A-Z Book survey

This is another of those lists that do the rounds from time to time, seen here http://glueinthecarpet.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/a-z-book-survey.html.  I started reading before I went to school and have always read a lot.  Currently fiction is mainly SF and Fantasy, non fiction history, but I will dip in anywhere.  I find a lot of inspiration at my local library.Anyway here is my list:

Author you've read the most books from
Impossible question without a bit of research but probably Enid Blyton.  Other possibilities are Agatha Christie and JT Edson

Best sequel ever:
Lieutenant Hornblower (just to  get Hornblower in the list somewhere)

Currently reading:
The Mountain of Gold by JD Davies
The American Civil War by John Keegan (having just started a Longstreet Campaign)

Drink of choice whilst reading
Beer

E-reader or physical book:
I much prefer physical books but the kindle is great if I am going to be away for a day or two and is also good for impulse buys

Fictional character you would probably have dated in high school:
Winston Graham’s Demelza

Glad you gave this book a chance
Gentleman Captain by JD Davies – a tale of Charles II navy that exceeded expectations

Hidden book gem?
That’s me in the Middle by Donald Jack.  Bartholemew Bandy is a great character (in the first four books of the series at least)

Important moment in your book life
Reading Lord of the Rings for the first time.  I was in a complete daze by he time I had finished it and could remember virtually none of what I had read but I was totally blown away.

Just finished:
Happy Hour in Hell byTad Williams. Bobby Dollar is a very unusual angel.

Kind of book you won't read
Celebrity biographies..

Longest book you've read
Possibly Tros of Samothrace by Talbot Mundy.

Major book hangover because of  disappointing endings. 
Rarely happens – I normally will stop reading if a book is going nowhere

Number of bookcases you own:
6 in total but only 2 filled with proper books.

One book you've read multiple times:
Lord of the Rings and will again

Preferred place to read:
At home in a comfy chair.

Quote that inspires you
That’s sad – I can’t think of any

Reading regret
Je nr regret rein

Series you started and need to finish
Fifty shades?  I only made it through the first 2 chapters of the first book. Or perhaps I won't bother.

Three of your all-time favourite books:
Lord of the Rings – Ross Poldark - Sharpe

Unapologetic fanboy for:
Tolkien 

Very excited for this release:
Sleeping Late on Judgement Day by Tad Williams

Worst bookish habit:
Not wanting to stop reading a good book so not going to bed until very very late when I have work the next morning.

X marks the spot - Start at the top left of your bookshelf and pick the 27th book:
James IV by Norman MacDougall

Your latest book purchase:
Princeps  by LE Modesitt Jnr

Zzz snatcher book (the last book that kept you up waay too late)
Happy Hour in Hell by Tad Williams

 

Wargamer Taxonomy - Lead Warrior's take

This is taken form Lee Hadleys blog - I thought I would give it a go. 

"This is another one of those interesting Internet Memes that occasionally does the rounds within the hobby Blog community. This one comes from the Itinerant Hobbyist who has adapted something he found elsewhere on the Interweb as a way of classifying and quantifying what drives us as individual wargamers. Unlike a set of questions this is designed to gauge the complex interplay of motivations that we all share but in different quantities. There are five basic categories and all you have to do is allocate a percentage next to each according to its significance in motivating you as a wargamer. Of course there is nothing to stop you from adding a little explanation with your percentages, in fact I hope you do.

(Picture Source - 56 Geeks)

The descriptions below are taken directly from the Itinerant Hobbyists post:

• Immersion - You really get into the fluff/universe/world/history of the game you play. 
• Social - relationships are what's important. You look forward as much to the dinner/drink afterwards as you do to the gaming itself.
• Showcasing/Modelling - You really like to show your work and see the work of others. Modelling and painting are what give you the most energy.
• Strategy - You like to read forums, listen to podcasts, work on lists, etc to improve your game. You like the mechanics of how a game works.
• Competition - you like testing your play style and abilities against others to come out on top. Or, to test your strategies against the best."

Back to me now

My percentages are as follows. 

30% Immersion - I am and always have been into history and my reading and researching feeds my wargaming habit remorselessly

20% Social - I have made a lot of friends from wargaming and whilst we don't socialise that much outside gaming nights and events (perhaps we should do more?) this is important too

5% Showcasing/Modelling - I am a gamer and only paint and model as I need to.  I originally put this at 0% but rereading the definition I suppose I sort of enjoy a bit of painting and looking at others good stuff  so I upped it a bit

5%  Strategy - I'm not so interested in rules mechanics and although I have been known to try and max an army list its not that big a deal

10%   Competition - I always play to win , although a keenly fought defeat can often be more enjoyable than a walkover victory I do get upset with myself if I cock things up so there is a competitive streak in me.

The mathematically minded among you will realise that this only comes to 60%  The other 40% is the preparation, anticipation and actual playing of the game.  This is what makes it such a fantastic hobby for me.  I totally switch off from the rest of my life and go with the flow.  It always strikes me as a bit odd that many wargamers game so infrequently.  Each to their own of course.

Checking again the other thing that is missing is blogging! That probably is a bit of all of the above I suppose.

I would be very interested in others comments or blog posts on this subject

Old Stuff Day 2013

Another one of these ideas that bloggers pinch from each other

This is where I saw it and here is a copy and paste of a copy and paste

http://bleaseworld.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/old-stuff-day-2013.html

 

Apparently today is Old Stuff Day - no I hadn't heard of it either, but it is a wonderful idea so I thought I'd join in and encourage all my fellow bloggers as well.

So what is Old Stuff Day? Well I'll let Warhammer 39,999 answer that as it was his proposal:

"On this day, each blogger can go through their history and find posts that they’d like to shake the dust off and present again to the community at large. Some suggestions for content that would be good to post:
* Posts that you considered special that didn’t receive as much attention as you thought they deserved
* Content that people liked in the past, but haven’t seen recently * Posts you might have created before your site received much traffic, and now

The posts I have chosen are

http://leadwarriordavek.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/visit-to-broughty-castle.html

I am not that a good a photographer but these came out really well and remind me of a great day out with my wife Angela

http://leadwarriordavek.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/historic-battles-two-firsts.html

This one did not get much attention at the time - there are no photos as I was having problems with the camera at the time, but they were two great games

http://leadwarriordavek.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/support-your-local-library.html

This is one to follow up on - I hit my target of 52 library books borrowed and read last year and have made the samepledge this year.

So what are your favorite old posts?

20 wargames related things

A number of people have been doing this so I thought I would have a go.

Apologies for the odd formatting!

1.     Favourite Wargaming period and why?  Must be Ancients in 25mm.  Always has been
2. Next period, money no object? WW2 all theatres in 28mm.  More practically Sikh Wars in 15m

3. Favourite 5 films? Kellys Heroes The Life of Brian, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Magnificent Seven, The Pink Panther

4. Favourite 5 TV series?  Dr Who, Poldark, Star Trek, Time Team,

5. Favourite book and author? Lord of the Rings

6. Greatest General? Alexander the Great

7. Favourite Wargames rules? Changes all of the time.  Most played WRG 6^th edition Ancients –Currently Impetus

8. Favourite Sport and team? Newcastle United / English test cricket team

9. If you had a only use once time machine, when and where would you go?   Nowhere – how would I get back?

10. Last meal on Death Row?  I would ask the chef for his recommendation

11. Fantasy relationship and why? Demelza why not?

12. If your life were a movie, who would play you? Alec Guiness

13. Favourite Comic Superhero? Batman – Adam West incarnation

14. Favourite Military quote? Oddball: Hi, man. Big Joe: What are you doing? Oddball: I'm drinking wine and eating cheese, and catching some rays, you know. Big Joe: What's happening? Oddball: Well, the tank's broke and they're trying to fix it. Big Joe: Well, then, why the hell aren't you up there helping them? Oddball: [chuckles] I only ride 'em, I don't know what makes 'em work. Big Joe: Christ! Oddball: Definitely an antisocial type. Woof, woof, woof! That's my other dog imitation

15. Historical destination to visit? – Gloster Hill

16. Biggest Wargaming regret? Regrets I’ve had a few but then again...... but I would like to visit Historicon one day

17. Favourite Fantasy job?  Emperor of the World hahahahahahaha

18. Favourite Song Top 5? Too difficult

19. Favourite Wargaming Moment? My next game

20. The miserable Git question, what upsets you? Having to lose my temper and shout to get people who should know better to do what they were supposed to do in the first place.