Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1) in Overdue Podcast

May 14, 2015 Melanie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, young-adult, science-fiction, dystopia, read-in-2015, absolute-faves, recommend-to-ajw

Posted Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Actual Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

As originally posted on Reviews of a Self Proclaimed Bibliophile.

"I was just another sad, lost, lonely soul, wasting his life on a glorified videogame."~Wade

This book, it is difficult for me to put into words just how this book affected me…This isn’t just a book which celebrates and glorifies geek culture, reminding us of long forgotten classics ranging from music and movies to games branching across every system imaginable. This book Posted Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Actual Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

As originally posted on Reviews of a Self Proclaimed Bibliophile.

"I was just another sad, lost, lonely soul, wasting his life on a glorified videogame."~Wade

This book, it is difficult for me to put into words just how this book affected me…This isn’t just a book which celebrates and glorifies geek culture, reminding us of long forgotten classics ranging from music and movies to games branching across every system imaginable. This book also deeply criticizes this same culture where criticism is due – a point which I greatly appreciated. The issues Cline criticizes shouldn’t just be examined as futuristic issues, rather these issues are present in today’s society and demand due attention. Geek culture, video game culture, the present day culture which is slated to evolve into the culture inside Cline’s OASIS is pitted with so much hate which individuals are able to openly express behind a veil of anonymity – it is truly frightening. I speak from my own experiences in regards to this – I have experienced both sides of the anonymous life in the online gaming world, I have formed some amazing friendships and read words typed with no other purpose than to demean or hurt an individual. Cline openly criticizes some of the major issues related to the principle of anonymity within the virtual world.

THERE ARE NO GIRLS ON THE INTERNET

Yes, in case you didn’t know approximately 50% of the world’s total population doesn’t actually utilize the internet! This is one of many long standing jokes found within the online video game community which promotes the stereotype that there is no such thing as female gamers. I had so much appreciation for Art3mis and Aech as a fellow female gamer because they were contenders to win the contest on their own skill, knowledge, and merits in a culture where females aren’t exactly taken seriously. Aech went to great lengths to be taken seriously, so much so that her entire online persona embodied a straight white Caucasian male rather than her lesbian African-American female self. I admit, I was stunned by that reveal! I have mad respect for Wade/Parzival because when he actually meets Aech in person he is able to recognize that even though Aech looks nothing like the avatar portrayed in the OASIS, their friendship is still exactly the same and I love that. Many see Art3mis as nothing more than a pretty face even though she authors a popular and informative blog chronicling her hunt for the egg – hell, she was actually the first individual to find the location of the first key and continued to exhibit her resourcefulness throughout the rest of the competition. It was refreshing to see female characters succeed on their own merits over the course of this competition.

I have already mentioned how stunned I was regarding Aech and how much I love this character, but I have to ask a serious question: How horrible is our world if she felt that she had to hide so much of who she really is? Aech is a top rated battle arena combatant and extremely popular among other gunters hosting a private chat room housing a large amount of materials mentioned specifically by Halliday at the inception of the hunt with a pretty exclusive guest list, how drastically would impressions change had Aech’s avatar been a more accurate portrayal of Aech in real life? Would Aech have been seen in much the same way as Art3mis, just another pretty face? Would she have still had the same opportunities afforded to her male avatar, such as competing in the battle arena? I honestly don’t know the answers to those questions, but I like to hope that there wouldn’t be a difference – I would hope that her race, her gender, and her sexuality would not change the opportunities available to her or how people viewed her because she is still the exact same person. And there is the biggest lesson that I hope everyone was able to come away with, so long as we remain true to who we really are that is all that truly matters.

In addition to the marvelous story, this was my first audio book experience and I absolutely love Wil Wheaton’s narration! Wheaton did a fantastic job of narrating Wade’s story and adventure in the OASIS searching for Halliday’s Easter Egg. Wheaton’s inflections during Wade’s rants and ramblings were perfection, it felt as if Wheaton himself was geeking out just as much as Wade was at times which made the reading feel all the more genuine – it made Wade and his experience all the more realistic. If you have already read the book, but haven’t experienced the audio book – you should definitely give it a shot!

TL;DR REVIEW: This book is officially, my new favorite read of 2015 and it is a book that I think everyone should read because of its brutally honest and critical outlook at how our society functions because of the introduction of the combination of the Internet and anonymity. This book serves as a reminder that there is a person on the other side of the screen, a real living breathing human being who feels those emotions tied to words of hate scrolling through a chat window. Read this book, just read it. ...more

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Mar 02, 2015 Devin rated it liked it

I thought the action was underdone. It also while the references were cleverly used, I also thought that a great many of the references were there for the sake of being comprehensive in it's nostalgia. A thoroughly enjoyable book none the less. ...more

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Jan 08, 2016 Coleen rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2011, nook

Ready Player One! is not a book I would have chosen or even known about on my own. It's a combination of nostalgia for the 80's, science fiction and gaming. Apart from nostalgia for the 80's this book would not normally have appealed to me. I heard about it on Bookrageous and Books on the Nightstand and I'm very happy I decided to give it a try. Ready Player One! takes place in 2044. James Halliday has died leaving his fortune to the lucky person who can win his game. I really enjoyed this book, ...more

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Jun 27, 2013 EShay Fagan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobook, scifi, dystopia

In a re-reading mood. I think I liked this better the second time, and the audio with Wil Wheaton is perfection.

**
Re-read numero three. My brother talked about it a few days ago and I had to do it. Since I'm more experienced in audiobook listening I wouldn't call Wil Wheaton's performance perfection anymore, but I did really enjoy it and ran through this thing in less than 24 hours. Got me half excited half skeptical for the follow up. You have to earn it Ernest Cline. But yeah, I'll still buy i ...more

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Nov 04, 2014 Thekelburrows rated it really liked it

Pour an entire jar of "I Love the 80s" episodes onto a bed of Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" chips. Microwave for 30 seconds, rotating every ten seconds. Wash down with cool bottle of cherry flavored Bartles & Jaymes. ...more

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Apr 05, 2015 Brittany rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-club-recs, pbs-great-american-read, mmd-2015-reading-guide, own-on-kindle

Would like to own this and would recommend for a different/unique read. Some of these concepts, while weird, are not far off from where we are now and it's kind of scary/exciting. ...more

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