The Witcher: Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski
The saga of Geralt and Ciri continues. Geralt recovers in Brokolin and begins anew his search for Ciri. Ciri joins up with the Rats.
A lot of people die throughout.
50 Years of Text Games by Aaron Reed
The most recent book-group pick at work. This is a history of text games–where the concept of “game” evolves with time and mostly becomes what is now called “interactive fiction.” It was interesting, well researched.
The Witcher: The Tower of Swallows by Andrzej Sapkowski
Ciri is nursed back to health by Vysogota. Geralt searches for the druids in hopes they can provide information about Ciri. There’s a reformed vampire. Yennefer is seen again.
A lot of people die throughout.
Starter Villain by John Scalzi
This was the girls’ pick as my Christmas present this year. It’s an odd book. Take the tropes of supervillainy; mix them with whimsy, sarcasm, and quotidian life; add a dash of sentient cats and dolphins–you’ll end up somewhere in the vicinity of this book.
Easy reading; enjoyably humorous.
That’s 35 books completed in 2025, one of which in French, and several of which were really long. I also played two text-heavy video games entirely in French: Syberia and Spiritfarer. My French has a long way to go (especially aurally), but it’s nice to see that I can muddle through content and not get totally lost.