Want to argue about games?

Whenever life in the library gets to feeling slow, you can generally stir up some excitement by starting an argument about the value of video games and whether libraries should encourage children to play them. Now a respected young writer has given us a book describing and defending the value of video games as entertainment and art form. Tom Bissell has had literary success with his short stories, but his new book "Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter" goes in an entirely different direction. Bissell confesses that he has spent many hours of his life playing video games, sometimes obsessively. He acknowledges the violence of the games, but nonetheless claims they are, or can be, an exciting new art form. Not all the reviewers are convinced by his arguments, but they are worth paying attention to. At the very least they can give us a better understanding of why so many young people are fascinated by these games. Librarians ought to read this book and perhaps reconsider their opinions about games in the library.