Total Conversion to the Ebook

Well, not total....game books, comics, coffee table art books and graphic novels still remain superior in print form. But for everything else, from the history and science book to the tried-and-true novel? Yeah, I am officially giving up on print.

From prior blogs you might have assumed this was a done deal, or close to it....but I've still been buying periodic print books to supplement my electronic plunder. What has happened, however, is something along these lines:

1. See cool print book in shop, buy book, convinced I will read it ASAP.

2. Book sits at home, where I lament having poor reading light.

3. Buy very nice reading light, book light, and break out the reading glasses.

4. Realize that a significant chunk of my reading is now done in the dark on a tablet while sitting on the patio.

5. Lament lack of ability to read in the dark on the patio with print books.

6. Take a trip. Read several ebooks while ignoring the print books I also brought along. Think about that one print book I really wanted to read that I left at home. Buy copy in ebook format and finish it on the trip.

7.  Finally have a moment to read a real book in perfect lighting with my reading glasses, but now I can't find the book in question. Buy ebook and solve problem.

...etc. etc.

So: I'm giving up on print books. Unless it's an artsy book like I mentioned before (and even then...graphic novels look pretty slick on my Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 10 inch screen....just sayin') it's pretty much a guarantee at this time that I will engage in tsundoku electronically going forward....my biblioholism may be never ending, but I can at least hide it all inside the walls of my tablet!

Minimalist Gaming--possible, or just another pipe dream?

If they had a show for Game Hoarders I might be a good fit. I suspect that other bloggers and OSR people online might be a much better fit than me....I've moved across a few states over the last two decades, and that has at times forced me to consolidate my vast collection of books and games, plus my efforts to migrate to electronic readers at least cut down on the number of books I have filling shelves (if not games). But I really do have too much.

I've been thinking about how nice it would be to just keep cutting down until I am at last at the "essentials." D&D 5E would be my natural choice....but could I really give up thinking about 13th Age? Savage Worlds seems to be the best fit for what I need for all-purpose multigenre gaming right now....but BRP and GURPS have long and steady histories with me (even if I haven't run GURPS since 2008...sigh). Call of Cthulhu remains my go-to for horror gaming, but could I really give up Kult, Chill, Cryptworld, Unknown Armies and more? What about all the superhero games I've collected but suspect I'll never, ever get to play?

Minimalism is hard for gamers. But it is a thing! People do it, and find their lives simpler and possibly better for it. I have at least one long-term friend who I believe is an excellent minimalist, though he may not know it.

I am tempted by the concept, which is tough, because I grew up in a family which could give most hoarders a run for their money. I'm already downright reformed compared to other family members in my life, so relatively speaking I'm already a borderline minimalist by their standards. But to a true minimalist I'm a nightmare of rolling paper and collectibles, an Id-like monstrosity of content and memorabilia from the Forbidden Apartment.

If I go through with this, I may have a lot of stuff on ebay again soon. I've already decimated my Pathfinder collection (twice, but it kept growing anyway) and I'm eyeballing everything else. It would be nice to move to a more "dedicated" stance with a handful of treasured, much-played games rather than the current problem I have, of way too many games dividing precious time and interest too thinly.

Stuff to consider....