Let Blizzard Watch help you blow your holiday gift cards

Gift cards are a holiday inevitability. Somehow, we all end up with them — sometimes we can put them toward exactly what we’ve always wanted, but sometimes, we have absolutely no idea what to spend them on. If you happen to have an Amazon gift card laying around that you don’t know how to spend, you’re in luck, because Blizzard Watch is here to thrust a variety of things to spend your money on straight into your face.

Blizzard books and novels

Like books? Great! There are plenty of Blizzard books out there for almost all of its game franchises. While World of Warcraft players are eagerly anticipating Christie Golden’s Before the Storm, it’s currently only available for pre-order and won’t arrive in time for the holidays. However, there are a number of other Warcraft books available. Here are just a few examples:

• World of Warcraft: Illidan by William King is a tie-in novel to the game’s current expansion, focused on one of the expansion’s central characters.
• World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume 1 and Volume 2 are incredibly popular history books for the fictional world of Azeroth.
• Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War by Christie Golden focuses upon a character who will be relevant in the game’s next expansion.

Those are just a few choices. You can check out our Guide to Warcraft Lore in Print for so many others like them.

If you prefer Blizzard Entertainment’s other games, there are books available for all of them, though not necessarily novels. For example, an Overwatch player will likely enjoy The Art of Overwatch or the Overwatch comic anthology. For Hearthstone players, the game has recently released a thematic cookbook.

Star Wars books and novels

Star Wars is the new hotness all over again thanks to the new films. Alongside the films, though, the Star Wars franchise has released oodles of new books written by tried and true scifi and fantasy authors. Here’s just a few of the best:

• Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson
• Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray
• Inferno Squad by Christie Golden
• Aftermath by Chuck Wendig
• The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn

It’s hard to go wrong with Star Wars.

External phone charger

Pretty much everyone has a smartphone these days, and most likely, a tablet or ereader, too. Everyone who owns a smartphone has, at some point in their life, run low on their battery while nowhere near a charging outlet. An external charger can help! The device carries a secondary charge which you can use on-the-go, charging your phone while it’s in your purse or pocket. When traveling, it can be a real life saver. These chargers are compatible with anything with a USB charging cable — which is almost every gadget in one’s household: phones, tablets, ereaders, and so on.

There are countless different models of external batteries, but I personally lean toward models that provide some additional utility — this RAVPower portable charger, for example, is one of many models which include a flashlight function. I think it’s fair to say being caught without a charged phone is a rarity, but purchasing a model which includes a flashlight makes the item that much more valuable in an emergency — and doesn’t particularly inflate the cost of the item. You can find a decent external charger with a built-in flashlight for anywhere between $15 and $30. At the time of this posting, the RAVPower model mentioned above is currently $14.99 on Amazon.

Members of our own staff recommend this Jackery external charger which comes with built-in cables for both iPhone, Android, and other devices, making it convenient both in an emergency and on-the-go.

Even for someone who keeps their phone charged at all times, an external charger is a good item to keep around. If your car breaks down, you’ll have a flashlight and an extra charge for your phone while waiting for rescue. If your power goes out, the same applies — your flashlight and a spare phone charge will be right at hand. I’ve personally had one of these external chargers save my bacon during a power outage and I’m thankful I had one.

Gaming peripherals

For PC gamers, solid peripherals — keyboards, mice, headsets — are a must. When talking tools of the trade, nobody likes working with the old and the busted. There isn’t a gamer in the world who would turn down a shiny new mouse. Let’s visit some options:

Razer

Razer peripherals are the designer jeans of the PC gaming world. With their matte black finish and neon lights, they have the sexiest, most fashionable peripherals — which means they usually have the highest price point, too.

• Razer Naga This mouse is aimed specifically at gamers who play MMOs such as World of Warcraft. With 12 extra buttons in the form of a thumb pad, it’s a godsend to MMO players. While nice, it’s going to hit you for about $80.
• Razer Naga Hex The Hex variant of the Naga has only 6 extra buttons rather than 12. This version of the Naga is aimed at MOBA players — that is, games such as League of Legends, Dota 2, and Heroes of the Storm. However, MMO gamers who have small hands find the Hex is useful for them, too. Small hands makes it difficult to utilize the Naga’s full suite of 12 buttons. Good news: the Hex is only around $60.
• Razer Deathadder The Deathadder is Razer’s most basic mouse option — and has built a reputation for being reliable and long-lasting. While many Naga users report the mouse might only last a year or two, there are people who have been using their Deathadder for the better part of a decade. If you have Amazon Prime, you can pick up a Deathadder for around $40.

Razer has also released a line of Overwatch themed peripherals:

• Overwatch Razer Deathadder mouse
• Overwatch BlackWidow keyboard
• Overwatch ManO’War headset

Razer can be on the pricey end, but their peripherals are sleek, stylish, and made with gaming in mind.

Logitech

If Razer is the designer jeans of PC peripherals, Logitech is the tough and rugged fit-for-construction-work bootcut jeans. Logitech’s hardware tends to last longer than other brands for a lower price point — but it isn’t as flashy. Logitech’s answer to the Razer Naga is their very own MMO gaming mouse — it has all of the same functions for only $40 with Amazon Prime. As long as you read the user reviews on Amazon to weed out the rare lemon product, you can’t go wrong with Logitech. Our only caveat to that is you may want to avoid their wireless peripherals as mileage may vary. Though most users have no issues with Logitech’s wireless peripherals, some users (myself included) report consistent loss of wireless signal, which can seriously ruin a gaming session.

Whether you’re looking for a mouse, a keyboard, or a headset, all of the above details apply. Razer has the cool factor, but it comes with a price. Logitech is your ol’ reliable at a great value.

Amazon Kindle, sci-fi, fantasy, and comics

An Amazon Kindle (or other eReader) is a great purchase if you do a lot of reading. A Kindle puts Amazon’s entire ebook library at your fingertips. Nearly every book in the modern era is released in ebook format, and Amazon has an extensive library of ebook-only indie titles, too. And while Kindle alternatives exist, the popularity of Amazon’s platform puts it ahead of the competition.

The Amazon Kindle’s current generation offers a few options:

• Kindle 6″ $49.99 with Special Offers enabled ($69.99 without)
• Kindle Paperwhite $89.99
• Kindle Voyage $199.99
• Kindle Oasis $249.99

We highly recommend comparing models on your own. As you move up in price, the Kindle comes packaged with more features — built-in lighting and so on. If you’re unsure, don’t think you need all of the bells and whistles — the basic Kindle is great as it is if all you plan to do is read books. Personally, I get on fine with the standard $49.99 version. The “Special Offers” that bring down the price are advertisements that appear on the lock screen when you aren’t reading a book. In my experience, they’re completely non-intrusive and will never interrupt you while you’re actually reading anything.


If you do choose a Kindle as your gift to yourself this year, most of the World of Warcraft books mentioned in an earlier section are available in ebook format. For more general sci-fi and fantasy novels, Amazon has released their top 100 books of all time in that genre. Heck — you read Blizzard Watch, right? That’s why you’re here. Some of our own staff members have released ebooks, too. Check out Matthew Rossi’s fantasy fiction Nameless, Heartless, and Faceless. Or, if I may be so bold, may I recommend my own superhero adventure series, Lady Superior?

But if you books aren’t up your alley, there are also plenty of comics available in both digital and paper formats. Here are some of Team Blizzard Watch’s favorites:

• Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet (if you want to get a feel for the character before the upcoming movie)
• Justice League (if you enjoyed the recent movie, which is actually pretty good)
• Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia (bundled with a few other comics, since Hiketeia is ridiculously expensive on its own)
• Transformers: More than Meets the Eye (a favorite of Rades, among others)
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (the novel is also great fun)
• Hawkeye (anything by Matt Fraction is action-packed fun)

If you don’t want to pick up a single comic, ComiXology Unlimited is a subscription service that provides an all-you-can-eat buffet of comics. All of these comics can be read on Kindle (including the app) or in ComiXology (as long as the reader has linked their ComiXology account to their Amazon account).

If you’re picking up a Kindle, you should also check out Kindle Unlimited with a 30-day free trial. Kindle Unlimited allows you to read thousands of ebooks absolutely free with your subscription, and if you read a lot of books, you’d have a hard time finding better value for your money.

Disclaimer: Blizzard Watch is part of Amazon’s affiliate program. Blizzard Watch may earn a commission on all items sold through Amazon links on this website.