Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome back to Booked For The Week – our regular Sunday chat with a selection of cool industry folks about books! I’m starting to regret phrasing it like that, to be honest. The word “selection” evokes either bureaucracy or crap small versions of chocolate bars. I’m now imagining “guy who travels to Europe because he heard the chocolate is better but can only find stale Curly Wurlys“. That’d suck so bad.
This week, it’s Last Call, Tacoma, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, and loads more’s Nina Freeman! Cheers Nina! Mind if we have a nose at your bookshelf?
What are you currently reading?
Well, normally I’d be reading something a bit less… practical, but I’m about to have a baby! So, the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy is what I’ve been reading. It’s been cool to read and learn about all the weird things happening inside my body for the last nine months!
What did you last read?
The last book I read was Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey. It’s the first book in one of her series, Dragonriders of Pern. I snagged it at an antique mall from a cardboard box filled to the brim with old sci-fi paperbacks. I literally got it for like three bucks! I had heard of the book, and am always curious to read anything by these sorts of legendary women authors from well before my time. It was a really fun read, and I’m planning on reading the rest of the series.
I really fell in love with the protagonist, Lessa. She’s this awesome, hard-headed girl that rides dragons… what’s not to love!? Actually though, the thing that captured me the most is how the book portrays her anger. She has a tragic backstory of sorts, and is really mistreated in a lot of ways throughout the events of the book. She’s angry a lot, for good reason, and isn’t afraid to stand up for her beliefs and will verbally spar with anyone standing in her way. She’s cool as hell! We see more nuanced depictions of anger in women protagonists these days, but it hasn’t always been that way… this book is from the late 60s, so Lessa felt a bit ahead of her time to me, which I enjoyed.
What are you eyeing up next?
I was at a used bookstore recently and spotted a nice copy of Dawn by Octavia Butler. I’m a big fan of her books, so I always look for them when I’m at used bookstores… I really like how the old printings of her books look, but they are pretty rare to spot in-person. So, I was super psyched to finally find one in the wild! I was introduced to Butler’s work in a science fiction literature course in college, where we read Mind of My Mind. That book and Parable of the Sower are definitely two of my favorite books ever. Her work feels really timeless, especially in how it presents the turmoil of society. I think her work has always been relevant, but it feels particularly poignant in the current state of the world…
What quote or scene from a book sticks with you the most?
Emily Dickinson’s work has always stuck in my mind, maybe more than any poet. I love her creative use of ordinary language. Her poems are often very colloquial, which I am really inspired by as a writer. I actually re-read a lot of her work while working on Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, and we referenced her a few times in the game… so obviously I can’t even stop thinking about her work even when I’m making games, haha! One of my favorite snippets from her work would be this:
“This is my letter to the world,
That never wrote to me”I’ve always been struck by these two lines. It’s from a poem that can be read in a few ways, but for me it represents this feeling of wanting to be seen and heard in a society that doesn’t necessarily care about what you have to say. It kinda brings me back to being a teenager… and I’m sure this is a feeling that many artists have had at some point. Sometimes you have something to say, and it feels like no one’s listening… but you keep yelling anyways! It’s kind of amazing that such a small poem can evoke such a complex human feeling/experience.
What book do you find yourself bothering friends to read?
I’m a huge fan of Ursula K. LeGuin! I’ve probably recommended The Left Hand of Darkness more times than I can count. I originally read this book pretty soon after high school. I had never encountered a book that tackled gender and sexuality in such an interesting way. I was pretty young and naive when I read it, haha, so it really had a huge impact on me and how I see art. It drove me to explore the history of feminist literature while I was in college, and also kindled a lifelong interest in science fiction literature.
What book would you like to see someone adapt to a game?
I read Circe by Madeline Miller sometime last year. I recall reading it and thinking that someone should make a game about Circe, just in general. An adaptation of the book would be absolutely incredible… but I also think a small game where you play as Circe in exile, developing her witchcraft, herbs and skills on Aiaia, would make for a really cool game. Maybe something that starts off with a farming sim type loop, but then evolves into more of an adventure… I’d love to develop a battle-kit for Circe on her island and then go off and fight some gods!
My hopes that this column’s hiatus would give prospective guests time to read and thus name every book every written have been thoroughly dashed for the second week running. Thus, I have no choice but to continue the column indefinitely. Book for now!