Read any good books lately???

[RUP]

Just finished "The Ultimate History Of Videogames" by Steven L Kent and I really enjoyed it! Anyone have any suggested reading? I think I'm going to pick up a copy of Confessions of the Game Doctor by Bill Kunkel next

[BydoEmpire73]

I've been reading a bunch of great stuff lately:

1) I'm in the middle of "Hackers" by Steven Levy - if you're at all interested in the history of the personal computer, it's a must-read. I can't believe I didn't read this book 20 years ago...

2) I finished "Racing the Beam" a couple months ago. It was a fun and interesting read but one of those books where I was just expecting more. In some places there just isn't enough detail, in others it wanders off-topic too much. It tried to be half technical book, half history of video games and it didn't quite pull off either. That said, it does talk at length about the development of a handful of key 2600 games - Adventure, Combat, Empire Strikes Back, Pac Man, etc. If you're interested in the 2600 you could do worse.

3) A whole bunch of random fantasy books I picked up at either yard sales or the library sales: Mythology 101 - modern day college with elves living under the library; Prince of Lies - really depressing and violent Forgotten Realms book about wars between gods; Dragonlord of Mystara - classic fantasy in the D&D universe about a pending war between renegade dragons and the humanoids; Savage Empire - original fantasy about two warring kingdoms. One has "Adepts" which have telekenetic type powers, the other has "Readers" who have the power to read other people's thoughts and travel outside their bodies. When a young Reader rebels and joins the Adepts, his former teacher goes after him. I enjoyed Savage Empire the most because it was an original story and a really quick read (or maybe it seemed quick because I got so into it). I've got a whole stack of fantasy/sci-fi books left, but at least I'm making progress on them. Hopefully I'll get through most of them before next year's library sale.

4) I put Supercade in one of the bathrooms for random reading. I've read most of it before, but it's one of those books you can always find something new in every time you open it.

[TripHamer]

I'm in the middle of a couple of books that I haven't picked up in a while, but hope to complete them soon.

[meu2]

The “Ultimate History of Videogames” is a really good read alright, though it does pretty much omit Europe completely from the picture.

I have read some non video game related books, both autobiographies, over Christmas period. The first was “Nerd Do Well” by Simon Pegg, which was decent if you have an interest in his shows and Star Wars. The second was “A Journey” by Tony Blair. I wouldn't normally read political memoirs, but I have to say I found the book very engaging. I actually think a lot of people would find it interesting, even if they don't agree with his politics.

Actually now that I think about it I also read one of Jeremy Clarkson's books too, though I can't remember which one. It was also pretty good, though you do have to take his social and political comments with a pinch of salt.

[Cynicaster]

Just finished "The Ultimate History Of Videogames" by Steven L Kent and I really enjoyed it! Anyone have any suggested reading? I think I'm going to pick up a copy of Confessions of the Game Doctor by Bill Kunkel next

Heh, I'm reading that book right now. Pretty cool.

[tcv]

I usually read about a book a week. I'm not bragging. I'm just in a rampage that hasn't stopped for a couple of years.

At the moment, I am reading Replay: The History of Video Games by Tristan Donovan. I've just started it, so no comment.

[Cynicaster]

I usually read about a book a week. I'm not bragging. I'm just in a rampage that hasn't stopped for a couple of years.

At the moment, I am reading Replay: The History of Video Games by Tristan Donovan. I've just started it, so no comment.

Is that an older book? Never heard of it.

[tcv]

Is that an older book? Never heard of it.

No, 2010. I found it through one of the show notes ... Ah the one that talked about Cinemaware.

I haven't read a general history of video games in a long time. This one promises to be different, focusing more on the hardware side with a global-emphasis rather than U.S. centric.

Here's the Amazon link

[SRG]

Hackers is a great book, Levy reissued it a few years ago with a few extra chapters, but I haven't picked it up again. I would gladly reread it and recommend it to anyone who has an interest in retro computers.

[tcv]

Hackers is a great book, Levy reissued it a few years ago with a few extra chapters, but I haven't picked it up again. I would gladly reread it and recommend it to anyone who has an interest in retro computers.

Yeah, I need to read that one. I wonder if it's available for the Kindle...