The Rec Room #22
Editor's Edition
Welcome to the twenty-second edition of The Rec Room, a weekly lounge-meets-newsletter from your friend John A. Paradiso. A big thank you to everyone who’s subscribed so far. And, if you haven’t, hit that big ol’ subscribe button now!
If you have no idea what’s going on, no problem!
Every Friday, I’ll be sending out an email with five recommendations from a friend with fantastic taste. Then, each guest will end the email with a game to add to our Rec Room Game Collection. It’s like falling down the eBay rabbit hole and finding exactly what you were looking for.
Your pal John A. Paradiso is back for yet another Editor’s Edition. I’ve been itching to share some hot recs with y’all so I’m thrilled to be back in the saddle for another edition.
In case you don’t know who I am, howdy! I’m John. I’m the managing editor at lifestyle site Cool Material and I’m a regular contributor at a few other publications.
And there’s a little bit of everything in this lineup. Want a new breezy book to read? I gotchu. A fun fall tv series to get you in the spooky mood? Keep on reading.
So without further ado let’s dive into it. Enjoy your Friday and relax in The Rec Room!
The Recs
“The Untold Story of Snoopy Tennis”
So Snoopy Tennis. That must be a cutesy little tennis game right? It’s on the Gameboy and features all of my favorite Peanuts characters! Wrong, this is an incredibly in-depth tennis sim with a huge difficulty curve. (But yes you can play as Woodstock.) Oh, and it was made by TWO PEOPLE. This is the Dark Souls of tennis games. In all seriousness, I loved falling down the rabbit hole of this game. The article linked below is a seriously in-depth history of the making of this critically acclaimed but sadly lost to time video game. The main piece of info worth knowing is it weirdly released in the same year as the smash hit Mario Tennis. If this released any other year I’m sure we’d be getting new Snoopy Tennis games every couple of years. On a slightly related tangent, I went down a vintage Peanuts rabbit hole on eBay and ended up purchasing a copy of Snoopy Tennis. So yea I’m stoked to get my butt handed to me.
Ruby Hibiscus Water
Hop on board the hibiscus water trend. I’ve been dying to give Ruby a try and I’m thrilled that I did. That sweet/tart flavor profile is a little bit of a curveball at first, but once you polish off that first bottle, you’ll be reaching for a second. Drink it on its own, add some lemon juice and seltzer, or swap it into your favorite cocktail. Beyond the product itself, Ruby has such stellar branding. Get lost in the Rubyverse.
The Works of P.G. Wodehouse
My dad introduced me to the works of P.G. Wodehouse - and I’m so glad he did. Wodehouse is known for his satirical jabs at the upper echelons of British society. (He also had a fascinating history during WWII when he was interred by the Germans and used as propaganda.) But his writing is truly laugh-out-loud stuff. There are just such brilliant little turns of phrases. “It isn’t often that Aunt Dahlia lets her angry passions rise, but when she does, strong men climb trees and pull them up after them.” “I could see that, if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled.” I mean, come on. Pure magic. Wodehouse is best known for his series on Bertie Wooster and his butler Jeeves (the O.G. Jeeves fyi) but I’ve been reading some books in the Mulliner series and they’re just as wonderful. Breezy and fun, any of Wodehouse’s books could likely be finished in a long weekend. I’d recommend heading to your local bookstore or a vintage shop and just picking up anything Wodehouse has written.
Over the Garden Wall
I have recommended Over the Garden Wall to just about anyone who will listen. And, since the spooky season is upon us, it’s only appropriate that I bring it up once again. Over the Garden Wall is a 10-episode animated miniseries that originally aired on Cartoon Network. It stars two brothers lost in the mysterious woods of the Unkown meeting odd characters and attempting to find their way home. It’s eerie and adorable with equal shades Eastern European fable and American Gothic horror. Think Brothers Grimm meets Ichabod Crane. Everything about it is charming. The music is phenomenal, the voice acting (which includes Elijah Wood and Christopher Lloyd) is stellar, and the atmosphere is perfectly spooky. I watch this show at least once a year during Halloween and I’d highly recommend you join in this tradition.
FOODHEIM: A Culinary Adventure
I realize this is a heavy literature edition of The Rec Room but, hey, cookbooks don’t count. And, either way, this is one amazing cookbook. Eric Wareheim is the modern renaissance man: he’s a mad genius comedian, natural winery owner, and bona fide foodie. And his cookbook perfectly sums up his sensibilities. He’s serious about food, but also opens up the culinary world to anyone. Cooking doesn’t have to be daunting. But it should be treated with respect. Wareheim’s cookbook is fantastic with plenty of weird humor and genuine wisdom.
Rec Room Game Collection
Good Sudoku
Any other sudoku players out there? Of all the sudoku apps available, Good Sudoku, as the name suggests, is truly good. This iteration of the classic puzzle game actively teaches you the strategies and techniques of the game. I’ve genuinely become better at true pen and paper Sudoku by playing my daily game of Good Sudoku. Plus, the interface is just so intuitive and user-friendly.