I cannot recommend enough Situational Game Design - it really elegantly walks us through the psychology of play while also helping us build a toolkit of understanding how players are going to engage with what we have planned for them :)

When I’m dealing with something quite big task-wise I always make sure I leave a smaller sub-task I really look forward to for the next day. That way rather than being daunted by the task I can’t wait to jump back in.
I call it ‘Having Desert for Breakfast’ method 😁

Silent Hill 2: Parliament Edition

Leaning more into the Science-y bit (since Left Hand of Darkness was already suggested) I strongly recommend The 99% Invisible City - it translates things we see every day into context!
Also Robert Sheckley’s short stories (Douglas Adams quoted him as one of the biggest inspirations to Hitchhicker)

Also Card Draw kind of has a similar vibe and does integrate some interesting stuff with dice oddeyes.itch.io/carddraw

It exists store.steampowered.com/app/1585910/...