Episode 004 of the Text Adventure Podcast from the Text Adventure Book Club is a little bit literary, a little bit irradiated, and full of Nuka Cola.

Chris and Dan dig into Critical Hits: Writers Playing Video Games, the 2023 essay collection edited by Carmen Maria Machado and J. Robert Lennon.

But let’s be honest, we spend most of this episode talking about wandering the wasteland. Fallout 4 takes over as we swap stories about builds, companions, questionable moral decisions, and why we just cannot stop looting junk.

Books, games, and way too much time in the Commonwealth.

In Episode 003 of the Text Adventure Podcast from the Text Adventure Book Club, we dive into Boss Fight Books: GoldenEye 007 by Alyse Knorr, a smart and nostalgic deep dive into one of the most influential video games of all time.

Part of the acclaimed Boss Fight Books series, Knorr’s book explores how GoldenEye 007 reshaped first-person shooters on consoles, defined multiplayer for a generation, and became a cultural phenomenon in the late 1990s. Blending history, criticism, and personal reflection, the book traces the game’s unlikely development at Rare, its lasting legacy, and why it still matters today.

We talk about what the book taught us about creativity under pressure, the magic of couch co-op, the importance of the preservation of digital media and how GoldenEye 007 helped shape our own relationships with games.

In Episode 002 of the Text Adventure Podcast from The Text Adventure Book Club, we dive into Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schreier, a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how video games actually get made.

We discuss what the book taught us about the realities of game development, crunch culture, and creative risk, share a few of our own experiences with bad bosses, and break down what we saw at The Game Awards 2025 that genuinely caught our attention.

If you love books about games, the stories behind the screens, and thoughtful conversations about the art and business of making games, this episode is for you.