Good Game, No Rematch: A Life Made of Video Games

In this raucous trip through mushroom kingdoms and final fantasies, Tonight Show writer Drucker reflects on a life spent playing video games. “I would love to say that I was born with a controller in my hands, but that would’ve ultimately meant a horrifying injury for my mother,” Drucker writes in the opening essay, setting the tone for a collection that offsets dorky deep-cuts with an underlying sweetness. “Dance Dance Teen Romance” follows Drucker’s adolescent dalliances with Dance Dance Revolution, which made him feel like he’d “finally transform into the handsome, godlike man that existed nowhere in my genetic family history.” In “I’ll Never Have a Real Fake Family,” Drucker jokes that his horrific track record of keeping his virtual family safe on The Sims is the main reason, aside from “the abject sadness genes in my blood,” that he’ll never have children. The narrative through line is thin, with passages about Drucker’s earliest stand-up gigs and his first writing jobs only occasionally appearing amid odes to King’s Quest and NFL Blitz. Though there’s little here to appeal to readers who’ve never picked up a controller, even casual gamers will find this a hilarious treat. Agent: Dan Milaschewsky, UTA. (Apr.)