Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
Read for Free
OR
Kindle Price: $1.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Sam Leith
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Going Nowhere: A Life in Six Videogames (Kindle Single) Kindle Edition

by Sam Leith (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 40 ratings
See all formats and editions
Videogames are among the defining artforms of our age. They are variously adored and reviled, but their influence is felt everywhere. Every game is its own little universe – and hundreds of millions of us now spend part of our time living in those universes.
But what does it mean to play them? What does it feel like to be a member of the generation that grew up with them? Where do they take us, and what needs do they serve? In this short memoir, Sam Leith tells the story of his life through his relationship with games.
It’s a story of games-playing. But it’s also the story of an anxious child trying to find a way of being in the world, a twenty-something negotiating the unfamiliar terrain of heartbreak, and an adult emerging from a turbulent time into marriage and fatherhood. It’s a story of love, fear, substance abuse and – well – mechanical emus.

Sam Leith is a freelance writer based in London. His books include The Coincidence Engine and You Talkin' To Me?: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    33 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    December 18, 2012
  5. File size
    187 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00AQMSO9G
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (December 18, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 18, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 187 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 33 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 40 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Sam Leith

Sam Leith

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Sam Leith has been literary editor of The Spectator since 2014, where he hosts their weekly Book Club podcast.

He has been a judge of every major UK literary award including the Man Booker and Baillie Gifford prizes, and has been a columnist for the Guardian, FT, Prospect, Evening Standard, Spears, Daily Telegraph and Wall Street Journal Europe. His reviews have appeared regularly in the TLS, Guardian, Telegraph, FT, Sunday Times, Spectator and Unherd. He's 50 years old and lives in London.

Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
3.6 out of 5
40 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

rkenned
5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing better for the price
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2013
Normally I read in order to escape my own life, to see the world through someone else's eyes. This book was pretty much the opposite for me. As a middle aged long time gamer I felt like I was reading my own autobiography. This single was probably the greatest introspective into my own life that I could possibly get for $2 and an hour of reading.
Helpful
 Report
David Werner
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read.
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2013
As a gamer, I could relate to having memories of my life tied to the video game I was playing & have those memories flood back while playing said game.
This being the first book I've read from the writer, I look forward into reading their other work.
Helpful
 Report
butch
1.0 out of 5 stars save your money
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2015
Verified Purchase
If I could give it zero stars I would it's a guy rambling about six games he played growing up and some stories about school that probably never happened. Just call your crazy uncle he will probably have better stories.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Panicdragon
3.0 out of 5 stars For videogame fans
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2015
Verified Purchase
this is one of those books,I'm not sure what to make of it. I play videogames myself but not all the time. I guess it's only for hardcore gamers. Or it could be just the writing style.

I can't I didn't like it but can't say I did hmmmmm
Report
Dougie Webber
5.0 out of 5 stars This book made me cry and I'm 68
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2014
Verified Purchase
If there was ever a book that told you what you cannot do for your children, this is it. It is by my first son , whose achievements dwarf mine and whose observations, his life being his material, are so exact and so different different from my own memories, that I recognise everything and weep for my lack of understanding.
5 people found this helpful
 Report
Richie
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read but could have been so much more...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 27, 2016
Verified Purchase
This is a solid short read book that takes you down memory lane, allowing you to revisit a time when life was simple and the concept of 'gaming' was certainly so by modern expectations.
I didn't get immersed in many of the games that the author did but I am familiar with them and reading about him losing himself in another world of somebody else's making was entertaining and a concept that I'm sure lots of people will be able to relate to.
Mr. Leith does occasionally try to make the issues more complicated than he needs to and there are paragraphs in his journey that lend to the morose which I saw as a little unnecessary.
As per the games he played, I just wanted to be entertained and flying through this book I was.
The only other disappointing thing was that he didn't talk about more than this small 6 selections of games. There are so many more ground-breaking games that being of the same generation as me he MUST have played. Renegade, Double Dragon, Football Manager, Gauntlet, Outrun, Altered Beast... the list could go on and on and the biggest disappointment is that he chose to make this a short read. I'd have gladly read on and REALLY enjoyed a tour of memory lane rather than just a glimpse at it.
Report
Matthew
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 25, 2018
Verified Purchase
Pleasant enough for one read.
Report
Andy Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2013
Verified Purchase
This book only takes an hour or so to read, but that's reflected in the price. I loved it - extremely well written and, given I'm a similar age to Sam, I could really relate to the stories he told. Can't recommend highly enough.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report