I mostly started this because livejournal is down, and I really, really want a place to write down my thoughts.

I just finished the Magicians.  I thought it was excellent.  I will have more to say about it later, but I am still sort of chewing it over in my head. 

I think I need to read or I go a little bit crazy.  My brain has to measure itself in terms of agreement or opposition to the books I read.  It is like a vine and a trellis, I suppose. 

Well, read something besides RPGs.  I like them, but my search for the perfect one has become silly.

I realized lately that your preconceptions about RPGs become real since they filter how you run or play them.  This doesn't mean that the RPGs have no objective qualities, but the subjective aspect is important too.  So if you see CoC as a slow slog towards inevitable destruction, you won't try anything adventurous and it may well become that.  If your DM thinks D&D is an endless succession of dungeon corridors, well, that's what it will be.

But it doesn't have to be, you know?  CoC can be over the top pulp action and metaphysical weirdness.  D&D can be political drama or nation building, too.  Besides "feel free to change the rules" Your Mileage May Vary should be stamped all over RPG discussions, forever.

After reading The Magicians and thinking about Harry Potter's strengths and weaknesses, I feel like I actually get Mage for the first time.  Am I going to run it?  I dunno.  I tend to like the brainstorming stage more than the diving into mechanics stage of these games.

It's not that I can't wrap my head around these things (I think me, Paul, and John memorized the most of the 3.0 rules, and were generally the most optimized in that we played spellcasters) but sometimes it feels unfortunately like work.  The tedious kind, not the fun kind.