bluecaravan

Hi Jon, I have no question, but I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your immensely enjoyable book.

I got into D&D through Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and other early computer RPGs, and never played the pen and paper version, so it was fascinating reading about the history of the game. The amount of research, care and passion for the subject that clearly went into PatW shines through on every page.

As a voracious reader of fantasy, probably my favourite section was the one on fantasy fiction (although as a slightly less voracious boardgamer, I also really enjoyed the explorations of game mechanics). I read The Dragonlance Chronicles for the first time after finishing your book, and it was an eye-opening experience reading them with what I'd learned from PatW fresh in my mind. I constantly noticed things like how Raistlin is called a "magic-user" and has to memorise spells every night, and the careful divisions of good, neutral and evil; indeed the entire series hinges upon the conceit of balance.

And now that I have typed up this wall of text, I find that I do indeed have a question. What is your own favourite fantasy fiction novel/series, and why?

Thank you!

Hi - I'm not David or Fiji, but just wanted to share this resource with you: Headspace

For me personally, it is by far the best resource for beginner meditators that I've used. The free beginner programme Take10 leads you through ten guided sessions of ten minutes each and offers a friendly, practical and accessible method of sitting your first few meditations.

I went on to a full-year subscription after completing Take10 because I found it so useful, but if the paid option doesn't appeal to you, you can easily use Take10 as a framework to build your own practice moving on. I would also recommend reading the Get Some Headspace book.

To offer some perspective, Headspace doesn't always appeal to everyone because it is completely secular (the founder is an ordained Buddhist monk, but his goal is to de-mystify and make meditation as accessible as possible to most people). If you are keen to approach meditation from a more spiritual side, perhaps reading the wildly popular beginner's guide Mindfulness in Plain English would be more beneficial for you.

Hi David and Fiji,

I hope you read this even though you're done with the AMA! I don't really have questions but just wanted to thank you so, so much for the wonderful resource you provide for free. It's such an admirable goal and really heartening to see that it IS possible, through the generosity of people, to spread the benefits of yoga far and wide for those who may not be able to afford it. I recommend your website to anyone who says they're curious about trying yoga but don't live near a studio, can't afford to go to one, are self-conscious about going to a group class etc. because the instruction and the video are so high quality that you could easily charge for them. The fact that you don't just makes it an even greater gift.

I'm a runner, and Fiji, your Yoga for Runners series is pretty much the best thing ever.

Thank you!

Vin Diesel's also big on D&D! Heh.