06/how-to-defend-your-lair-by-keith-ammann/

Making Love With The Land: Essays by Joshua Whitehead

I didn’t understand what “creative non-fiction” was supposed to be until I read the first two magnificent essays in this collection, ironically even before Joshua Whitehead begins his somewhat disparaging essay on the subject. As with any art, there’s a strong sense of “I know it when I see it”, and I definitely knew I …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/11/21/making-love-with-the-land-essays-by-joshua-whitehead/

The Fairy Atlas: Fairy Folk of the World by Anna Claybourne & Miren Asiain Lora

This is such a gorgeous volume for anyone of any age who has an interest in fairy folk the world over. I highly recommend getting it in hardback, as the paper quality is absolutely wonderful: luxuriously thick and offering a wonderful canvas for the art and information on offer inside. And what art and information! …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/10/04/the-fairy-atlas-fairy-folk-of-the-world-by-anna-claybourne-miren-asiain-lora/

How To Master Your SOCIAL POWER In Middle School: Kid Confident Book 1 by Bonnie Zucker & DeAndra Hodge

So my eldest child is now in middle school, and as someone who did not go through the American system for that span but who does have a husband who thinks it’s the most formative experience of a child’s life, it has been a bit nerve-wracking, to say the least, to watch my little fledgling …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/09/01/how-to-master-your-social-power-in-middle-school-kid-confident-book-1-by-bonnie-zucker-deandra-hodge/

Around The World In 80 Birds by Mike Unwin & Ryuto Miyake

Genuinely unsure how I’ve become some sort of go-to reviewer for books about birds, but I 100% love it, especially when it brings gorgeous, informative books like these into my inbox! Around The World In 80 Birds is a delightful travelogue that uses birds as its focus. Charting the world by discussing eighty of the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/08/23/around-the-world-in-80-birds-by-mike-unwin-ryuto-miyake/

Hello Nature Activity Book by Nina Chakrabarti

with the subtitle “Explore, Draw, Color, and Discover the Great Outdoors”. Okay, can I be real? While this is marketed as a children’s activity book, I am 100% keeping it for meeeeeee. I did, ofc, reluctantly offer it up to my children, but my youngest two are still enthralled by their excellent Gail Gibbons’ workbooks …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/08/05/hello-nature-activity-book-by-nina-chakrabarti/

Gail Gibbons’ From Seed To Plant Workbook and Monarch Butterfly Workbook by Gail Gibbons

Oh, summertime, when the kids are in my hair 24/7. At least my eldest child has neighborhood friends to play with: my two youngest, being shyer and on the autism spectrum, have a harder time finding safe things they want to do. Fortunately, Gail Gibbons has a wonderful solution to help parents entertain their kids …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/07/19/gail-gibbons-from-seed-to-plant-workbook-and-monarch-butterfly-workbook-by-gail-gibbons/

Cosplay: A History by Andrew Liptak

Wow, what a comprehensive look this is at the past and present of cosplay! I’ve always loved dressing up, ever since my parents bought me a gorgeous Snow White dress that I was forbidden to wear except on Special Occasions, so I maybe got to wear it twice before outgrowing it as a child (which …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/06/29/cosplay-a-history-by-andrew-liptak/

The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide: Expanded Genres Edition by James D’Amato

with the subsubtitle “Prompts and Activities to Create Compelling Characters for Horror, Sci-Fi, X-Punk, and More” As an RPG nerd from way back, I was both deeply appreciative and somewhat perplexed by this book. I’ve never really had trouble dreaming up backstories for my characters, but can see how people with less active imaginations would …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/06/17/the-ultimate-rpg-character-backstory-guide-expanded-genres-edition-by-james-damato/

Atlas of Extinct Animals by Radek Malý, illustrated by Jiří Grbavčic & Pavel Dvorský

God, what a depressing book. And I don’t say that as a bad thing necessarily, tho I certainly wouldn’t recommend this for anyone in need of an emotional pick-me-up. And while this is a decidedly sad volume — what self-respecting book covering the often needless extinction of entire species wouldn’t be? — it also carries …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/05/05/atlas-of-extinct-animals-by-radek-maly-illustrated-by-jiri-grbavcic-pavel-dvorsky/