Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)

by Ernest Cline

Best of all, in the OASIS, no one could tell that I was fat, that I had acne, or that I wore the same shabby clothes every week. Bullies couldn’t pelt me with spitballs, give me atomic wedgies, or pummel me by the bike rack after school. No one could even touch me. In here, I was safe.

Relating to the audience early on.

Tone of the story

This entire paragraph is like a why statement for our protagonist

We logged out simultaneously, just as the final bell began to ring. My avatar’s eyes slid open, and I was back in my World History classroom. The seats around me were now filled with other students, and our teacher, Mr. Avenovich, was materializing at the front of the classroom. Mr. A’s avatar looked like a portly, bearded college professor. He sported an infectious grin, wire-rimmed spectacles, and a tweed jacket with patches on the elbows. When he spoke, he somehow always managed to sound like he was reading a passage from Dickens. I liked him. He was a good teacher.

This was a really smooth transition between chapters

In Art class we toured the Louvre while all of our avatars wore silly berets.

I love this reference!

For the sake of zoning and navigation, the OASIS had been divided equally into twenty-seven cube-shaped “sectors,” each containing hundreds of different planets. (The three-dimensional map of all twenty-seven sectors distinctly resembled an ’80s puzzle toy called a Rubik’s Cube. Like most gunters, I knew this was no coincidence.)

So cool! Puzzles make books more interesting

This feels like a boy book

The irony of this book stands out to me. The character or even “Oasis” doesn’t believe in God, yet everything they’re doing point back to a Creator. I’ll summarize C.S. Lewis’ claim, we long for another world because Earth is not our permanent home.

Deception is demonic. It feels attractive, but it’s dishonest. The perfect way to start any story… bad/dark goes first and transformation should come later.

I wonder when this will happen IRL

Working together, the visor and the gloves made entering the OASIS an experience unlike anything else available, and once people got a taste of it, there was no going back.

The other irony is just like a mirage in a dessert, this “oasis” isn’t real. I’m sure this is done on purpose… but it’s a perfect picture for this book.

I wasn’t some dilettante. I wasn’t screwing around.

This matters to me too, it means your authentic.

I actually switched to a third-person view for a few seconds, just to admire how cool my avatar looked wearing it.

Of course he did, this line fits his personality well and makes me happy for him.

At a game like this, a gifted human player could always triumph over the game’s AI, because software couldn’t improvise. It could either react randomly, or in a limited number of predetermined ways, based on a finite number of preprogrammed conditions. This was an axiom in videogames, and would be until humans invented true artificial intelligence.

Love this point and wondee if i can make a similar point in my next book?

I handed her one of my own cards, which I’d designed to look like an original Atari 2600 Adventure cartridge, with my contact info printed on the label: Parzival 10th Level Warrior (Use with Joystick Controller) “This is awesome!” she said, looking it over. “What a wicked design!” “Thanks,” I said, blushing under my visor. I wanted to propose marriage.

I cant imgine a guy actually thinking this, so it made me burst out laughing !!

It astounded me that fifty years ago, even lower-income families had an entire house to themselves.

I love this. Not having something in the future that we take for granted now.

“A pleasant place for the world to hide from its problems while human civilization slowly collapses, primarily due to neglect.”

neglect. What an awful thing.

“You dog!” he shouted. “You brilliant, sly, devious dog!” “Hey, Aech,” I said, trying to deadpan it. “What’s new?” “What’s new? What’s new? You mean, other than, you know, seeing my best friend’s name appear at the top of the Scoreboard? Other than that, you mean?” He leaned forward so that his mouth completely filled the vidfeed window and shouted, “Other than that, not much! Not much new at all!” I laughed. “Sorry it took me a while to call you. I had kind of a late night.” “No shit, you had a late night!” he said. “Look at you! How can you be so calm! Don’t you realize what this means? This is huge! This is beyond epic! I mean … congratu-freakin’-lations, man!” He began to bow repeatedly. “I am not worthy!” “Cut it out, OK? It’s really not a big deal. I haven’t actually won anything yet.…” “Not a big deal!” he cried. “Not. A. Big. Deal? Are you kidding me? You’re a legend now, man! You just became the first gunter in history to find the Copper Key! And clear the First Gate! You are a god, from this moment forth! Do you not realize this, fool?” “Seriously. Stop it. I’m already freaked out enough as it is.”

THIS IS HOW A REAL BEST FRIEND RESPONDS -- sooo good! It feels warm and fuzzy to read this.

I’d heard all the clichéd warnings about the perils of falling for someone you only knew online, but I ignored them. I decided that whoever Art3mis really was, I was in love with her. I could feel it, deep in the soft, chewy caramel center of my being.

Adorable

I had no hair to wash, because the shower also dispensed a nontoxic hair-removing solution that I rubbed all over my face and body. This eliminated the need for me to shave or cut my hair, both hassles I didn’t need. Having smooth skin also helped make sure my haptic suit fit snugly. I looked a little freaky without any eyebrows, but I got used to it.

WAIT WHAT?!?! This is probably not in the movie LOL

I’d come to see my rig for what it was: an elaborate contraption for deceiving my senses, to allow me to live in a world that didn’t exist. Each component of my rig was a bar in the cell where I had willingly imprisoned myself.

Yikes. I like the truth bomb.