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Mixed Bag of Holding: NaddPod Recommends! (Our Favorite Things from 2024) (Patreon)

Published:
2024-12-31 19:08:11
Edited:
2024-12-31 19:47:14
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

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Happy Two Year Everybody! As the Bag begins to drop, The Crew convenes one last time to discuss our Top Five Things from 2024 (as well as a slew of honorable mentions). Scroll down to see all our lists!

NADDPOD RECOMMENDS 2024

---

CALDWELL

5. The Perfect Boiled Egg  by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

4. Bloodborne

3. Brown Bonobos V-Neck Shirt

2. Dune

1. The Museum of Neon Art

Honorable Mention: Scavenger's Reign, Delicious in Dungeon, Botanical Gardens, Problemista

---

EMILY

5. Magic the Gathering

4. Books

 Fantasy / Sci-Fi: Parable of the Sower, Nettle & Bone, Master of Djinn

Fiction: French Exit, The Guest

Non-Fiction: Nexus, Money Land, Jan Morris Travelogues

3. Pottery

2. Seeing Movies in Theatres

1. Dr. Evil

Honorable Mention: Fred Again.., Mouth Taping, Trying New Fruits (Lychee & Persimmons)

---

JAKE

5. Presumed Innocent

4. Randy's Garments

3. Pilates

2. Yoste

1. Laundry by Ellen Bass (via Poets.org)

Honorable Mention: Build Me Up Buttercup

---

MURPH

5. Lies of P

4. Distant Worlds: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

3. The Bright Sword

2. Play Nice: The Rise, Fall and Future of Blizzard Entertainment

1. Once Upon a Time in Anaheim

Honorable Mention: Czarface, The Iron Claw

---Thanks again for listening and supporting us this year, if you've got a recommendation to share, drop in the comments below!

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Comments

Andrew Gilson

FIRST!!! happy new year! :) thanks for everything!

Jesse Dunlap

The hoglidays are over but the party never stops!

Tavitafish

"presumed innocence" with no context is hilarious

Tim M

Happy New Year

Claire

What a fun way to start the new year! It’s 8am here on the 1st and I’m off to work, will be listening on the way!!! Thanks team HNY!

Colby Greer

2024 recommendation: Alien Romulus!

Jesse Dunlap

Emily, I hope you might enjoy the Rin & Seri cat deck that was sent to the PO box. MTG rules!

iamnotjackblack

Emily! Make jake a voltron deck and proxy the commander to be hardone!

PunchBeams

You guys gotta watch X-men 97!

David

Bruh you put spoilers in the description.

Jackie Hale

I love Nettle & Bone!!! T. Kingfisher is one of my favorite authors.

Jordan Marschke

Please please please do a video mixed bag for the nadd pod commander game!!! I would love to see that

Lia

For Jake, 3 suggestions: Wulfgar of ice wind Dale Isshin, Two Heaven's as One Tetsuo, Imperial Champion Yes! Absolutely try decks with proxies, then buy singles from your LGS and maybe look into commander nights and drafts! Best way to build a community for paper magic

Michael P Mendoza

Naddpod and Lies of P are a great way to spend an afternoon

JustAce

I want more of these! I love hearing about what you guys enjoy!

Jenna H

Mine is seeing live music and getting fun tattoos. I got to see Hockey Dad, Saturdays at your place (twice!), mom jeans., and ginger root this year. I also got a pigeon tattoo, a hot dog, and an orange wheel.

Declan Konesky

Speaking of books The AUDIOBOOK FROM AUDIBLE version of Dungeon Crawler Carl. 11/10 for real

Lizzy French

Just want to mention I ALWAYS love Emily's book suggestions, so I hope they never stop! Many of my favorite books were Emily recommendations

Ray Matford

I’d like to point out that Caldwell had a kid this year and that didn’t make it onto his list

Kyle Harmon

Gotta check out “The Negg” egg peeler! My wife makes party sized batches for deviled eggs and this thing has her peeling 30-40 eggs perfectly in 10 minutes! Happy 2 Year!

joel

huge Mac energy when Murph said "This Egg thing is really important to you."

Ollie

Can confirm that soft boiled egg method works super well

DemonLordSparda

That's a tough rec and it isn't easily accessible. I get it.

Anna Sun

I’ve been so pleasantly surprised by the quality shows I’ve found on AppleTV, and Slow Horses is phenomenal television. Gary Oldman is an all time great. Pachinko is another one that flies under the radar but is a truly superb show. Makes me cry every episode contemplating humanity. (Also, both shows are based on books! Double the fun!)

Daniel Griffin

My recommendation would be the 2019 movie Klaus. It's the first film I've watched in over 10 years that has become an annual watch

Shan

I love it when you guys talk about books. I wish you had a book podcast or something.

Declan Konesky
>>159883634

It was great to have such an endearing and honest episode! I can handle these once every couple of years

John Larson

For Caldwell: the anime Dandadan. So incredibly animated and funny, then when you think you know what it’s about episode 7 comes around and makes you bawl your eyes out.

Not Another D&D Podcast

I’m about 100 chapters into the manga and can confirm I’ve teared up multiple times. Great rec! ~Caldwell

Adam Kepper

I still immediately looked 😅

Kitty

Happy new year!! Hell yeah poetry rec, thank you Jake ✨

Adam Kepper

My top recommendation of 2024 is to watch Arcane. Season 2 and the series finale just happened and it's honestly one of the best shows I've ever seen.

Pamphleteer

Definitely recommend Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. Nostalgia for 80s and 90s video games and a great story at its heart

Wojtek

Murph, if you haven't read The Once and Future King by TH White you gotta check it out! The classic Arthurian saga in my opinion, that and Tolkien shaped my early years.

Полина Милашевская

Yay, shout out to Hong Kong (from Emily's books recommendations). If you ever come travelling here, you have a couple of loyal fans here who will be happy to show you around :)

Kellyd

Emily talking over the years about enjoying being bad at things and enjoying failure has genuinely been inspirational in my own life, god I love this show Ps hate the show never listened to it

Shan

Also I think Em might click with Jeff Vandermeer (start with Annihilation/Area X I guess) and China Miéville (maybe start with Un Lun Dun bc it's charming and not that much of a commitment)

Beau R.

I think that Murph and especially Emily should give the manga Hells Paradise a read. Very spooky Buddhist horror/ shonen

thiswayjose

Everyone interested in MTG should watch Emily play against some Critical Role people on YouTube!! (Search: Critical Role Magic the Gathering)

Hammy

As someone who is about 8 years behind the crew in age and just trying to figure out my 30s…. I found this very aspirational

Ollie

Omg the love song of j Alfred prufrock was the first poem that really hit me too

Vaelyhn

A huge rec is the D&D podcast Hell or High Rollers. I started listening to them in August and they're amazing from episode 1. Cast of the comedy troupe Mischief Makers, who created The Play That Goes Wrong, Goes Wrong Show, etc. started the pod a few years ago and I stumbled upon it after going on a Goes Wrong Show binge earlier this year.

Pali Endi

Gratitude for book reccs! 🥳

Kerry

Very much agree with Emily about seeing movies in theaters! My fav purchase this year was getting a film society membership to support my local theater (shoutout to the Minneapolis Film Society).

Justine G

1) The Dungeon Crawler Carl series - I saw the audiobooks recommended but the regular books are great also 2) Your Monster 3) knitting socks 4) using compression packing cubes 5) airplane mode on your kindle to keep your library books longer

Josh K.

The sequel to Parable of the Sower; Parable of the Talents is also incredible!

Hunter Biberos

One of my favorite things this year was finally starting to read manga especially jjk and Vinland Saga

Lia

"You fight the same boss like 50 times, so it's repetitive" *Let Me Solo Her has entered the chat*

Noell S.

I recommend The Bifrost Incident by The Mechanisms. It's a narrative album that tells the story of Ragnarok in a sci-fi setting with lovecraftian doom.

ACK

Emily (and anyone else interested) you should read some of Ronald Hutton's work in relation to the Golden Bough. My Pagan sister recommended it to me, he writes about the history of modern Paganism, and what we can know about the original "Pagans"/Pagan survivals (supposed hold outs in Christian Europe post Rome, rather than the broader use of the term). He does the same for witchcraft/magic. The Golden Bough was a major influence on modern Paganism/Witchcraft as he tells it, has some inaccuracies, but is also now a record of its time (how we interpret "Pagans" in Britain tends to depend on the hopes and anxieties of the time, although we likely have a more rigorous approach now than in the past). Hutton writes respectfully about these belief systems, accepting these modern faiths as legitimate in the same way the major world religions are.

ACK

Re Herbert dying, his son wrote a conclusion based on his notes. They are better than his other works, presumably for that reason, although I also read it in my teens a decade and a half ago, so take that with a pinch of salt!

ACK

My own rec? 'Sea of Souls' is the best warhammer 40000 book ever written. Nothing else has captured the horror of the setting so well for me, slow burn for the first third, but when it hits, it hits.

Cj Ferrigno

P. Djèlí Clark is amazing! The book before, "A Dead Djinn in Cairo" is awesome. LeVar Burton read "The Angel of Khan el-Khalili” on his podcast and its so good.

Canid Duality

Excited for mixed bag Grinch madness in march.

Driftwood747

Very unoriginal rec as Brando sando is already extremely popular, but the stormlight archive books have changed me as a person. Currently reading WaT and am just so happy to be back in Roshar!

Katie P.

Happy New Year guys! Hey Murph, also big Arthurian fan- have you read the T.H. White series The Once and Future King? It's what the Disney movie The Sword and the Stone was based off of. Will absolutely check out The Bright Sword, thanks for the rec!

Cumbia Zookeeper

Going into this season of D20, you saaaayyy?

Robert Z.

I got a marvel unlimited subscription a few months ago and I’ve been getting my money’s worth. The Claremont run of New Mutants may be my favorite, but Ewing’s Immortal Hulk goes absolutely crazy. Highly recommend both!

Oru

Hm, I don't have much to rec but if u want a fun series abt fae/humans/dragons, I'd recommend the invisible library by genieveve cogman! As for nonfiction, I rly loved reading Jo Van Gogh-Bonger by Hans Luijten, which is the biography of the sister in law of Vincent van gogh and responsible for spreading his name out! There is a long page count but like, half of it is literally the countless amt of notes they put into it! I haven't finished it but I'm super close haha >_< sadly can't make another separate paragraph but I have a few manga recs for Caldwell! Undead Unluck is a simple shounen that just goes straight to the point and I like it since it doesn't require too much brainpower haha. And since u like Dungeon Meshi so much, I would also recommend Kuutei Dragon by Kuwabara Taku! Its kinda like fantasy whaling where you have this ecosystem of dragons in the air who are both predators to humans but also they get used as food! It has a very detailed yet simple art style i think you'd love! It's kinda relaxing but has some good stakes at hand! I rly think you should try this >_<

Colby Greer

Netflix's Twilight of the God's is awesome!

Jordan Marschke

Hey a fellow st. Louis native! Here is hoping we get a live show soon!

uudd

Zone out game? Balatro

Oru

also have some manga recs for Emily! All of them are gonna be magic based but I think how they use magic is very fascinating & versatile in their functions! Witch Hat Atelier has a beautiful fairy tale/classic art style and I think it's very hopeful as a manga :3 there's also Magi Lumiere, where it twists the genre of magical girl powers into more of an actual industry, alongside having to genuinely strategize in order to defeat enemies or overcome a company issue! Its very interesting!

Gustavius

Much love to you all. Happy New Year.

Zanna

Does Emily have a Goodreads account? or some kind of book tracker? I like a lot of her reccs, so it'd be cool to have a go-to list I can frequent! (also I was so surprised to hear Hooky mentioned! I love webtoons)

Broghar The Bugbear

Omg Emily giving her dad BB instead of Elden Ring may just emolden him to try it.

Jordan Marschke

There are several versions of all the LOTR characters. There is a white green Legoland and 3 Aragorns a 4 color 3 color and a 2 color!

Toe

my forever rec, but that includes 2024 (for Emily specifically) is Ghost Quartet— an eerie folkloric concept album that tells a circular story about ghosts, sisters, the stars, whiskey featuring the dark, an erhu, 14th century Persia, a NYC subway platform, and the folk song The Wind and Rain (also featured in Nettle & Bone!)

carlcon

Looked up Randy's Garments. $48 tees. Jake's 2025 list needs to include his new spending advisor.

thiswayjose

If people here are looking for additional Best of 2024 recs: go watch Frieren Beyond Journey’s End!! It’s a fantastic anime

Kellyd

but they're versatile for both summer and winter!! and you can buy a medium and dry it on high!

James Cherenzia

As someone who's recently gotten back into Magic in a big way, highly recommend the occasional draft or prerelease if you have the time. Trying to cobble together a decent deck from what you're given is highly rewarding and fun for a competitive itch. Some of my fav MTG moments outside commander come from trying out a draft with some buds

muskadillo

Book recs: Emily & Caldwell, if you haven't read Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, you should. Short read. Monks, robots, tea, and hope. For Dune fanatics: check out DUNE THE MUSICAL in any way you can. I was lucky enough to see it live at Fringe. One man show by a real-life bard. (The metal song he does for the Baron...slayed.) Other books that blew my socks off: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh, Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Little Thieves series by Margaret Owen, and--my heavens! Please tell me that you've read Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao! Feminist revenge fantasy in giant piloted robots--!! Happy two year!

M. Hedrick

She said she gave him both, Elden Ring and Bloodborne as an alt

Ben Beckwith

Emily please please please read or listen to Natile Haynes, Divine Might. Please please please. Funny and factual examination of goddesses in greek myths. Oh and one of my top things in 2024 was Naddpod

Broghar The Bugbear

Ah ah i see, still, if he starts with BB at least he will be ready for what's to come :3

Will the Wraith Dad

okay, murph, if you like king arthur stories, you should absolutely listen to the album "High Noon Over Camelot" by The Mechanisms. the mechanisms are a story-telling cabaret, as they put it, and each of their albums tells the story of a fictionalized version of their band (who are immortal space pirates) going to different planets and universes and interacting with classic folklore/mythologies but in space and also styled after a specific genre. high noon over camelot is a western where king arthur, lancelot, and guinevere are all cowboys, galahad is a zealous preacher whos saying their all gonna burn in hell, and the G.R.A.I.L is actuakky the control seat for the space station they are in that is orbitting into the sun. also half of the songs are titled after tarot cards. i know this sounds like an insane mishmash of shit, but i swear it is So Good. they also have sone other albums including a lovecraftian cosmic horror retelling of ragnorok, a horrific cyberpunk blues oddysey, and a bloody folksong parody of classic fairytales. also, if you know of jonathan sims, creator of the magnus archives podcast, this was actually the band he was the lead singer of, fun fact. idk if jake will be cool enough to enjoy it (or if trevor even lets him listen to music 😔) but i think everyone else will at least have fun with it? (please excuse any typos, im writing this on the subway omw to a friend new years party lol) anyways, happy new year to the most two crew of all!

Mason Shucart

As someone who played ice hockey for 15 years. I will go play hockey, Murph. Roller hockey is a lot easier on the bones these days.

Elizabeth Gunn, sickly but cruel

Little Thieeeeeeeves! Do you want a pretty intense exploration of consent in an incredibly inventive YA fantasy world? Do you want extremely pissed off female protagonists? Do you want an author who always turns towards mess and complexity rather than cutting it away by sacrificing characters and relationships? Little Thieves.

Evil Grimace

This isn't really about things that came out in 2024 but things I really enjoyed in 2024: 5. REDLETTERMEDIA (YouTube channel that talks about bad movies; my favourite go-to for background listening) 4. POKEMON CONCIERGE (a super cozy stop-motion series about a girl working at a tropical Pokemon resort) 3. NI NO KUNI: WRATH OF THE WHITE WITCH (remastered rpg with lots of cute ghibli creatures and some great traditionally animated cut scenes) 2. Not succumbing to the negativity that the world generally brings (literally has been the worst year of my life) 1. THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE series by Brandon Sanderson (Journey before Destination y'all) Honourable mentions: NADDPOD (no brainer), Fantasy High: Junior Year, Chicken snack wraps, Tim Horton's Iced Capps

Blake

How does nobody mention moo deng???

Anna Barnes

My big recommendation this year is the Musical 42 Balloons. While they don't have a full cast recording, the songs that are out are so good. It's very 80's synph pop and mtv music video inspired.

Elizabeth Gunn, sickly but cruel

I just got sucked into a fantasy book reddit whirlpool looking up someone's recs from here but I'm back! Phew! I would just like to say, Lois McMaster Bujold! She has a fantasy series and a sci-fi one, quite different but equally potent. Her world building is immense, her characterization is such that I sometimes ask for advice in my head from specific characters, her expansive notions of faith and the Divine literally kept me going through hard times, her emotional intelligence is both brutal and cleansing, her action scenes are absolutely balls to the wall. The Vorkosigan Saga and the World of the Five Gods, get on in there

Natural Dragon

Top 5 of the year (these were things I first found in 2024) 1. Tony Chocolonely (chocolate bars) 2. Poytopia (video game) 3. Monkey Man (movie) 4. Abroad in Japan (YouTube) 5. “Give me the beat” by Ghostland Observatory (Song and artist)

Babbles The Clown

I am 100% going to take a day trip up to Glendale for the Neon Museum thanks Cauldy

wick

My recommendation and highlight for 2024 was getting into natural fabric clothes. Picked up a wool sweater and was gifted a pair of wool slacks and I’ll never go back to plastic clothes.

Jack

EMILY check out the card "Thassa's oracle" for your mill commander deck!!! :)

aiyana graham art

on the note of poetry, I recommend sick4sick by torrin a. greathouse also on poets.org or it'll come up if you google it

Jeremy W

Big recommendation for The Stormlight Archive in honor of Wind and Truth releasing this year. Incredibly long reads, but equally fulfilling

Jeremy W

Also, they have the best depictions of depression and PTSD, along with DID that I've ever read or seen in media

Kiwa

For myself: 1: (album) Porter Robinson - Smile! :D hard to narrow down to one album but I loved this one 2: (manga) Akane-Banashi, Ao Ashi, Sakamoto Days, Hunter x Hunter just a quick shout out to various ongoing manga from 2024 3: Beyblade X got into Beyblades with the newest gen and it's been super fun 4: Karaoke just a lot of fun with friends and very cathartic to scream 5: Fighting Games my forever recommendation

JR Lonergan

I play Stardew Valley and podcast listen so I feel this, Murph

Rogue 398

I recommend if you like funny fantasy lit rpg books with sentient talking cats and sadistic killer aliens try Dungeon Crawler Carl. The audio book is fantastic. "The Apocalypse will be Televised!"

KingHalt

I recommend Gravity Falls. I know it's been out for years but dang it if this show isn't perfect

Ryan M

I recommend The Echoes Saga books by Philip Quaintrell. They’ve got all the classic Tolkien-esque fantasy elements but feel more like the movies with a lot more action. They’ve also given me a bunch of ideas to incorporate into my DnD campaign and even inspired me to try my hand at writing

JR Lonergan

Also highly recommend reading Patrick Stewart's memoir, Making It So.

Robert Islas

Do y'all do signings? I have the perfect mtg card that I'd like to get signed :). I love hearing y'all talk about magic. Would be so cool to watch a game play.

Adrianna Champagne

Emily, please read The Scar by China Mieville. Some of the most creative fantasy races I’ve ever read + pirates!

Becca_rebaker

Tony Chocolonely is my favorite! I just introduced all my coworkers to it. Great mention.

Dungeon Daddy JC

This year I started a high fantasy series my dad read when he was about my age (28 or so), “The Wheel of Time” series, and it’s amazing! A NY Times book review says that Jordan (the author) “…has come to dominate the world Tolkien began to reveal” and it’s fantastic!

JustSomeKnob

First off, I love Emily supporting proxies on the show. Also suggestion for Jake’s Magic deck, would be some sort of Voltron deck. Maybe Wolverine??? Seems the type of guy that would like to beef up a his commander and swing big

HeyYeah

Nice Plato's Allegory of the Cave reference big shout out to Plato

Neil Dutton

Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Trilogy is a really good "historical but not bitterly dry" Arthurian Legend series!

Santa Grinch Hugging HumBaba and two Fairies

Dan Da Dan and De DE De ( dead dead demons destruction) are both anime that are the highest level sci-fi I've ever enjoy the medium in the subject of extraterrestrial up next to Scavenger's regin and honestly the "My Adventures with Superman" on max i guess 2024 was a scifi heavy year

Matthew phillips

The Aragorn pre con helped me get more into magic with the way it plays.

Shy-senpai

Top 5 of the year. 1. The Witcher: I read the books after the many Witcher references on the podcast and I loved it. Now I'm playing the games. 2. Sabriel: First book to a very cool fantasy series about magic and necromancy. Heard Emily mention it once and it turned out to be one of my favorite book series. 3. Dead Cells: Very fun very charming rougue like. Has a ton of indie game references and the game play is great. 4. Tales of the Otori: Another book series I discovered this year on recommendation. Great low fantasy samurai novels. 5. Audio Books: I used to read more when I was younger but as an adult I don't have a lot of time to sit and read. Audio books have reignited my love for literature. I can listen while I'm working or doing busy work and I noticed I retain information better through Audio books since reading isn't my strong suite. Spotify and Audible have great catalogs of books.

heartswell

I'm a hobby collector and my favorite things about this year was getting into crochet and knitting! I feel the same way about crochet as Emily feels about pottery. I'm not very artistic, but crochet has been a fun mix of expression and meditation. It helped me with my focus a lot over the last year. I managed to go through a lot of movies and longer shows only through the power of granny squares and coasters!

Claire

If you want to improve sleep you HAVE to get a cervical neck pillow. It changed my life!

aiyana graham art

if you think you have sleep apnea you probably wanna get that like legit checked out because it's linked to several medical conditions and not just a sleeping thing (recently diagnosed with sleep apnea at 23). a cpap or autopap can really change your life, and if you don't have obstructive sleep apnea then it's not something that can be fully fixed externally because it can also be your brain just. not sending the signal to your body to breath. my doctor had recommended that I sleep elevated while I waited for my autopap (machine that ensures im breathing and increases oxygen if i don't), which helped a bit, but when I actually got it I had the best sleep I'd had since I was like 14 because the machine makes sure that oxygen is getting to your brain in a way that external stuff can't. anyway, if you have insurance or try to save up money for it, getting diagnosed with sleep apnea and finding a machine that works for you is genuinely life changing and I just wanted to give a psa because not formally treating sleep apnea can end up being super serious

Boris Bokchoy

Always been a reader/listener of stories and two really blew me away this year. Circe by Madeline Miller - A greek epic about a woman who was a minor character in Homer’s Odyssey, but her story is told in a way that feels definitive. Gorgeous performance on the audible version. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - going in blind, it’s a book that starts out with so little of our world for you to hold on to, but by the end (short book) everything resolves beautifully. And when things start clicking into place, it is rapid and satisfying. Performed by Chiwetel Ejiofor who captures the earnest and industrious tone of the main character perfectly.

Evil Grimace

If Emily is looking for any books recs, there is a series called the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. It is an alternate history fantasy book taking place during the Napoleonic Wars where they use Dragons 🐉 as an Airforce. (The first in the series is called 'His Majesty's Dragon'). There are about 9 books in the series

Kristina LaPointe

So many great recs!!! I'm added to my book pile now.

Terrence Jackson

So this rec is thanks to Emily because I listen to her music all the time and Spotify recommend “Epic the Musical”. A guy started it on TikTok and would have auditions through it and he’s been doing it for years. It actually just finished in December. I love all the music and it’s based of The Odyssey which is my favorite Greek tale!

Magma

Personal Top 5: (i only watch anime, listen to actual plays, and read old books) 1) Kingdom Season 5 (Historical Fiction anime about the unification of China under Qin Shi Huang) 2) Dungeon Meshi (Fantasy anime, one of Caldwell's honorable mentions) 3) Orb: On the Movements of the Earth (Historical Fiction anime about heliocentrism) 4) Hibike! Euphonium S3 (SoL anime about a high school band -- last season :() 5) Witch Watch (SoL/Romance/Supernatural manga -- started in 2021 but still serialized, so I think it counts)

Patrick E.

Beyond delighted to get a shoutout from Murph. I just discovered CZARFACE this year and it brings me so much joy that it was appreciated! Happy Hoglidays!

Patrick E.

Also, not 2024 at all, but I think (despite it being horribly dated in parts) that the DMs of the two crew (Murph in particular) would really like the Black Company series of books as an interesting framing of a fantasy story. Mercenaries working for the big bad during the final campaign is the basics, but I think the depiction of magic might also interest the crew.

Elise Brinkmann

Does anyone know if Emily has a Goodreads we can follow

Alex Herndon

Got it Brown Shirt, White Shirt books and Pilates

Iris Dewey

Hockey rec: The PWHL is in their second season and stream games live on Youtube. I've been watching at the gym for motivation and it's been super fun

Breana Miller

Pilates has been my thing I sought to be somewhat decent at as a 31 year-old! I started a reformer Pilates class in February 2024 and have kept up with it throughout the year, 8 classes per month. I fully agree that my body feels so much better to exist in, and I'm a lot more aware of the control I have over its movements. My core feels stronger, and my body itself has become more toned. It's truly a beautiful thing. I've never really liked exercise, but I want to grow old and be able to touch my toes.

Dingdongdang55

I have a Sarkhan Unbroken is an amazing and simple deck. all dragons all big numbers.

squalor and splendor

Saw i had a credit on audible and bought bright sword. I love lev Grossman's magicians series so had to get it

Shel B Kennas fav SG is welly’s number one felly

Shelby’s 2024 recs: -Trading with neighbors for service tasks (house sitting, dog walks etc) instead of hiring out. Pros: builds community. I got to meet my favorite window cat and discover she has thumbs AND stomps when she walks like a trotting horse -Shows with Ella Purnell: Yellowjackets and Fallout were both perfect shows, no notes. -Traveling to Malta: cheaper than domestically traveling in the US, friendly people, gorgeous scenery, literally the best place I’ve ever visited. The country also LOVES cats down bad. -Artichoke Pizza in NYC (restaurant): Best pizza I’ve ever had in my life. I normally don’t eat at the same place twice when traveling, I went 3 times and I regret not going more. The vodka slice well done is in my top 5 of all foods all time -Regular Pedicures: Especially helpful if you’re a long distance runner Honorable mention: Walking pad for standing desk, wearing funky rings, croc Chelsea rain boots

A. Lee. S

We got those Dragonball manga’s for Christmas. They are heavy!

Addie K

2024 Book Rec: This is how you lose the time war. New favourite book of all time.

Dakota Jahn

2024 book of the year for me was “Voices of Morebath” by Eamon Duffy! It’s nonfiction and is about a small English village during the English reformation, where the local priest wrote everything that was going on down! Really interesting view into a subject I knew very little about

Miranda B, Crick DVM

Looking forward to the 2 year. Hope y’all didn’t stay out past murphew last night 😉

Colin Kilzer

I rediscovered SMOSH in 2024 and if you were ever a fan or not I recommend going to their YouTube and watching as much of their content as possible. They brought so much joy and laughter into my life this year!

9on

the french exit movie adaptation is really funny. michelle pfeiffer!

Lonestar

So fun hearin' y'all talk about Edgerunners considering its setting is from a TTRPG. Cyberpunk Red (the newest edition) is super fun, though I have no idea how well it lends itself to a custom setting.

Agiddysea

Jake, the jock among nerds.

Elijah C.

On the topic of random Apple TV shows, watch Ted Lasso! Season one especially was very emotionally effective! Great for sports fans like Murph and especially Jake since it’s a bout a soccer coach moving to Britain, but I think the whole crew would like it! Def not a 2024 rec but that’s when I watched it.

Lauren

I have to recommend the book Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. Fantasy about a junior librarian and gods and SO well written

lioreo 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

fwiw, i’m not a wrestling fan but i loved the iron claw. as for recs, the book “the long way to a small, angry planet” was my favorite read of the year and it also reminded me a lot of starstruck so that was fun. the wild robot is one of the best animated films to come out in recent years imho. not specific to 2024 but there’s this tabletop game called fantasy realms that i’m obsessed with. you use cards to build worlds and there are bonuses/penalties depending on your deck. anyway, thank you all for the recs and all the joy you’ve brought us this year!

mugabi rubamba

Red Rising the Book Series by Pierce Brown !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Takowowo

In no particular order 1. Tatsuya Kitani, Japanese musical artist. Heard Moonthief out on a cold January night and was hooked with the vibe ever since. It's got a good dance element to it but still has that unrefined feel to his vocals 2. Ultraman Rising: My SO got really into Ultraman over the past few years and we were excited about this movie. It was incredibly heartwarming and a really good mix between Western sensibilities and franchise traditions. 3. Rollerblading: I actually started at the end of 2023 but broke my wrist so I couldn't really get into it until 2024. There was a lot of summer days where I'd pop on the short rest, hit the park and skate till I was tired 4. Lethal Company: Such a simple game, go in, get treasure, get out. Its led to so many funny little moments. I genuinely look forward to when I can get my friends together to play 5. Going to concerts: I did three concerts this year, my first fly away concert for Hatsune Miku and an impromptu for Sonic Symphony. It was just a treat for both. One of my friends flew back in to see Miku and it was just a treat to see him and hang out again. Oh and hearing an orchestra play classic Sonic songs? Extremely cool I absolutely loved it

Rachael

My top movie of 2024 was “My Old Ass” on Prime, I still wake up in the middle of the night thinking about the ending 😭

Kayli

i just found out about them earlier this year and i’m obsessed!

Kailey Langer

Stardew valley Dinner parties Midwest sweet corn Noise cancelling headphones Costco

Nicolas R

In terms of egg cooking, I've been actually marinating my soft-boiled, jammy yolk eggs in a soy sauce and mirin mixture (with garlic, green onions, and gochujang). Good shit.

Nicolas R

Caldwell and Emily should try Frogmonster. It's a shooter game where you play as a frog with a gun in a fun lo-fi kind of aesthetic and a kind of fairy tale sorta vibe for the story. It is extremely charming, all of the guns' audio is done by the game's creator going "pew pew".

foster the boneless duck

i really reccomend getting local flora/fauna guide books, i got really into identifying mushrooms in 2023 and then birds for 2024. i think bees for 2025

Oliver Gullikson

the pwhl is absolutely where the venn diagram of hockey and naddpod fans meet (consider this a plug if you enjoy the beautiful butch lesbians of naddpod you will love the pwhl i promise)

Cameron C

For an amazing fantasy book/series is V.E. Schwab’s, A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, A Conjuring of Light, and The Fragile Threads of Power.

el

i highly recommend any of octavia butlers books. they’re all afrofuturist and often bridge the gap between sci-fi and fantasy. she is also a literal prophet when it comes to the future of the united states unfortunately

Hakari

Caldwell: Did you watch “One Piece Fan Letter”? If not, it’s incredible!

Rotem Cohen

Mine was inspired by you! Got into Naruto after re listening to the mixed bag about it and absolutely loved it

Brian McAree Murphy

You guys need to put Emily's b-sides in the store. I can't imagine a better Christmas present for my partner next year!

clevername

I am projecting psionic power into these comments to compel every member of NADDPod to read One Piece

The Wizard Spring

I recommend wrapping an orange wedge in a basil leaf and eating it with your eyes closed, imagining whatever the flavors evoke. Bonus points if you do the same thing with rosemary and peach

Fikon

I never comment but I wanted to jump in and say I’ll take ALL the hockey recs Murph. Can’t wait to watch that documentary this weekend

Nick Neverman

Lies of P was an all time game for me, so damn fun! Emily should read A Night in the Lonesome October, I know she probably doesn’t read these but had to give my book rec somehow😂

Blaine Moses

I recommend staying on the blizzard train and reading the diablo trilogy: the sin war. I may be biased and a huge diablo nerd. But i absolutely love the first book. Just got the second book for chirstmas. And hearing Murph say he was reading about blizzard and y'all talking d3 made me think it might be a decent read for you guys to enjoy 🤷 die hard fan of the podcast. Great recommendations to look into. Thanks

verityisoki

My 2024 recommendations for the 2crew: Frieren: Beyond Journeys End (absolutely stunning fantasy anime that laments life and death) Mouthwashing (a short horror game with great vibes) The Like a Dragon games (the latest game Infinite Wealth came out this year and ruled but I'm recommending the whole series because its so much fun)

Rain

LOVE Parable of the Sower!! I read it in college in 2020 (pre-covid) and I’m sure it’s even more eerily accurate in 2025

Glenn D AKA Mcdoogins

Games: BG3, No Man's Sky TV Shows: Dandadan, The Expanse S3, Dropout Shows Best Live Performance: Modest Mouse on their anniversary tour! Books: H.P. Lovecraft free audiobooks on youtube

Peter Christy

Book Rec: Orconomics by Zachary Pike. Clever, funny, and enough heart to keep people engaged. Reminds me more than a little bit of Terry Prachett, who’s my favorite of all time.

xatlern

I also tried persimmons for the first time this year! An unexpected new treat!

Peter Christy

I thought Parable of the Sower was exceptionally well written but too sad for me to really enjoy. If anyone is considering picking it up, you should reflect on your tolerance for tragedy before you dive in.

Benjamin Hake

EPIC: the musical concept album by Jorge Rivera-Herrans!!!!!!!!!

Liam

Unsouled series by Will Wight really satisfying power ups for the characters over 12 books

Zack

I'll leave some hockey recommendations here: Hey Burkie Animated shorts of Brian Burke telling stories from his life in hockey. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLo12SYwt93SSLiXQaiTqphByHNd5IZWAT The Secret Base YouTube channel has done entertaining videos on various things from the NHL. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUXSZMIiUfFQRjVOKPAkLtvw0tlBzXxjc Hockey: A People's History by the CBC is a ten episode documentary series about the history of the sport itself. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkJIscd4gJkmCccNO0ycyEdKHCLlr232L The Game by Ken Dryden is an intimate look into the life of a professional goalie. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_(Dryden_book) And finally if anyone needs a crash course on the rules, here is Hockey 101 with Snoop Dogg: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1NbHSfosBuFnwGJcXwsDG-wl8SNDzOu2

Zack

I would be remiss if I didn't also take this opportunity to recommend The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds, an American history podcast

Insufficiently Caffeinated

Poetry recommendations: Charles Simic has some wonderful weird poems about cutlery (“Fork” is my fave) and Murph might enjoy W. Todd Kaneko’s work (he has a book called The Dead Wrestler Elegies). His poem “Elegy for Bruce Lee” is gorgeous.

Zack

Saw your comment and wanted to leave the links from my hockey recs: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLo12SYwt93SSLiXQaiTqphByHNd5IZWAT https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUXSZMIiUfFQRjVOKPAkLtvw0tlBzXxjc I don't know of anywhere that this doc series is streaming, but it's at least on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkJIscd4gJkmCccNO0ycyEdKHCLlr232L https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_(Dryden_book) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1NbHSfosBuFnwGJcXwsDG-wl8SNDzOu2 Enjoy!

Julia A.

If you like Arthurian legend, read The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro! Set in the years following the death of King Arthur, it is beautiful book about war and memory, featuring knights, warriors, a weird boy, and dragons, centered on an elderly couple who just wants to visit their son.

Maggie Schaller

Thanks for the episode, folks! I asked everyone at my New Year's Party to come with their Top Fives of 2024, and it was such a fun activity. I also appreciated y'all shout-outs to activities/hobbies used to find balance outside of work. I graduate this year from law school as an election law/voting rights lawyer and while I love my work and think it's important, I also need to find things outside of it! Thanks for the reminder that no matter how much you enjoy your work, you need to be more than it!

nandrusin

You guys should do this every year! This was interesting!

Olivia M

My top 5 from 2024: 1. Sudoku 2. Brat (Charli XCX album) 3. Pumpkin oat cups from Sally’s baking addiction 4. The Daily (NYT podcast) 5. Running Honorable mentions: road trips, themed parties, joining a choir

ananarama

I’d recommend listening to Doechii, she’s awesome

Timothy L

Go out and play hockey Go Knights go

Ro

Hoppin in with: Graphic novels: My favourite thing is monsters by Emil Ferris (incredible drawings! very heavy story) Anything Junji Ito does (so so spooky! Have you ever been scared of your head falling off and turning into a snail? I am now!) Books: The only one left by Riley sager (so many twists!!! Twists upon twists) Verge by Nadia Attia (futuristic folk horror) Dallergut dream department store by mi-ye Lee (it’s about a departments store for dreams staffed partially by animals and is as cute as it sounds)

Shrimp Loaf

2024 is the year I fully dove into the sport of Curling. Definitely my mid-life catharsis and I love it. There's curling clubs across the U.S. - just look them up and book a Learn To Curl lesson! 🥌

Darion Aronson

I've genuinely loved listening to the audio book for My Vampire System by JKS Such a great series in my opinion

Gearbox

1) Boroscopes. They're one of those tools you see that you never consider buying yourself but it's a game changer. Everyone has had something fall in a tight space or needed to do something blindly and it's so nice to have extra eyes. You can get one for like 150 bucks

Gearbox

2) Tools that you think you don't *need* but would make your life way easier, even if they cost a hundred dollars. I bought a battery powered worklight while rewiring my house (rather than just stick to my flashlight and headlamp) and it's SO MUCH NICER. Get yourself tools to assist you even if they're not vital!

Ben Helford

My two video games of the year: 1) Unicorn Overlord: Played the hell out of this one, and I love playing on the hard difficulty and coming to a difficult part and thinking "okay how do I rearrange my army to get past this" 2) Vampire Therapist: Just funny, compassionate and fascinating. After playing it, I listened to "Tales of the Body Thief" the fourth Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles book, and couldn't help but analyze what cognitive distortions were being demonstrated by Lestate. Music/Book of the Year: I loved the new Decemberists album, in particular the last track "Joan in the Garden" which is a 19 minute epic song about Joan of Ark and the creative process. Then reading about "Joan in the Garden" I found out that it was in part inspired by the 2017 Linda Yuknavitch novel "Book of Joan" which is a distopian sci fi interpretation of the Joan of Ark mythos, that kind of defies explanation.

Maggie

These are all awesome reccomendations but WOW I am so stoked to read The Bright Sword and I'd never heard of it until Murph reccomended it.

Maggie

Following that up with a decidedly not 2024 rec, but for my fellow lovers of all things King Arthur, I gotta reccomend The Once and Future King by T.H. White. (Disney's The Sword in the Stone is based on part one of this book!) It's my favorite piece of Arthurian media, and in my top 10 books of all time. The writing is beautiful, the characterization is painfully human, and it makes me laugh out loud, weep, and experience all emotions in between. (Heads up that there are, at times, some uhhhh rough takes on women, Jewish people, and people of color. I cringe while acknowledging that this book was written in the 1930s-1950s and is in many ways a product of its time and of the author's flaws. But no one owes that grace to a book, so if that means you'd rather avoid it entirely, it's always a heads up I like to give.)

Austin Wiggin

You didn't waste your time Caldwell! Chapterhouse Dune is craziness in the best way

Lonestar

China Mieville is pretty great. Assuming I've got the right person. And if so, their Dial H comic from a while back was fuckin' rad. So weird.

Gill

Poetry foundation (poetryfoundation.org) is a great place to find poetry too! I just read Laundry and gosh, it was great. A poet I love is anything by Richard Siken, but special shout out to his book Crush

Smiththebat

Best part of Soulslikes is the catharsis you get from beating your head against a wall for an hour and finally beating the boss!

Shane C

Alright here are my recommendations: 1. Metaphor Re:Fantazio: really fun game, great characters and story, visuals were fantastic. I also suffer from overstimulation in open world games and I appreciated that it was open enough but still kept me on the main story. 2. Books: I read The Realm of the Elderlings series (which came out before 2024) but it was very fun to read through. I also read The Tainted Cup and that was a really fun mix of mystery and fantasy and I thought it was really engaging. 3. Smoothies: Got into smoothies this year and I don’t know what I was doing pre-smoothies in my life. It’s healthy and filling if you put protein powder in them. 10/10, everyone should drink smoothies. 4. Running: I used to run competitively in college and it’s been hard to rediscover the love for running that I used to have but this year something clicked and I’ve been running more than I have in the last few years. I’d like to run a marathon and see how I can do after training a bit more. 5. Tie dyed shirts: I dunno, I think tie dyed shirts are neat and I bought a few this year that I really like to wear.

Ilxie Archfey of Dreams. Back aboard The Stormborn

The way I was actively thumbing through The Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at the start of this episode and instantly was stunned by the serendipity of Caldwell's first (fifth) recommendation. He's right though, the egg is incredible.

Shane C

Honorable mention to the play Oh, Mary! which was one of the funniest things I’ve seen and reaffirmed my love for live theater and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season 6 because La Voix was a delight to watch and the makeover episode made me cry.

Ella

Some of my favorite books this year, which I think Emily would love if she hasn't read them yet, is The Singing Hills Cycle, a series of novellas by Nghi Vo. The first is The Empress of Salt and Fortune, and the whole series is set in a fantasy world vaguely based on/inspired by East and Southeast Asian mythology.

Adam!!!!!

my recommendations 1. You Did This To Yourself by Cortez Del Mar. beautifully haunting folk album. 2. games, ffxiv, sims 4, marvel rivals, sea of stars, been getting back into ACNL too 3. just being an absolutely unabashed weird person. absolutely no holds barred. 4. muscle tees. i don't care if you look like a douche they're really comfortable 5.No party for Cao Dong. taiwanese band, really good stuff

Claytron

Just want to call that it's either twilight sanctorum or mavrus chronicles next.

Pyt

My top 5: 5. Snack Shack - A coming of age movie that follows two best friends as they operate a public pools snack shack over the summer of 1991. Its really endearing and it was everything I love in this kind of story. 4. Yoga - Kind of like Jake I had back issues for years here and there and finally started doing Yoga in late July. I do it every morning before work now and I've been back pain free for around 3 and a half months now. 3. Cooking - Just actually cooking and (mostly) following recipes. 2. Reading Gothic Horror - I've always loved this genre but for some reason I never read Frankenstein, or Dracula, or Carmilla, or The Picture of Dorian Grey but I finally did and I really enjoyed it. 1. Baldur's Gate 3 - I know everyone and has already played it probably but I played it in 2023, I played it in 2024, and I'm definitely going to play it again in 2025 when Patch 8 adds 12 extra subclasses.

Grass

Me yelling to my boyfriend in the other room “BABE Murph says you need to play lives of p! Babe it’s bloodborne 2!!!!”

Fikon

I appreciate it! I’ll for sure check these out too

Trevor McDaniel

Jake, the Pilates mom we didn’t know we needed

Greg Jovi

Murph!!! If you loved Iron Claw, be on the look out for Queen of the Ring, the story of Mildred Burke's wrestling career. Truly my favorite wrestling film ever. I saw it at a festival and it's slated for a March full release.

Ilana Galpert

Is The Bright Sword anything like Lev Grossman's magicians trilogy? Murph really sold me on the book but I'm kind of lukewarm on the other books I've read by Grossman so I'm on the fence

Ilana Galpert

There are two books out of the 120ish I read last year that pleasantly surprised me (hopefully the stats on that will encourage people to read them.) There are other books I liked but these two came out of nowhere. 1. Lady Eve's Last Con. A sci-fi book with a 1920s aesthetic about a con artist seeking revenge on her sister's terrible ex. The voice of the book is super fun and it was a refreshing, delightful surprise. 2. The fall that saved us. A contemporary book about a relationship between... Kind of an angel and kind of a devil, it's more complicated than that but you'd have to read it. It's about breaking unhealthy family bonds and religious trauma and I found it deeply moving.

Loki

Well I didn’t really read books it was a web novel year and my recs are 1. Shadow Slave 2. Lord of the Mysteries

Nathann Morais

It’s so cool to listen to you guys talk passionately about stuff that you liked on the year! Very wholesome. I have followed Jake giving unsolicited advices and looking for the perfect shirt for a while so it was nice to hear that he found the one! Also Emily, I like Fred again as well, and if you’re on the House Music vibe I’ll give you 3 recommendations of artists that I like a lot for different reasons to see if any of you appeal to you: - Barry can’t swim (recommend his album and his O2 academy show - it’s on YouTube) - Lane 8 - Salute

Not Another D&D Podcast

I liked magicians, but not enough to finish the trilogy. I LOVE the bright sword. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

I loved snack shack, it was really fun. I saw it in an entirely empty theatre in the middle of the day. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

running would've been on my 2023 best of, that was the year I started doing it again. It's been so helpful for my mind and focus. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

I hung out with some people on Murph's hockey team yesterday, and one of the people was talking about how fun curling is! -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

a lOT of my friends have recommended Junji ito to me this year!! dallergut dream and verge also sound sick. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

I just had a doechii song come up a few days ago and added it to my faves playlist. I will check out more -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

this is such a wild recommendation I have no clue if it's a joke or not. I'll find out when I try it. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

awwwww I was just cleaning out my closet the other day and found my Rock Lee halloween costume. Such a great show. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

I had A Darker Shade of Magic on my list of recommendations that other people suggested this year! I'll have to check it out. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

I took a class during pandemic about horticulture and we had to get a california natives book, and it was awesome. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

that's awesome, I will check it out! I just started bloodbourne based on caldwell's recommendation, though, so it'll have to wait till I've tired myself slaying prey and talking to dolls. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

this book has been on my "to read" list for way too long! It's very popular and has a crazy wait time at the library and it keeps becoming available when I'm actively reading several other books. one of these days! -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

I started this a year or so ago but got distracted, this is a good reminder to get it from libby again! -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

Ella Purnell is incredible, I loved her in both shows. and hell yes to funky rings! -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

I do not! I would feel too bad giving anything less than 5 stars or saying anything even vaguely negative. I think I am a glowing review or nothing kinda gal. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

Other people have recommended this! If its about greek mythology, I will have to wait till I've finished my little greek mythology album, just to avoid creative cross contamination (not the best way to describe it, but you know what I mean!) -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

circe is incredible. If you like circe, a book I also loved that reminded me of it was The Witch's Heart. It's about Angrboda, the mother of Loki's monstrous children, but from her perspective. It was really beautiful and meditative. -Emily

Dingdongdang55

Oops forgot to mention that i feel like Jakey poo would like that style of deck. If you want a deck list id be happy to send it!

Not Another D&D Podcast

murph LOVES moo deng, and we talk about moo deng at home, and one of our cats is short and stubby like moo deng so we call her mew deng. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

He actually started with elden ring, and has dug his heels in and refuses to give up. I am so surprised, but the man loves to grind hard games so I shouldn't be that surprised. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

I will check it out! And yes, the golden bough definitely does not feel entirely accurate and I dismiss some stuff because it was written so long ago, but in general, it's a fun look into comparative mythology. I'll check out ronald hutton! -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

a few other people have recommended this! it is going to the top of my list along with the buried giant so I can really drench myself in arthurian atmosphere. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

annihilation is INCREDIBLE. I've only read a couple chapters of one china mieville, but i think I need to check out more. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

I read pachinko this year, I didn't even know there was a tv show! that must be such a tearjerker. -Emily

Not Another D&D Podcast

I had thought of isshin for jake! I have an isshin deck. And wulfgar of ice wind dale was the commander I was trying to think of! -Emily

Katie

Some book recs!! Beautyland is about a child who realizes that she’s actually from a faraway planet sent to Earth to report back on her findings. The book follows her through her life, and it’s really tender and lovely. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries is about a professor of faerie studies who travels to a remote Icelandic town to study the faeries of the area. Love this book, great if you like fae and footnotes. Piranesi is so difficult to describe but it’s so mysterious and fascinating and beautiful. I really can’t figure out how to describe it, all I can do is tell people to start reading and just get swept into the mystery of it all. This Is How You Lose the Time War!!! Sapphic love story between two rival time travel agents!! Beautiful, almost poetry-like love letters written across time. Not to be all “girl who watches Dimension 20” but I immediately thought of this book when Ayda sent her letter to Fig in FHJY. Hope you enjoy if you check out any of these, and thank you for the book recs (and all the other recs)!!

foster the boneless duck

oh wow i don't know if he's still in need of any cast members but i would give anything for you to collaborate on EPIC

mugabi rubamba

Also Way of Kings and Mistborn Saga by Brandon Sanderson if you haven’t

lily 😦

can’t recommend I Saw the TV Glow enough to anyone who hasn’t seen it!! favorite movie of the year by far and most devastating for me personally

Stations & Starships

Feeling alive in 2025, here's some tailored book recs for the crew! I will be reading Brightsword. Murph: Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie. Absolutely well done one-shot GoT-esque sword fantasy short stories. Jake: Recursion by Blake Crouch. #girldad action movie, but a it's a book! Great in audio format. Emily: To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Beck Chambers. Not part of her other popular series (also good), this is a shorter more obscure science-based science fiction. Caldwell: When The Sparrow Falls by Neil Sharpson. One of the most unique debut novels I have ever read, sci-fi noir. Was a stage play at first that turned into a novel.

Stations & Starships

Oh yea and Edgerunners was f*cking so dope. Haven't seen a next-level Akira style anime like that in a long time.

Stations & Starships

Saw this in the movie theater down the street with my wife on our first date a few months after our second baby was born... this was such a refreshing cinematic experience for us.

Lia

I love Isshin and Alesha Who Smiles at Death! Wulfgar 1000% has Hardwon energy and gruul are great colors to get familiar with all aspects of commander

Elizabeth Morgan

Emily: Have you read the Fourth Wing books? The 3rd comes out this month and they are so good! All about dragon riders. As for movies, my toddler highly recommends Moana 2 and is excited for live action Moana.

Elizabeth Morgan

Honorable mention to Novellas. Sometimes when I have a lot going on I can’t fully immerse myself in a full novel or series but I can definitely devour some 50-200page novellas! Cozy mysteries and spicy romantasy are my fave genres!

Maureen Tuohey

Julio Torres, who made Problemista, has a show called Fantasmas on HBO that is so fun

Thrath

For those people who love BLOODBORNE!! There is an amazing audio book on YouTube for the lore of Bloodborne! It’s called “The Paleblood Hunt” by Redgrave and it’s read by a man with literally the perfect voice for it, Jay Britton! Bloodbore is one of my favorite games and I can’t recommend this audio book enough for people who love the game!!

Mikel

Always love an Emily book recc!

Janaga

My rec of the year (although it came out in 2022) is the book Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree. It's a cozy book about a grizzled orc who decides she wants to retire from adventuring and start a coffee shop in a city that has no clue what coffee is. I loved every minute of reading it. It is incredibly low stakes but still captures some fantasy intrigue, and I can't wait to read his next book Bookshops and Bonedust (which came out last year).

Laura !

my biggest rec is also reading! the stormlight archive was huge for me this year (magical storms and an ever expanding world/lost history that you’re trying to figure out along with the characters) and reprieve by james han matteson for a great novel (what if there was a murder at a full contact scare experience and also it was a metaphor for how we are manipulated by the powerful)

Zack

I knew I forgot something in yesterday's comment. Hockey comics! Dogsred is a new hockey manga that's just now getting English translations. https://www.viz.com/shonenjump/chapters/dogsred https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogsred Check, Please! was webcomic that centered itself around the relationships of a college hockey team. You can read the original webcomic or pick up the book(s) with redone art and color. https://www.checkpleasecomic.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check,_Please!_(webcomic) https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/check-please/list?title_no=954251

Stations & Starships

Also, my actual 2024 recommendation is I discovered The Deku Trio that has two truly inccredible three piece jazz cover albums of Zelda music. Top 1 for me.

Side Quest Studios

My rec is both not 2024 and also 2024. But I hopped on the bandwagon for the show Arcane on Netflix. I didn’t realize that season one was back in like 2021 or something and I must have missed it when it was popping, but since season 2 came out this year it caught my eye and it was the first show I’ve binge watched in years! I highly recommend! I think it’s a great show! (Worst thing about it is that Imagine Dragons is the theme song, but thank God for the “Skip Intro” button). Go watch it, the show kicks ass!

Katherine

These eggs ARE so easy to peel!!

Zack

You're welcome! I hope you find something you enjoy. I made another comment about hockey comics I remembered: Dogsred is a new hockey manga that's just now getting English translations. https://www.viz.com/shonenjump/chapters/dogsred https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogsred Check, Please! was webcomic that centered itself around the relationships of a college hockey team. You can read the original webcomic or pick up the book(s) with redone art and color. https://www.checkpleasecomic.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check,_Please!_(webcomic) https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/check-please/list?title_no=954251

Ames

Technically a 2023 book, but I read it this year. Clytemnestra by Constanza Casanti. I loved this book so much. I had fallen out of love with reading for a couple years but my sister gave it to me as a bday gift and I couldn’t put it down. Casanti does an amazing job of expanding on Clytenmstra’s life and of her family.

Cody

My recommendation of the year is Epic the Musical! “EPIC (Official Concept Album)” on Spotify by Jorge Rivera-Herrans for those who wonder. I’ve never enjoyed musicals before this one and it really opened up the whole genre for me. It’s a retelling of the Odyssey, which I was unfamiliar with. I know Emily and Caldwell have spoken about it before on some old mixed bags. If you guys get the chance check it out! It’s so good!

lily 😦

that’s so sweet!! 💞💞

Iris

emily i think you would love city of brass if you havent read it!

Henry Whittington

Robin Hobb's trilogy The Liveship Traders were my favorite books this year! Multiple point of view fantasy series with ships that have living figureheads that awaken once 3 generations of captains die on their decks, spectacularly deep characters with amazing arcs, and the best villain I have ever read. This trilogy is within a greater world that she has multiple trilogies in but this was the first I have read from it and it stands alone well, can't wait to read her other work!

Olivia M

I ran to brat today!!

Emma

These are top tier recommendations!!!

Emma

Second this!

Katie

thank you!! I spent way too much time curating this list of only four books lol

Emma

Talking books is my FAVORITE thing to do!! If you’re looking for a YA twist on Arthurian lore with magic and secret societies, try Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. I DEVOURED it. Cannot recommend highly enough! (I read it last year so it can’t be my 2024 rec) My two favorites of this year: - The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang. It’s a slow burn at first but then oh my god does it pack a punch. Samurai plus magic plus amazing character evolution. - Shark Heart by Emily Habeck. The premise is that the MC’s husband is slowly turning into a shark. It was the most surprising book I read all year—what I thought would be a funny book turned into a beautiful meditation on love and grief. And as a new parent this year, Laundry HITS thank you Jake 😭😭😭 such a tender thing.

Lexi H

Jake - I read laundry and I totally understand the tears. So good. Thanks for the rec

Pali Endi

A great man once said, “Even if you’re playing an elf, you can be human.” Of all the things I thought I’d get out of listening to this podcast, the testament to humanism that you boobs represent is downright inspirational. To uncertainty and all its wonders To expression guided by curiosity make space welcome celebrate sing! Here’s to you, Two Crew 🥂

Ryz

The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang. It’s Joan of Arc meets Evangelion

Leo's All Purpose Channel

I tried to watch 100 movies in 2024 I think I made it to 40 some of my favourites were: Wicked, The Holdovers, and The Wild Robot. Another rec I gotta give is the frozen baguettes from Costco those things are addicting!

THEJordonBrown

I hope Caldwell watched Dune Prophecy.

Rissa

more fruit for emily: since it seems you're on an asian fruit kick, i'd highly recommend asian pear if you haven't already had it! flavor of a pear, texture of a very crisp, slightly grainy apple. super juicy and refreshing, def one of my all time faves

Scoutmaster Denny

How did you search it up? I looked for it and couldn’t find it

V Without The C

For more Hockey documentaries definitely check out Crimes and Penalties about the Danbury Trashers. Infamous mobster buys his 18 yr old son a hockey team in Danbury, CT that combined WWE with shit-tier hockey and eventually Mike Rupp plays for them, what else do you need?

Teo R

Murph and Emily cuddling up together and he reads to her 💕

Apollo Sullivan

I’ve also been looking for the best tshirt! 😅 my favorite from last year was the cotton tshirt from Uniqlo not the airism but I’ll definitely have to get me one from Randy’s garments.

Sam Chok

There is a very sweet manga called the Cat in the Hero’s Lap, about a dnd style adventurers, but every time they are about to go into battle a cat curls up in one of the hero’s lap. They don’t have the heart to remove it, and as such the party gets defeated frequently. It is a really fun and wholesome read!

Nikolaus Cox

My 2024 recommendations: Books with maps at the front of them (I always feel like I’m about to go on an adventure, and I’ve read some great ones this year, not limited to: The Silver Bone, A. Kurkov; Zealot, R. Aslan; The Triumph of the Sun, W. Smith; The Clan of the Cave Bear, J.M. Auel); the song ‘Tuareg Attack’ from the opening to 1999’s ‘The Mummy’ (I listen to this as my first song whenever I’m traveling by plane or rail, and it makes it feel like I’m on an expedition); printing out photos and framing them (great way of taking stock of good things); the show Fallout (just excellent work all around); finally getting into cardigans.

Sean Boyle

My 2024 recommendation, since he just put out a new book, are the entire works of Micheal J Sullivan. He has 4 series Riyira Revelations, Riviera Chronicles, Legends of the First Empire, and The Rise and the Fall. And they all basically tell the story of a 3000 year period of time with a fantastic plot. It really plays around with the idea of what it means for Elves to have such long lifespans. As well as just being fun to read. The Riyira books are about a pair of professional theives that save a kingdom and the Empire books are prequels about an ancient war for humans to be seen as real people by the elves and to establish the first empire of the world. Super fun books. He just put out the 5th book in the Riyira Chronicles which are prequels about the theives Early adventures.

Dragothor

If Emily has never listened to them she should give King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard a listen.

Julia Comer

Not a 2024 but i think emily (and many naddpoles) would LOVE the book This Is How You Lose the Time War. One of my favorites from the last few years

Summer, Autumn Eladrin

My problem with Le Morte D'Arthur is that I always get distracted by Morgan Le Fay's backstory being that she got really good at magic because she learned to read very well at the convent she was educated at. Like I would like more of an explanation for the magical women please (I know the meta explanation is that a lot of the stories come from pre-Christian oral traditions where it would have been goddesses interacting and guiding with the heroes).

Summer, Autumn Eladrin

I know the Green Knight poem has the explanation being that Morgan Le Fay was the one who was taught by Merlin and eventually was the one who betrayed him and locked him away, but that is not the explanation Mallory's version gives.

Caroline Fenyo

2024 recs!!! nonfic: age of magical overthinking, running w the kenyans fic: carmilla (the OG dracula) podcasts: you’re wrong about, if books could kill, worst bestsellers, maintenance phase

Zeon Liberation

I’ve recently gotten back into poetry. I’ve rediscovered David Whyte, an Irish poet who helped me get through a tough time a decade or so ago.

v_squared (Vanessa)

It didn't come out in 2024, but I read "How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse" this year, and I highly recommend it!

Cheese of the Lake

Ok baby would only fall asleep to “Big Iron” by Marty Robbins and it would have to go on repeat for hours. I played it almost 1000 times in the last year. I feel you Jake on this, I have no idea how it started!

Amanda

love these with rosemary

Amanda

I started listening to this podcast about a year and half ago and y’all have been such a great new addition to my listening collection- thank you!!

Bubble-gun 🔫💖

Emily and Caldwell! You would love the Monstress series by Majorie Liu with art by Sana Takeda. It’s incredible both art and story wise

Ruthie Pinion

Emily got me desperately wanting to play commander after sitting on the fringes of “I don’t think my wallet could take a MTG addiction” and now me and several friends and my spouse are all in. “But Emily Axford thinks it’s cool” is all anyone needed

Baird Linke

Jake you should check out the album Revelation by Leif Vollebekk but especially the song Surfer’s Journal from it—really beautiful lyrics and this building strings instrumentation. It’s one of my favorite songs/albums of the year and I think you’d really dig it

Billie Ash

Caldwell would love both Like a Dragon games - friendship mechanics, insane sidequests, high melodrama story. And Metaphor: Refantasio is not something I've played but does have incredible enemy design. Emily, read Claymore. It's the witcher with women who fight monsters and is incredible. Murph, please try Hardwired Island, a cyberpunk style ttrpg that has capitalism be the enemy. Very fun theatre of the mind shit. Jake, try 8-bit book club. Really hilarious podcast!

Clotilde

Recs! -TV: Kaos on Netflix. Greek mythology rehash with sumptuous production design -Non-fiction: Alfie Kohn's body of work has been rocking my world and making me totally rethink learning. -Emily, do you ever watch Florian Gatsby? He makes soothing pottery videos and gives great tips. I also recommend going to museums and finding inspiration from the pottery there! it's so fun!

Georgie

I LOVE this format, thanks for the recs all

Benjamin Bulgrien

My big rec is Bird watch!! I would say I am an adept bird watcher and before the end of 2024 I was lucky enough to witness a family of Swans in the Seneca River in Upstate NY!! In regards to Magic i also run a Jon deck that I titled "Ratspionage" it's secretly a relentless rat deck which has always been a dream of mine to build and people usually have a blast at the table when I pull it out. If people want the deck list, let me know :)

Kasia

omg *and* there’s a maintenance phase episode about Pilates (that is very uncharacteristically wholesome iirc) !!!

munch lax

we need like a routine stream where yall play video games id definately watch some elden ring or lies of P

Chris Pike

I need Murph to read the entire Malazan Book of the Fallen series and then dm again

Slappy Dave

I ride motorcycles at race tracks Murph, don't worry about what we your audience may or may not be interested in, we will probably just be happy that you are doing a thing you have passion for Let's hear about the hockey next time!

Joseph Petty

5: Soft boiled eggs (bring eggs in water to a boil 1 minute then take of heat and cover for 4.5 minutes, tap the cap off and eat with a sppon - perfect). 4: The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by CM Waggoner - based on our shared enjoyment of similar books (Priory of the Orange Tree, Black Tongued Thief, Between Two Fires) I'd also say look at authors Mark Lawrence (broken empire trilogy and his the ancestors trilogy) and Joel Shepard (his Kassandra Kresnov books and his trial of blood and steel series). 3: the anime Dandadan, 2: replaying the Witcher 3, 1: NADDPOD -please keep up the great work you guys rock

hag

emily mentioning both fred again AND edinburgh? made my day 🩷

Rachel Steiner

My 2024 rec - Uprooted by Naomi Novik! Not a new book (it came out in 2015) but I just read it and it’s so good! It is a dark fantasy that draws from Polish folklore, and while not a horror novel per se, there are some genuinely very creepy scenes that really elevate the whole book. Plus the dynamic between the main two characters (he’s grumpy and by the books, she’s wild and chaotic) I found genuinely very enjoyable. I feel like Emily would really enjoy the book.

The Overthinker

Legolas in mtg is a control deck. Give him death touch and target him with instants and he will spot-remove everything including your friends.

Not Another D&D Podcast

LOVED Shoresy. Honestly feel like it made me appreciate Murph's love of Hockey more haha. ~Caldwell

Kestrel

Probably nobody will see this, but I think Emily (and maybe Caldwell) should read the West Passage by Jared Pechaček! Extremely strange and delightful book, very whimsical with a dark underbelly. I don't even really know how to describe the premise but it's awesome

caustic-laz

Lost my mind listening to Emily describe listening to a podcast while playing Hades while I'm playing Hades listening to Naddpod

j

It's not from this year but my poetry recommendation is "An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow" by Les Murray.

Kevin Garcia

Seconded for fourth wing! So hyped for the 3rd book

Slappy Dave

My recommendation is Resident Evil 4 Remake in VR (PSVR2 exclusive) First time I've ever played RE4 and the VR mode puts every game made specifically for VR to shame Truly a masterpiece, can comfortably say it's my 2nd favorite game after Dark Souls 1

erug

My 2024 rec is breakfast cookies! Which is really just any baked oat recipe baked into cookie shape for added delight + portability. My specific go-to is banana, peanut butter, cinnamon, oats, seeds (chia, flax, pumpkin, sesame, or anything), nuts (hazelnuts are tastiest imo but I use walnuts for the Omega-3 s), and dark choco chips. No recipe but combined in that order to taste + consistency, baked 200C for 10min+

irlBeaker

You guys should check out Crawl if you're still looking for a fun couch co-op game. It's a dungeon crawler up to 4 people, 3 people play as ghosts that possess monsters & try to kill the human character. When the human is killed the monster that got the kill becomes human & so on until you defeat the boss of the dungeon.

Mark Kingcombe

i recommend “the great pottery throw down” i think if you like Bake off, Sewing Bee or shows like that you’ll like throw down.

Kara

I recommend Crypt of the Necrodancer! It is a roguelike game that you don’t have to overly invest your time into it, but it is super fun! It is a rhythm rougelike/dungeon crawler game, so you have to move and attack on the beat. I believe you can add MP3s to it, so you could listen to whatever song you wanted to. It’s chill and fun!! My partner and I are playing co-op, which just makes for a fun chill night 😊 * worth noting this is not a new game, just a new game to me haha

Gavin L.

I went wild about Scavengers Reign, it’s one of the most beautiful pieces of animation I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching, I’m so glad Caldwell gave it a shout out. I’m holding out hope it’ll get picked up for a second season and maybe if we can get some more traffic it’s way it might.

AB

Got some book recs that I think y’all will like based on what you’ve put! All in the sci-fi or fantasy space. Probably mostly for Emily cause our tastes align a lot and most books she mentions are ones I’ve read and liked: The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar The Fifth Season trilogy by NK Jemisin Children of Time by Adrien Tchaikovsky Alien Clay also by Adrien Tchaikovsky The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett The Bone Orchard by Sara Mueller All of the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells Lots more that I can’t think of right now but these are all awesome. :)

AB

Hah I just put that too! It’s so good

AB

Oh man I feel like Jake would actually love the First Law trilogy.

Stations & Starships

Oooo haven't read that but i really loved Sharp Ends! I juat started The Brightsword but I will put this on my list for sure, thank you!

AB

It’s so lovely! Such a fun delightful read.

Lexi H

Emily! I immediately read Nettle & Bone after I listened to this. First read of the year and got me so excited about diving into some more fantasy reading this year. Thank u!! ☺️

Charloot

I refuse to be influenced by anything and yet I guess I’m starting Pilates now

Nick Neverman

Amazing! I hope you enjoy it/hope to hear a review later this year!!

Britnatz

Emily PLEASE check out the MTG card Baba Lysaga. It is such a fun commander and I think of Emily every time I see it. (Remember that you can sacrifice UP to 3 permanents but if you have let's say an "artifact creature" that counts as 2 types for the price of 1)

Cicely Hodges

I know I'm super late to the party, but these songs were recommended to me this year and quickly went on heavy rotation/repeat: 1. "Coming Home Song," by Sammy Rae and the Friends 2. "How Much is Weed," by Dominic Fike

Petmygoldfish

My Rec: Hero’s Die by Matthew Stover. Don’t judge the book by its cover (the cover is shit) but it rocks. Sci-fi / fantasy setting with a bad ass main character

iamnotjackblack

Recommendation for the gamers (sorry john) the binding of isaac! The games a super fun rouge like, personally it's my lock in with a podcast game! You can beat a run in like 40 minutes or less and has a ton of replay value also it's on like everything

Jeb Milling

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames is so good! Not 2024 but I strongly recommend it. Big NADDPOD vibes

ShrimplyAwesome

Highly recommend Epic the musical if no one has listened to it yet

Maygan

Omg!! I first read Jason Schreier because of Murphs recommendations!!!

Jess Wagoner

Emily, I think my top book this year was Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell and i feel like it's a book that you'd love, especially given the campaign 3 ending lullaby

Jess Wagoner

Also the Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

Cody Faye

Sports rec: SUMO WRESTLING! It's so much fun to watch and rightfully gaining support in the West

zach stewart

My recs for this year are Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson (if you haven't gotten into the cosmere books you gotta, Brandon is the king of modern fantasy books), Bookshops and Bonedust the sequel to Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree, The Cradle Series by Will Wight just finished last year and he released a book of short stories for the series (very anime power up feel!), Marvel Rivals has been a lot of fun these last few weeks. I'm sure I've got more but those are some great ones!

Amelia Granato

rosemary and peach are so wonderful together!! i once got a big haul of infused balsamic vinegars and olive oils from a specialty shop and a favorite combo in our house was a vinaigrette made with a white peach balsamic & rosemary evoo!! so yummy, especially on a good summer salad w/ the fresh fruit in there too.

Greg Jovi

Massive thanks to Murph for turning me on to Czarface holy shit this rules

Magestain

My 2024 rec is the Everybody Loves Large Chests book series written by Neven Iliev. It follows around a Mimic that levels up to be too powerful for the dungeon it grows up in and so it goes out and explores the world.

Joe S

The Bright Sword sounds like it was written specifically for my own interests. I have never before heard a book recommendation from someone and put it on hold at the library before they finished talking about it, and yet...

AB

That was such a fun weird book. Great rec!

Geraint

Emily, please read Gideon the Ninth! I promise you'll love it, incredible and hilarious sci fi book

Ivo the Mad Sorcerer

Wind and Truth was my book of the year for sure. Gotta love the cosmere

Jake Klein

So I just learned of the Animorphs tv series… we’ve never needed anything more than for the crew to do an animorphs mixed bag

sami clements

Not a 2024 rec but Faceoff: inside the NHL is so good!

Kingzley Sparkman

"Super What?" was MF DOOM's last project before he passed away I believe. I guess I recommend the song Somersault - Zero 7 ft. MF DOOM

Katie Oyama

Late to the game, but if Emily invests in new sweatpants look at Roots! It’s a Canadian brand that lasts forever and is so comfortable.

Dale Durham

Arcane is such a murph and Emily show. Its a steampunk masterpiece.

Spooply

Books wise, beautiful hug of a book "a psalm for the wild built" by Becky chambers. Very positive utopian feeling solarpunk.

LeCurve52

Gotta give a huge shoutout to the Bloodsworn trilogy by John Gwynne. I love reading but i fully cannot remember the last time i got so immediately lost in a book series like this one. Great read if you’re into fantasy, especially if you like Nordic culture

Mike Cathcart

Emily, please drop the letterboxd (if you have one)!

Tannictor

Emily Axford, MTG rec you should check out using Brian stoutarm as an commander, with creature stealing spells. You can steal their creatures( including commanders) and launch them at them. Pretty sure this counts as commander dmg and you can choose where the dmg goes. I had a few people conceded after stealing their commanders and getting ready to launch them at them. include fling and any iteration of creature steal and buffing artifact/ spells, pretty sure he's red/white so not many spells .

John Horan

As a fellow Arthur brain, I have to recommend the Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell. If you want general recs there’s a great video recommending different Arthurian books depending on what you’re looking for in the story

MoltenPanda

Book recommendation: Fascism and Social Revolution by RP Dutt Very possibly the best anti-fascist work of theory ever written

Ross Wright

Now we need a cyberpunk ttpg one shot or mini series

Bec

Reporting back after having read the Bright Sword. It slapped ass. 10/10. It was riveting, and funny as hell!

Darkrisky

Book Recommendations: The Kamagawa Food Detectives, Sweet Bean Paste Also it’s not a 2024 book but I’ll always recommend Battle Royale the novel not the movie.

Sydney Cooke

So far have read The French Exit & Parable of the Sower, both of which were 5 stars. Thanks for the recs Emily!!

Santa Grinch Hugging HumBaba and two Fairies

Try a float with cherry RC Cola/jaritos mango vanilla ice cream(make sure the packaging says ice cream or it will use skim milk no cream) I've been making my own Jamica de Agua at home!

Matthew James

Hey all! I upped my membership just for this episode and so glad I did - planning to give a try to pilates, some new books, and more of the recs! Here are all my highlights from this past year that I thought you might like based off them: * Brandon Sanderson is doing some of the best heroic fantasy/multiverse writing out there right now, seemed like it would be up the alley of anyone who like Bright Sword, or Caldwell when he mentioned watching an author grow. He's also written for MTG novels! * Midnight In Chernobyl is the scariest non-fiction book I've ever read and absolutely fascinating - and surprisingly approachable for a dense topic * Red Dead Redemption 2 came out years ago now, but I only got around to it this year, and I resonated with the "I can't believe I just had a top gaming experience so late into my life" feeling. Arthur Morgan is a perfect protagonist and the game is just a delight * Train museums. Just trust me. Perfect for kids too. You'd be surprised how many there are around you, likely very cheap.

Mattlikesfries

my father in law worked on the art team for the expanse and he was very proud of it. happy people liked it :)

J. Gro

Never could I ever have imagined so much thought going into an undershirt! Honestly, I'm impressed.

J. Gro

1. Freeformgames.com has the BEST interactive mystery/murder mystery games! We did one at a board game convention and bought one to do ourselves immediately. They have a free-to-try game! 2. Watching the Paralympics (particularly blind soccer, sitting volleyball, boccia, and archery): nothing to show you the beauty of the human spirit quite like handi-capable athletes demonstrating incredible discipline and skill. Go on Youtube and watch even fifteen minutes of the Mixed Team bronze medal match in Boccia (day 8) - absolutely amazing. 3. Wicked, the book, just to read how weird and completely unrelated to the musical it is (which is also worth recommending, if you love musicals... though if you do, you've probably already seen it :) 4. Taking the time to show up for family, like going to a niece's volleyball game or a nephew's band concert... or driving your dad to his colonoscopy. You know, the little things to show you care.

J. Gro

My favorite genre is classic English lit, but with titles like "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" and "This is How You Lose the Time War," how could I not check those out? You had me at space opera.

J. Gro

I bought a book on identifying berries so my husband would stop panicking when I tried them while out and about in nature. 😄

AB

They’re so good! Both of those are very lovely books. A Memory Called Empire and its sequel and the Murderbot Diaries series are also both futuristic space sci-fi and a ton of fun.

AB

If you like classic English lit, I think you’ll particularly like This is How You Lose the Time War. It’s an epistolary novel between two characters, so has kind of a similar feel to more classic lit, and the two authors each wrote one of the character’s letters which is such a fun conceit.

Tabaxi Druid Sarah

I started Nettle and Bone on Emily's recommendation and holy shit, is it ever good. Definitely going to read her other recommendations when I finish this. Thanks!!!

Bug Olson

Murph really got me into the Pro Women's Hockey League (PWHL)

A Talking Dog

If Jake tries MTG, I recommend Breunor Battlehammer as his commander for a red/white equipment-themed deck. It's really straightforward for a new player to put down a dwarf, equip them with a big hammer, then swing for damage. Here's my deck list if you want to proxy it: https://moxfield.com/decks/KnFNZQUpj0WTRk_RIVEdfA

Elizabeth Urban

1. Fiction recs: Uprooted and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone 2. Non fiction recs: Timefulness by Marcia Bjornerud, Underland by Michael McFarland, How to Hide an Empire, Daniel Immerwahr 3. The History of the Seattle Mariners by Dorktown/SBNation 4. Dirty Dr. Pepper 5. Fernet & Coke

Droknar

Whoa I didn't know Murph rocked with Doom! For those old sample collage rap pieces you might want to try L'Orange. My favorites specifically are when he worked with Jeremiah Jae on The Night Took Us In Like Family (very noir) and with Kool Keith on Time? Astonishing! Also loved Scavengers Reign. Might dive into Monte Cook's Numenera because the world feels like it should have that sort of uneasy taxonomy

Aaron Thomas

I have a recommendation for Emily as far as books go. Depending on if you're ok with doing YA books I recently got into the Warriors series and it is awesome. The premise is a bunch of wild cats living in a forest that form multiple clans and have crazy interactions with each other and other random events. They are small and super easy to crush on a long plane ride or car trip and there are like 94 of them I believe. Think the craziness of animorphs but with cats!!

Eleanor Polatch

I’m not sure if you guys would have read this but Emily especially I think would LOVE Tales of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin. It’s the original wizard school fantasy set in an archipelago world, with lots of sailing and exploration. So atmospheric, I live in Scotland and it definitely feels like thst kind of cold, salty rainy type of beauty. The magic system is really cool, all about connecting with nature learning the true words of things in an ancient language. There’s 4 books and they’re all great and written back in the 1970s.

Oli

Emily should absolutely read Thistlefoot, it’s like Baba Yaga retelling but from a jewish folklore. these two siblings are gifted a house with chicken legs from an ancestor in russia. it’s a really cool magical realism style fantasy

Luke

Did not expect the CZARFACE plug! 🙌🙌🙌

Sarah Wallace

PLEASE read Gideon the Ninth. Specifically Emily but I think everyone should read it

Lord Conqueeftador I

I have a great music recommendation that might tickle the fancy of all the members of Naddpod. The artist’s name is Mega Ran who is most popular as a nerd core rap artist his most popular album probably being Black Materia based on the original FF7. I’m currently reading his book which is really good aswell but what I didn’t know is that he’s also a big fan of wrestling and actually wrote the entrance song for the New Day duo called “Bow Down”. He also writes raps about literature and what not, he’s just awesome, my favourite track by him is O.P. But I think y’all really like his music!

Shel B Kennas fav SG is welly’s number one felly

Showing up to recommend: for anyone with kids and hate when their kids music taste ruins their Spotify wrapped… hit the 3 dots on your kids playlists or artists and select the “do not include in wrapped” option!

Tommy Self

Fred again! mentioned hell yea

Sami Kerwin

Jake, “Laundry” was a really beautiful poem

riskutforthebriskut

middle aged 30-somethings describe a midlife crisis all while denying its a midlife crisis lmaoooo