Shows / Novel Gaming!
Novel Gaming!
Novel Gaming is a twice-monthly podcast where long-time friends Vicki, Doug, and Katie talk about video games, books, and pop culture with a spattering of current events or anything else they just can't get off their minds.
Episodes
- Novel Gaming!
#90 — Mentor Characters in Video Games!
You ever just need some direction or advice? Well, do we have some video game characters for you! Listen is as we discuss mentors in video games. Conversation…
- Novel Gaming!
#89 — Book Club: 'Dead Astronauts' by Jeff VanderMeer
Vicki's back again, and this time for a book club episode! So you know that means: we've got a complicated, slippery, and confounding scifi tale to dissect…
- Novel Gaming!
#88 — The Highs & Lows of Tie-In Video Games
Since the dawn of home console video games (and technically even before that), there have been tie-in, licensed property, and cross-promotional video games…
- Novel Gaming!
#87 — Book Club: 'Gods of Jade and Shadow' by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
We've got another book club! This month we read 2019's 'Gods of Jade and Shadow' by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Before all that, we catch up on some of the stuff…
- Novel Gaming!
#86 — We Played Disco Elysium!
Wake up, Comrade! Find your pants and solve this murder case with Doug and Katie. They played Disco Elysium, the 2019 detective role playing game. Conversation…
- Novel Gaming!
#85 — Book Club: 'Ogres' by Adrian Tchaikovsky
It's a book club episode, and this month we read 'Ogres' by Adrian Tchaikovsky, a book about a world where humans are oppressed by ogres and revolution may be…
- Novel Gaming!
#84 — We Played Thirsty Suitors!
This game has EVERYTHING: skateboarding, RPG battles, cooking, dancing, romance, a bear mascot-led cult, a queer weightlifting auntie with librarian suitors…
- Novel Gaming!
#83 — Book Club: 'Lone Women' by Victor LaValle
Travel to Montana with Doug and Katie as they talk about the 2023 fantasy western horror book 'Lone Women' by Victor LaValle (discussion starts around 16:15)…
- Novel Gaming!
#82 — Help Wanted Ads: Video Game Edition!
Help Wanted: Someone with a good ear for details and vast video game knowledge. Successful candidate should be able to discern clues, make informed guesses…
- Novel Gaming!
#81 — Book Club: 'The Bell in the Fog' by Lev A. C. Rosen
It's a sequel! Remember 'Lavender House'? We're talking about the sequel, 'The Bell in the Fog', the second book in Lev A.C. Rosen's Andy Mills private eye…
- Novel Gaming!
#80 — Our 2023 Year in Review!
Vicki's here! And the end of 2023 is just around the corner, which means it's time to highlight some of our favorite books, video games, and other media from…
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#79 — Book Club: 'The Jasmine Throne' by Tasha Suri
Join Doug and Katie as they talk about the 2021 epic fantasy book 'The Jasmine Throne' by Tasha Suri (discussion starts around 17:40). Before then, there's…
- Novel Gaming!
#78 — We Played Romancelvania!
Fighting, jumping and... dating monsters?! Sign us up! Join Doug and Katie as they discuss the 2023 metroidvania and dating sim, Romancelvania. Conversation…
- Novel Gaming!
Glitterjaw Crossover: Spider-Man 2 First Impressions
It's a Glitterjaw bonus crossover! We chat spoiler-free first impressions of Insomniac's brand new Marvel's Spider-Man 2 with Derek from Walloping Websnappers!…
- Novel Gaming!
#77 — Book Club: 'The Left Hand of Darkness' by Ursula K. Le Guin
We dusted off our English degrees for this book club episode, because we're both reading 'The Left Hand of Darkness' by Ursula K. Le Guin for the very first…
- Novel Gaming!
#76 — We Played The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood!
We're doing a fantasy video game club episode! Doug and Katie got witchy and built their own divination decks in the 2023 game The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood…
- Novel Gaming!
#75 — Book Club: 'The Wicked Bargain' by Gabe Cole Novoa
Deals with the devil, magic, and queer & trans pirates! The young adult fantasy novel 'The Wicked Bargain' by Gabe Cole Novoa is filled with that and more!…
- Novel Gaming!
#74 — Gaming Draft: Characters Who Fight & F***
Doug and Katie do their first ever gaming draft! They create teams of video game characters who fight and teams of characters who f***. Who would would you…
- Novel Gaming!
#73 — Book Club: 'Spear' by Nicola Griffith
A queer, gender-bent Arthurian legend full of swords, spears, and sorcery? Sounds pretty great to us! We're talking about 'Spear' by Nicola Griffith…
- Novel Gaming!
#72 — Happy Anniversary!
Guess who's back for a special anniversary episooode! That's right, Vicki's back with Katie & Doug to play our own version of the Newlywed Game! ...er, the Old…
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#71 — Book Club: 'The Scourge Between Stars' by Ness Brown
Knock, knock. Who's there? Probably just some debris, right? Find out by listening to our conversation about 'The Scourge Between Stars' by Ness Brown…
- Novel Gaming!
#70 — A Decade of the Playstation 4
Doug and Katie reminisce about the past ~10 years of the PS4 - the memories, the features, and the games. Conversation starts around 23:40. Before that, they…
- Novel Gaming!
#69 — Book Club: 'Lavender House' by Lev A. C. Rosen
Wow, this podcast smells so nice and relaxing... like a freshly opened bar of lavender soap. But wait! It also smells like... MURDER? This month we read…
- Novel Gaming!
#68 — Three GAYming Questions
Everyone loves a trilogy, especially when it means everything gets a little bit gayer! It's our third Q&A episode, and this time we're focusing on gayming. We…
- Novel Gaming!
#67 — Book Club: 'The Lesson' by Caldwell Turnbull
Aliens and invasions and lessons, oh my! We read and discussed 'The Lesson' by Caldwell Turnbull. Conversation starts around 39:00. Before then, Dug and Katie…
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#66 — Star Wars Video Games!
Join Doug and Katie in a gaming galaxy far, far away! That's right - they're talking Star Wars! Conversation about the games starts around 25:50, but the force…
- Novel Gaming!
#65 — Book Club: 'The Genesis of Misery' by Neon Yang
What do you get when you mix deep space, the far future, stonebending (like in Avatar: The Last Airbender), alien mecha, and... a Messiah named Misery? You get…
- Novel Gaming!
#64 — Books IN Video Games!
We like books. We like video games. And sometimes there are books IN video games, and we like that too! In this episode we're talking about some of favorite…
- Novel Gaming!
#63 — Book Club: 'Wintersong' by S. Jae-Jones
Did Katie unknowingly choose a romance book for this discussion? Maybe! The only way to find out is to listen to our discussion around 'Wintersong' by S…
- Novel Gaming!
#62 — We Played Citizen Sleeper!
We're doing a sci-fi video game club episode! Doug and Katie rolled the dice and played the 2022 game Citizen Sleeper. That conversation starts around 15:33…
- Novel Gaming!
#61 — Book Club: 'Now Is Not the Time to Panic' by Kevin Wilson
Have you heard? The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers...! It's a book club episode, and we’re discussing the 2022 book ‘Now Is Not the Time to…
- Novel Gaming!
#60 — Video Game Date Night!
Y'all ever seen a video game character and thought, "Dang, what if I could go on a date with them?" You're in luck—lots of games nowadays just let you do it…
- Novel Gaming!
#59 — Book Club: 'Oona Out of Order' by Margarita Montimore
What year is it? How old am I? These are questions you definitely would ask yourself if you were the protagonist of our most recent book club pick - 'Oona Out…
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#58 — Glorious Gaming Transformations!
Sometimes things change. Sometimes those things are video games, characters, or franchises! Doug and Katie reflect on some of the gaming transformations that…
- Novel Gaming!
#57 — Book Club: A Selection of Winter Poetry
Grab your favorite warm drink and get your snapping fingers ready, because we're reading some poetry for this month's Book Club episode! The year is coming to…
- Novel Gaming!
#56 — Our 2022 Year in Review!
We're rapidly approaching the end of 2022! Holy smokes! As usual, we close out the year by talking about the best stuff we played, read, watched, listened to…
- Novel Gaming!
#55 — Book Club: 'Moon of the Crusted Snow' by Waubgeshig Rice
How would you react to losing some of society's luxuries? That's the question Vicki, Doug, and Katie have been asking themselves after reading the slow-burn…
- Novel Gaming!
#54 — Video Game Limericks!
There once was a game from Nantucket...? This week we're creating limericks about some of our favorite video games and video game characters. None of us were…
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#53 — Book Club: 'Before the Coffee Gets Cold' by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
This week on the pod, our caffeniated trio read 'Before the Coffee Gets Cold' by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, a recent Japanese translation. Although Sci-Fi light, our…
- Novel Gaming!
#52 — Video Game Villains!
Villains, amirite? Love to hate 'em and hate to love 'em! We discuss those fiendish friends that we enjoy beating and sometimes being. Conversation starts…
- Novel Gaming!
#51 — Book Club: ‘We Ride Upon Sticks’ by Quan Barry
Field, field, field! Podcast, podcast, podcast! It's a book club episode, and this week we read Quan Barry's 'We Ride Upon Sticks', a book about witchcraft…
- Novel Gaming!
#50 — A Cat-tastic Adventure
What more could you ask for than a whole podcast dedicated to cats? Well if you love cats as much as our three hosts do, you're in for a real crunchy treat…
- Novel Gaming!
#49 — Book Club: ‘A Prayer for the Crown-Shy’ by Becky Chambers
What do you need? Well, if it's a book club episode about 'A Prayer for the Crown-Shy' by Becky Chambers we've got you covered! We'll start discussing this…
- Novel Gaming!
#48 — Video Game Missed Connections!
Have you ever seen a game and thought, "We were meant to be together," but then never took the chance to... say hello? This week we're writing…
- Novel Gaming!
#47 — Book Club: ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ by Douglas Adams
Do you love British humor, 1970's sci fi, hard to pronounce names, improbable situations? Well join us this week as we discuss The Hitchhiker's Guide to the…
Novel Gaming!#46 — Two Truths and a Lie: Video Game Edition
Lying is especially fun when it's about video games! Join us for a game of two truths and lie and see if you can suss us out! The game starts around 38:40…
- Novel Gaming!
#45 — Book Club: 'How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse' by K. Eason
It's a book club episode, and the multiverse is in danger. Maybe. Honestly, that part's a bit unclear... BUT we read a very cool book called 'How Rory Thorne…
- Novel Gaming!
#44 — Gateway Games
This week on the pod, Doug, Vicki and Katie discuss their best picks for gateway games. Looking to add more gaming pals? Well this episode will leave you with…
- Novel Gaming!
#43 — Book Club: 'Good Morning, Midnight' by Lily Brooks-Dalton
This is Novel Gaming. Anyone out there? Over. ...phew! We're so glad you got this. During this transmission we'll be sharing our conversation about 'Good…
- Novel Gaming!
#42 — We Played Banjo-Kazooie!
Is game club a thing? Well, it is for this episode! We decided to play Rare's 'Banjo-Kazooie', a fondly remembered game released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64…
- Novel Gaming!
#41 — Book Club: 'Tales of Nevèrÿon' by Samuel R. Delany
This week on the pod join Vicki, Katie, and Doug on an adventure to the land of Neveryon in Book Club. The trio read Tales of Neveryon by Samuel R. Delaney…
- Novel Gaming!
#40 — Video Game Scattergories!
Join Vicki, Doug, and Katie for a rousing game of video game-themed Scattergories! Before we get into that, we check in on what we've been reading, watching…
- Novel Gaming!
#39 — Book Club: 'Ms. Marvel' (2014) Issues 1-11 by G. Willow Wilson
We mixed it up for book club this month and decided to try out... comic book club! We read the first eleven issues of the Ms. Marvel series that introduced the…
- Novel Gaming!
#38 — Video Game Betrayals
Looking to get your fix of backstabs, twists, and betrayals in the video game sphere? Join Vicki, Doug, and Katie as they review their ultimate betrayal…
- Novel Gaming!
#37 — Book Club: 'Brown Girl in the Ring' by Nalo Hopkinson
Does a dystopian future-Toronto infused with spirits and gods sound like your jam? Then we have the book pick for you! Join us as we talk about the 1998 novel…
- Novel Gaming!
#36 — Writing Video Game Haiku!
We wrote some poems / But don't worry, they are short / Video game haiku. That's write! We each took a swing at crafting haiku about some of our favorite games…
- Novel Gaming!
#35 — Book Club: 'All Systems Red' by Martha Wells
Does the word "Murderbot" mean anything to you? Hopefully it will after listening to us talk about 'All Systems Red' by Martha Wells, the first entry in the…
- Novel Gaming!
#34 — Trophy Earned? Our 2021 Goals Recap!
Goodbye, 2021! And hello, 2022! For our first episode of the year, we review our goals from 2021 and determine whether or not we earned trophies for their…
- Novel Gaming!
#33 — Book Club: 'Remote Control' by Nnedi Okorafor
Our last book club of 2021! And we're ending with a (glowing, green) bang and talking about Nnedi Okorafor's Remote Control. If you'd like to jump right to our…
- Novel Gaming!
#32 — Our 2021 Year in Review!
We're rapidly approaching the end of 2021! Hot diggity! What better way to close out the year than by talking about the best stuff we played, read, watched…