Hello, fellow reader, and welcome to Booked For The Week — our regular Sunday chat with awesome industry people about books! As always, I have to squeeze my new cat into every article. I’ve tried to offer her a few books, but so far she hasn’t managed to turn a single page. What a big idiot. The best idiot. The world’s sweetest, smartest idiot, yes she is. Ahem. This week, Anastasia Dukakis, narrative designer for Supermassive, Niantic, and Sensible Object, and Limit Break mentor! Cheers, Ana! Can we take a look at your bookshelf?
What are you reading right now?
I recently started reading Stephen King's Fairy Tale. It's a bit slow-moving but it gives the text an almost oral quality that I love – it feels like you're wandering through Charlie's thoughts with him, moving from 2010s Illinois to dark fantasy.
The story takes classic fairy tale elements (the old shoemaker, buckets full of gold, creatures lurking in the dark) and freshens them up by telling them through the eyes of a down-to-earth, suburban teenager.
He is also accompanied by a very cute dog who is sure to steal your heart. I hope he gets through the rest of the story unscathed…
What was the last thing you read?
William MacAskill's book on effective altruism, Making Good Better. Makes a fact-based case for why and how we can care for the world and other people. A favorite of many teachers—but solid as a motivator for making practical, positive changes in your daily life.
What's next?
Our very cool, very gothic Game Director Alejandro Gallardo recently suggested Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire (along with The Vampire Lestat). As he described the characters, their moral dilemmas immediately grabbed me—what do you do when you’ve spent decades trapped inside a child’s body, when you’re perceived as something completely different than what you are inside? And by the way, are you a vampire? I guess I’ll have to read it to find out!
What quote or scene from a book has stuck with you?
Contains spoilers for Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro):
The scene where Tommy and Kathy file their “suspension” lawsuit and it's immediately closed. It's something the characters and the reader have predicted, but it still crushes you. The moment is both tender and brutal at the same time. And the whole book is drenched in this poignant, yearning syrup that makes you want to run into a field and scream, just like Tommy (complementary).
Which book are you trying to get your friends to read?
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. Spoiler alert: Skippy dies. From there, the storyline goes in all directions – before, after, from multiple perspectives. It has a great sense of humor, but still manages to treat the characters with compassion… it's great.
I’m also a defender of Ted Chiang, especially his short story collection Stories of Your Life and Others. I’m not sure he needs defenders as urgently, given his multiple Nebula awards, but I like the way he connects Universe-scale concepts to human-scale stories.
Which book would you like to see adapted into a game?
I'm cheating again and adding two more candidates:
I think Toshikazu Kawaguchi's Before The Coffee Gets Cold would be great. It's a series of slice-of-life stories that all start in the same coffee shop. It's like the Edith Finch retrospective and interconnectedness combined with the relaxed atmosphere of Coffee Talk in a strange way.
Alternatively, a modern adaptation of Emma would be fun. Jane Austen's works are constantly being adapted… and I'm here for it! I've seen Emma (2020), Aisha, Emma Approved, and Clueless… what's missing is the video game version!
Another great list of my retirement recommendations. Although, as you can imagine, I was definitely disappointed that Ana couldn’t go the extra mile there, and couldn’t keep adding candidates until she’d reached this column’s top-secret goal of naming every book in existence. A predictable result, but not entirely unpleasant, because it means the recommendation pile will get another list next week. Books for now!