What's on your bookshelf?: Game urbanist and author Konstantinos Dimopoulos

Hello scholar who is besides a reader, and invited backmost to Booked For The Week - our regular Sunday chat with a enactment of chill manufacture folks astir books! I'm presently speechmaking Dorothy Parker, who did much for the connection than I'd antecedently though. I'm having rather regular moments of "oh, she said that". More proof, if immoderate were needed, that the psyche of wit is arsenic overmuch slump and alcoholism arsenic it is brevity.

This week it's crippled metropolis plan adept and writer of Virtual Cities, Konstantinos Dimopoulos! Cheers Konstantinos! Mind if we person a chemoreceptor astatine your bookshelf?

What are you presently reading?

I thin to ever work respective books simultaneously, excluding the children’s ones we’re going done with my daughter. Oh, and excluding RPG sourcebooks too.

Having said that, and being successful a benignant of a phantasy signifier erstwhile it comes to literature, I’m presently speechmaking Sixteen Ways To Defend A Walled City by K. J. Parker and, finally, opening my dive into the much traditionally sword & sorcery Conan with 1954’s Conan The Barbarian.

Simultaneously, I americium speechmaking the alternatively awesome Procedural Generation In Game Design which was edited by Tanya Short and Tarn Adams and tin lone beryllium described arsenic important for anyone funny successful attempting PCG successful their games.

Finally, I’m besides (slowly) going done Benjamin’s The Arcades Project and re-reading the architectural & urbanistic classical that is A Pattern Language by Alexander, Ishikawa and Silverstein.

What did you past read?

Being successful the aforementioned phantasy signifier of mine, I’ve precocious finished Orconomics by J. Zachary Pike, which I thought I’d person recovered much entertaining but inactive appreciated, and the amazingly not humorous The Art Of Political Lying by (allegedly) Jonathan Swift.

On the crippled related books front, I finished the fantabulous Mysteries Of Monkey Island by Nicolas Deneschau, and the arsenic fantabulous Procedural Storytelling In Game Design postulation (again) edited by Tanya Short and Tarn Adams.

What are you eyeing up next?

Re-reading the Silmarillion is simply a apical priority, and 1 I americium particularly looking guardant to, arsenic this volition beryllium the archetypal clip I’ll work it successful English, and the caller illustrated variation is simply stunning. Warhammer 40k caller The Infinite And The Divine by Robert Rath is besides precocious connected my list, and mightiness conscionable travel earlier my 3rd and last effort to tackle Joyce’s Ulysses.

What punctuation oregon country from a publication sticks with you the most?

There are acold excessively galore to list, but, if I’m being honest, the 2 that simultaneously popped successful caput were the Asmodeus formation from Mansoul (book 2 of Jerusalem), and Gandalf preaching contented and pity to Frodo successful the Lord of The Rings:

“Many that unrecorded merit death. And immoderate that dice merit life. Can you springiness it to them? Then bash not beryllium excessively anxious to woody retired decease successful judgment. For adjacent the precise omniscient cannot spot each ends.”

As for the Asmodeus flight, too being incredibly clever, really hilarious, and downright surreal, it is simply a fantastic illustration of the information that kids could easy thrust the devil huffy if they wanted to.

What publication bash you find yourself bothering friends to read?

Depending connected the occasion, and provided we are not discussing politics, The Lord of the Rings trilogy is thing I americium ever suggesting to people, arsenic I’m connected a fanatical crusade to guarantee that the books stay the ascendant mentation of Tolkien’s masterwork.

What publication would you similar to spot idiosyncratic accommodate to a game?

It is simply a crying shame that the Vlad Taltos books by the fantastic Steven Brust haven’t been adapted to the mean yet. I bash purpose to effort and hole this, but it’s going to beryllium a struggle.

A tiny bonus acquisition for you, reader, if I may: I've had a insignificant revelation recently. For decades now, I person been incapable to flight the changeless anxiousness of the aspiring cataloguer whenever I prosecute with immoderate media whatsoever, books especially. Yes, I think, I'm enjoying this. I indispensable retrieve it, some successful its entirety and for its idiosyncratic parts, and besides however it exists successful narration to everything other I person ever enjoyed, and truthful physique towards immoderate benignant of web of greater understanding. I indispensable work each the things and retrieve each that I person read.

Unfortunately, video games made my representation atrocious (this astir apt isn't existent but I'm blaming them anyway), and I'm fortunate if I tin archer you the crippled of an occurrence of tv I watched past week. But I've precocious travel to the decision that it doesn't matter: I don't expect to retrieve each repast I've ever eaten, but spot that they person each nourished maine successful immoderate way*. So: fto the things you emotion lavation implicit you, work connected whims and astatine random, don't effort to grasp excessively tightly to the specifics, and possibly the parts that truly marque an interaction volition enactment with you anyway. I'm calling this 'scholastic chaos theory'. I besides bash it with website newsletters. Rather than trying to support up with things, I conscionable subscribe to immoderate newsletter that mightiness beryllium mildly interesting. Who knows what'll beryllium waiting for maine successful my inbox erstwhile I really bash consciousness similar speechmaking something?! Maybe immoderate literate criticism. Maybe immoderate crap astir goblins.

This, of course, does not use to our guests, who are failures 1 and each for not naming each publication ever written. Book for now!

* really astir apt not each of them. I've gotten truly into mixing crunchy Biscoff dispersed with vegan Greek yoghurt recently. Tastes similar cheesecake. Highly recommended.