From the Bookshelf of Apocalypse Whenever…

Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)

Ernest Cline

Start date: June 20, 2013

Finish date: July 1, 2013

Discussion: AW BOOK CLUB (spoilers)

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AW BOOK CLUB (spoilers)

* What is a good book for AW discussion? (Nominations pool)
By Gertie · 65 posts · 218 views

last updated Oct 18, 2025 05:31PM

* AW Book Club: what we've read
By Gertie · 16 posts · 1826 views

last updated Dec 10, 2019 09:01AM

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What Members Thought

Nov 17, 2014 Kirsten T rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Soon I'll write a full review, but for now: *loud, extended farting sound* ...more

13 likes · Like · see review

May 18, 2012 Erin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I'm not, and will likely never be, a gamer. However that did not keep me from loving this book (read it in about a day, starting late afternoon on a flight to Dallas and finished up at the hotel-I just couldn't stay away from it!). I'm guessing most children of the 80s will find something great here. It's part science-fiction, part puzzle mystery (a genre I adore and don't see nearly enough of), part love story, part pop-culture treatise and all absolutely fun and wonderful. Kudos to the author ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Jun 14, 2012 🥀 Rose 🥀 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, adventure-action, science-fiction, dystopian-speculative-fiction

Tempted to add a new shelf "geeky books"!

This was an absolute treat. I loved this book. It's set in the not too distant future where are world is, of course, bleak. No one wants to really hang out it in especially those who are socially akward. Alas, we have OASIS, the virtual world where people can all escape to. Talk about drop out and tune in, this literally does for folks.

Our protagonist is an 18 year old geek who loves all the nerdy standards, comics, fantasy, sci-fi, dungeons and dragons ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 27, 2012 Michael Logan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I haven't read a book this quickly in a long time. I was supposed to be reading In Cold Blood for my book club. When I went on to buy it for my kindle, I picked up Ready Player One at the same time. Then I had a sneaky glance at the first chapter, just to see what the fuss was about. Then I spent the weekend snatching every spare minute, letting my kids lie in their own filth (okay, a slight exaggeration), while I raced through it.

This is not a deep book. It is not a powerful book. But, like the ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 01, 2012 Stout rated it it was ok

Ready Player One was initially interesting and drew me in with its usage of themes pertaining to video games and 1980s culture. There is a decent science fiction story within these words, though one that was ultimately hampered by an overuse of said themes. The writing failed to evolve throughout the book and the excessive, dated, cultural references and cutaways felt heavily forced onto the entire text. Some of the references were clever, but the constant inclusion of mundane details concerning ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 03, 2018 Jason rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, my-library, pbs-s-the-great-american-read

This is the best book I have read in many years. It may be my new favorite book of all time. After reading the book I feel like Wade Watts the main character. I feel like I too have achieved what he did in the book. My full review is available at JasonReads. ...more

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Jun 03, 2012 D rated it it was ok

Man, if you are an 80s nerd trivia nut, this is the book for you. Otherwise it's a nice, fairly predictable teen sci-fi. ...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Julie rated it really liked it

Shelves: literature, speculative-fiction

This is really an adventure story set in a dystopian future with huge amounts of 80's trivia thrown in. The protagonist must use his knowledge of gaming and 80's trivia to complete a quest that will give him wealth and power. The quest is really a game within a game, as everyone in this dystopian future spends most of their time in a virtual reality simulation where this takes place. And of course he must complete it before the bad guys do. Sounds ridiculous but it works and I quite enjoyed it. ...more

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Feb 10, 2017 Tammy B rated it really liked it

Unexpectedly enjoyed this book. Rather predictable sci-fyish adventure story but it sucked me in almost immediately. Will Wheaton is a great narrator and I think really added to the overall story

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