Alan & Jono's Watching/Reading List: October 2025 (Patreon)

Alan:

Hello Heroes!

Spoooooky!

What I’m reading!

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. Is this HIGH ART? Nope. Was it a fun read? Yep. A silly sci-fi premise leads us to a silly fantasy premise. There’s a talking cat. There’s a lot of D&D-related humor. Copious amounts of splatter. It’s a great “B” novel. A bit bummed that it definitely doesn’t get close to telling a full story. But hey, how else are you gonna write 10 novels of the same thing? I’ll probably read more.

Krakatoa by Simon Winchester. This guy is such a good writer that I was enthralled for two chapters of just straight History of Geology. GREAT book. Interesting information. Surprising relevance to your life. What can I say, strong recommend for just about anybody.

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I read this when it first came out. But I’m back. I only read the first two books, then decided to wait until the whole series was done to actually read them. Too long waiting between books to keep up with it. I like these books, though not as much as most other Brando Sando stuff. Feels bloated to me. But I still really like it! 

What I’m watching!

Shelby Oaks - Debut film from fellow YouTuber Chris Stuckmann. It was really well directed. The story was, imo, undercooked and a bit meh. Kinda an assembly of a bunch of things that Stuckmann liked in other movies, sorta glomped together. But man, I’m excited to see his next project. (I hear good things about his next script!)

Loads of other stuff from the FilmQuest festival! I might do a write-up of the fest when it’s finished (only halfway done as I write this). Lots of fun/interesting films here. All very indie. And Cyranø played great!

What I’m playing!

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Back to the Western Frontier, baby! I’m playing the DLCs to get ready for Avatar: Fire & Ash in just about 6 weeks! That’s right. I’m an unapologetic Avatar homer. I love the movies. I really like the game. I adore the world. Sign me up for that first RDA transport out. I’m moving off-world!

Watch Movies! (And television, and read books, and play video games)

Jono:

Hello and Happy Spooky Season, y'all! This month I've been reading Stephen King's The Shining because Five Below had it in paperback for $5 and I said what the heck, why not? Fantastic book and quite different in the details than the Kubrick film.I've been watching as many scary/spooky movies as I can for the season, including Frankenstein 2025 (sumptuous), Shelby Oaks (well-directed but poorly-written), Good Boy (good fun), Psycho (classic), Cabin in the Woods (a personal favorite), Happy Death Day (more fun than scary, but very fun), Five Nights at Freddy's (sorry Chuck-E-Cheese), and Poltergeist (the original, still unnerving).What about you lot? What have you been taking into your eyeballs?