This book is a combination of an essay collection and memoirs, with the focus on how an obsession with video games guided the author’s life. Since the author became a professional comedian, the writing is hilarious. I was laughing out loud fairly often, and a lot of the stories hit close to home for me.
My video game memories started one or two generations earlier than the author’s. He got hooked on the NES, while I was obsessed with the Atari 2600. I also played games on the Apple ][ computer, and then the NES. Then there was a long gap before I got back into gaming. A lot of this book takes place in that gap.
Some of the author’s favorite memories paralleled some of mine – his recollections of his favorite arcade reminded me of a mystical experience I had in a Pismo Beach hidden and mostly empty arcade. Or visiting an arcade owned by a friend of Josh Simon, my neighbor, and how the owner gave us quarters painted red so he would know that they were his money and not the general public’s.
The author does a short stint at a game magazine, which reminded me of when I interviewed at PC Gamer for a writing job about 30 years ago.
So there were a lot of events that felt pretty real to me while reading them. The comedy was well-written too, but sometimes the self-deprecating style got a little stale. Some of the essays felt a little like filler to me – but one essay on a friend who died prematurely was especially good.
I really enjoyed the book! The next book I am reading is The Light Eaters by Zoe Schlanger.
