Earlier this year, I purchased and read both the Vampire: The Masquerade Player’s Guide and the Camarilla sourcebook. I have been getting more into the lore of Vampire: The Masquerade, and I have enjoyed paging through both of these books. Reading a TTRPG sourcebook is different than a book for obvious reasons. I’m less trying to take in everything that I read, but instead pick out things about the lore that I want to remember for later. Could I count the TTRPG sourcebook I read into my final reading total for the year?

The first thing I did was go to Goodreads. There may be a way, or there should be a way to add a book to Goodreads if it wasn’t already there to begin with. I have personally never done that before, so I can’t speak to that process. I couldn’t find the Player’s Guide there, but I did find the Camarilla sourcebook. There are reviews for the book, and the fifth edition of Vampire: The Masquerade is also on Goodreads. I’m not saying Goodreads should be the truth or the answer to this, but I find it interesting that other readers have added these books to their shelves.

Getting into the definition of reading, one definition states, “the activity or the skill of comprehending the meaning of written or printed matter by interpreting the characters or symbols of which it is composed.” This definition came from Oxford Languages. If we examine the definition of reading, I’d say the answer is yes: TTRPG rulebooks count as reading. By reading a sourcebook, you are comprehending the printed material. I’d argue that a TTRPG rulebook has more comprehension than reading a book since the rules of a TTRPG game can be quite complex.

I’m not really tied to an answer on this. If someone were to provide a compelling argument and say, “No, I don’t think TTRPG sourcebooks count as reading,” I’d be inclined to listen. I don’t think I will add these books that I have read to my final reading total, partially because I don’t want to spend the time logging them into Goodreads. I also have no interest in rating them because I liked both of them, and I don’t have much else to say in a full review.

Currently, I’m reading Vampire: The Masquerade, The Second Inquisition sourcebook, and I have asked for two more sourcebooks for Christmas this year. If you have a strong opinion about this, I’d be happy to hear it.