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Books make for a wonderful present, whether the recipient is into cooking, biographies, sports, video games, and more. Here are some of the best books to gift this holiday season.
The 2023 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records takes readers on a journey that’s out of this world, revealing the latest and greatest record-breaking achievements here on Earth and across the vast distances of space. A wonderful book for all ages, and something that will become a collectible in the future.
A Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories offers an unprecedented glimpse into the formation of the legendary talent of Leonard Cohen. In A Ballet of Lepers, readers will discover that the magic that animated Cohen’s unforgettable body of work was present from the very beginning. The pieces in this collection offer startling insight into Cohen’s imagination and creative process, and explore themes that would permeate his later work.
The Series: What I Remember, What It Felt Like, What It Feels Like Now by Ken Dryden is the new book by the Hall of Fame goalie and bestselling author. It celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series that is considered one of the most important moments in hockey history. Dryden says it changed the game, on the ice and off, everywhere in the world, and became one of the most significant events in all of Canada’s history.
The Trapped In A Video Game series is a fantastic collection for chapter readers who love both books and video games. Getting sucked into a video game is not as much fun as you’d think – there might be jetpacks, hover tanks, and infinite lives, but what happens when the game starts to turn on you? In this best-selling series, 12-year-old Jesse Rigsby finds out just how dangerous video games – and the people making those games – can be.
Down And Out In Paradise: The Life Of Anthony Bourdain is the first book to tell the true and full Bourdain story, relating the highs and lows of an extraordinary life. Author Charles Leerhsen shows how Bourdain’s never-before-reported childhood traumas fueled both his creativity and the insecurities that would lead him to a place of despair.
The Lonely Planet guides are must-have travel books for anyone who loves the sport of globetrotting. Whether you’re buying a gift for someone who has a specific destination in mind, or a wanderlust that flies by the seat of their pants, there’s a Lonely Planet book designed specifically for them.
And while you’re curled up with a great book, be sure to have a Glade candle or plug-in nearby. Their incredible scents for the holiday season are warm, inviting, and homey, including Apple of my Pie, Snow Much Fun, and Pine Wonderland, to name just a few.
– Jennifer Cox
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I’ve been writing about V-Commandos on this website for over five years now. The WW2 tactics game, and its multiple expansions, are some of the best expressions of stealth in all of board gaming, and for those five years it has remained one of my most-played co-op experiences.
In 2022, though, it’s time for some changes. For one, the game is no longer called V-Commandos. Legal wrangling with the owners of the Commandos series of video games has made sure of that. The game, and its expansions, are now known as V-Sabotage.
More importantly, 2022 is also the year the game finally got a much-deserved glow-up. See, for all the joys to be found in playing the game—and I really cannot stress enough how good it is—its presentation was always a little basic, with simple art and tokens that were functional, but also a bit drab, and hard to make out from across the table.
Now, thanks to some upgrade packs, the game has a ton of excellent plastic miniatures representing each character, enemy, and even select pieces of equipment, in exquisite detail. It also has new player cards, featuring new art that gives each of the game’s heroes a stylistic refresh.
G/O Media may get a commission
Having finally taken these miniature upgrades for a spin last week, one of my main takeaways is that this doesn’t change how the game plays one bit. What it does do is make a huge improvement to the overall experience, as well as your quality-of-life while taking on a mission. Aside from looking fantastic, having each player and enemy (and alarm, door, machine gun nest, remote-control tank and barrel of poison gas) represented in 3D makes scanning the table and planning strategies much easier. Previously, you’d have to scan the whole thing repeatedly just to remember what was where. It also got easy to miss certain things on bigger missions when everything, from humans to items, was represented by a flat little cardboard token.
Also as anyone who has been around Kickstarter for the last five years will know, plastic miniatures are just more fun to use. Whether it’s because it harks back to our childhoods, or because they’re tangible, scaled, realistic versions of the things we’re supposed to be actually using in the game (or both!), it is usually better to be playing a game with miniatures than without.
The negative consequences of this love for miniatures on game design, production and shipping costs is another story for another time, of course, though some of those impacts can still be felt here; the miniature expansion for the core game costs more than the core game itself, and if you’ve got or want V-Sabotage’s expansions, and then their miniatures as well, then the cost blowout is going to be enormous.
Is that going to be worth it for someone looking at getting into the game now? I don’t know, that depends on how much money you make, how long you’re going to play the game, and all kinds of other factors that are reminding me while I type this as to why our reviews never mention the concept of “value”!
Personally speaking, though, as someone who has played this game countless times with friends over a five-year timeframe—enough times that it’s now one of their favourite games as well–the addition of miniatures has really elevated the whole experience for me. I’m normally pretty dismissive of the current frenzy for plastic minis in board games (see my points above!), but this is a rare case where, having played the game first without them, I can say it’s definitely better with them.
Which sounds…superficial, but then isn’t half the reason people prefer to play board games in 2022 these kind of tactile delights?
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Luke Plunkett
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Updates Include Chrome Browser Extension, “Nerdlebrity” Influencers, CollectorCast Podcast, and YouTube Channel Launch
Press Release
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updated: Sep 22, 2017
NASHUA, N.H., September 22, 2017 (Newswire.com)
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Collector culture is growing at an exponential rate, and online collector hub Gemr (pronounced with a soft “g” because they’re a real gem) is quickly emerging as the preferred community for people to collect, connect, discover, expand, and immerse themselves in the things they love. Since their relaunch in March of 2017, Gemr’s user base has expanded to over 100,000 collectors with a diverse range of interests, due in large part to an aggressive marketing campaign combined with a bi-monthly site and app updates based primarily off of user feedback. Most recently, Gemr has begun an expansion into officially branded club experiences with the launch of the Loot Anime Club, a partnership between the collecting hub and subscription box service Loot Crate.
In anticipation of the upcoming Batman Day on Sept 23, (with the help of Gemr’s Chief Marketing Officer Chris Gore’s alter-ego @BatChrisGore) Gemr is hosting a giveaway that even Bruce Wayne would love to get his hands on: A Blu-ray Batman ’66 TV series boxed set signed by the original Batman and Robin, Adam West and Burt Ward. All Bat-fans of Batman are eligible to win, provided they click the contest link (below), join Gemr, and join the Batman Club. The lucky winner of what’s guaranteed to be the crown jewel of any Batman collection will be announced Monday evening on Gemr, via email, and via Gemr’s social media accounts.
The goal really is to create the ultimate community platform for collectors, brands and influencers. Traditional social channels are full of noise, lacking in collector specific features and are taking an ‘all things to all people’ approach, which ends up diluting the experience. We’re built from the ground up to solve problems for collectors, influencers and the brands that they know and love. Gemr Clubs provide a platform for very focused communities around a collecting interest and are packed with features.
Tom Bennett, CEO
Gemr is thrilled to pair the giveaway with the official launch of a new user-created club feature, with the most active being the aforementioned Batman Club. Thanks in part to our favorite caped crusader, platform engagement is growing yet again, as users have the ability to create specific clubs based on their personal collecting niche and curate their own communities within Gemr. CEO Tom Bennett chose to prioritize user-created clubs to fill a void left by the generalized approach to collecting from competitor’s sites, as well as the frustration many brands and artists have found in trying to overcome the Facebook algorithm that often necessitates spending a significant amount of money in order to communicate effectively with fans via “boosted” posts. Gemr’s user-created and officially branded clubs are a completely free and uncomplicated way for brands, artists, and creators to stay connected with (and sell to) their followers in a meaningful way — a move that has been very well-received by the Gemr community.
“The goal really is to create the ultimate community platform for collectors, brands and influencers,” said Bennett. “Traditional social channels are full of noise, lacking in collector specific features and are taking an ‘all things to all people’ approach, which ends up diluting the experience. We’re built from the ground up to solve problems for collectors, influencers and the brands that they know and love. Gemr Clubs provide a platform for very focused communities around a collecting interest and are packed with features. Collectors, influencers and brands are telling us they need and want. With clubs, you create the experience, you control the experience, and you’re not paying for access to the audience you work so hard to build.”
In addition to the user-created club experience, Gemr has debuted several new features and updates in the past month that have vastly improved and supported the platform experience. They include:
In addition to these new initiatives, Gemr has also recently launched an official YouTube channel featuring original content for collectors, including weekly shows and special documentary-style spotlights on items and collections of note. Additionally, Gemr is also producing a wealth of independent coverage for collector-focused events such as the recent San Diego Comic-Con International, for which they have over 40 videos on the channel.
Gemr is a social community and online marketplace (think Facebook meets eBay) for people who love collecting. Launched in 2015, Gemr provides collectors with all the tools they need to easily pursue their collecting passions online. From antiques to vintage and pop-culture collectibles, Gemr is the premier platform for collectors to share what they love. Visit Gemr at Gemr.com.
Source: Gemr
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