I love what Hideo Kojima does. He has a singular vision of how to craft a world, bring together gameplay and ideas, and make a fun and engaging experience. I've been a fan since playing Metal Gear Solid back in 1999 (I was late to the Playstation party). I was excited to get a look at what inspires him and how it helped shape his creations.

Well, this is not that book. This is a series of short essays about media that he enjoys. His joy and sense of excitement and fun is to be found in almost every essay. I learned about him as a lonely child, about him as an adult finding his way in the world, and small glimpses about how being a father has changed his viewpoint on many things. But I don't know how these books and movies and music inspired him. I don't know what he took from these and carried with him into his own creative process.

I added a few books and movies to my TBR and queue because if he loves them, and I love his stuff, and based on his essay I think I'll like them too. but I don't know much more about this "creative gene" or exactly how we are passing things, genetically or memetically. I suppose by reading this and seeking some media out, that is a meme expressed in the connection between him and me. Maybe that was his objective. If so, good job. But it's not what I expected going in, and that disconnect makes it hard for me to recommend to anyone but a fellow diehard fan, and to tell them my caveats up front.