Sold, Viewed, Playful, New

Welcome to Sold, Viewed, Playful, New, where we spotlight popular/fascinating/favorite items in four distinct categories. Sold, for used books. Viewed, for DVDs or Blu-rays. Playful, for board, card, or video games. And New, for new books. Check out our selections below—we're sure you'll find something to intrigue you!

Sold

We're taking a step back in time with our selections this month, starting with our used book recommendations.

Dorothy Parker was a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table, a group of New York City artists in the 1920s that included Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman, Harold Ross, Franklin Pierce Adams, and even (occasionally) Tallulah Bankhead. They were known for their irreverent perspective and razor-sharp wit, but none more than Parker. A patron saint for sarcastic women everywhere (so much so, no less than the modern Queen of Quips Fran Lebowitz herself has been compared to her), check out the Portable Dorothy Parker for an introduction to her work, and then dive into Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell Is This? to read a definitive biography.

Viewed

Continuing with our look-back theme, The Friends reunion show has aired, and if you want to remember what the fuss was all about or find out for the first time, here's the entire series on DVD or Blu-ray. Cartoon legends Tom & Jerry have returned for a feature film, complete with all the rivalrous mayhem they're known for. And finally, remember the Office? Well, you can get The Complete Series here and relive all the hilarious incompetence, egotism, and obliviousness.

While we're tripping down Memory Lane, here are some more titles you might be interested in:

• Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures (Blu-ray)
• Harry Potter: The Complete 8 Film Collection (DVD and Blu-ray)
• E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (DVD and Blu-ray)
• How to Train Your Dragon: 3 Movie Collection (DVD and Blu-ray)

Playful

Mario and Luigi have been video game staples since the eighties, and now Luigi is back with Luigi's Mansion 3, a wild and wacky adventure game for kids featuring engaging action and mind-bending puzzles. As always with top tier Nintendo games, Luigi's Mansion 3 is loaded with immersive atmosphere and riotous surprises that children, tweens, and young teens will adore. Plus, Luigi even has an ectoplasmic sidekick in this one named Gooigi. The clever way he's incorporated in the game play is worth the price alone!

If you need more check out all of our Mario related products.

New

Dungeons and Dragons got its start in the seventies, but modern Dungeons & Dragons Guides are a hit or miss affair. The good ones are a treasure trove of new lands, monsters, characters, spells, equipment, and especially lore, while the others—eh, rehashes at best. I don't play the game anymore, but I did when I was young, and frankly, for the better books, you can enjoy them simply for the wild flourishes of imagination, like well-written new mythology.

The latest title by the Wizards RPG Team is Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, and it's one of the better ones because it's bonkers. You don't have to know the mechanics of D&D gameplay to appreciate the things in it—like a list of sample horror plots that you can construct for players, such as "end an affliction that turns a noble into a living doll every night" (though my preference would be to begin an affliction that turns a noble into a living doll every night), or "settle a dispute between mortals and devils who both claim the same child is their next ruler" (if I were that kid, I know which side I'd choose). If you like your fantasy role-play sprinkled with the old-school decadence of goth, then this is the tome for you (obviously, the people at Wizards RPG enjoyed themselves some Hammer Horror, right down to one of the vampires within having a distinct Dracula-by-way-of-Christopher-Lee vibe).

More stand out D&D guides: Out of the Abyss, Volo's Guide to Monsters, Storm King's Thunder, and Xanathar's Guide to Everything. If you want to read the history of D&D, try Empire of Imagination.

Read more by Terry Fleming