January always arrives suddenly, and it takes a whole month just to find your rhythm again. Its also a month for fresh starts. This month had three: reading more, writing more, and new development work.
Development
Next month I’m stepping into a tech lead role, which means less hands-on coding and more responsibility for direction. I’ve already started adjusting to the shift. The timing worked out—a side project kicked off this month too, so I’m still getting code written, just not at work.
Another first for me is actively using AI in my development workflow - mainly to plan, question and delegating simple tasks to do. Before I never really clicked with any of the bigger providers. Maybe it was my own lack of promting skills, but I found it more frustrating than useful. But now it works so well that I can delegate the simpler tasks and concentrate on what’s fun.
Gaming
I wrote about this at length in a separate post about narrative-focused games, but the short version: I ran a one-shot in Dolmenwood this month and discovered I prefer systems that prioritize storytelling and player agency. I’d never played an OSE games before, so I definitely missed details. The ruleset has a learning curve. But Dolmenwood itself was a joy to run. The book layout makes it fast to reference mid-session, and I can imagine it shines in a longer campaign once you know the system better.
I’m not the biggest fan of Critical Role, but I found this video interesting, especially hearing them talk about the skills needed for gamemastering and how listening to the players is the most important.
Media
Three (!) books finished, and my reading goal is on track. I also made a new setup for my reading lists and wrote a post about it as well.
Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne felt like the same revenge narrative repeated through different characters. The worldbuilding is genuinely excellent at times - the pantheon and magic system are inventive but I wanted more variation in how characters perceive and respond to that world. There are also simply too many POV characters, which dilutes their individual arcs.
The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien needs no introduction. A classic read, and the first time my son heard the story!
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher is considered the series really starts to pick up in terms of quality, and I totally agree. This was a far more enjoyable read than the first three books. The easy and entertaining way Jim writes combined with blockbuster-esque actions scenes makes this a really fun book. I needed a change from the darker fantasy stuff I normally read.
The year started well. Now the trick is keeping it going.