Ready Player One by Ernest Cline -> Restarting August 6th 2021

[Natalia]

Chapter 1 (view spoiler)[ I love the concept! (hide spoiler)]
Chapter 2 (view spoiler)[ The virtual school sounds amazing (hide spoiler)]
Chapter 3 (view spoiler)[ So far I love this book. I loved the conversation about Star Wars (hide spoiler)]

[Natalia]

Up to chapter 10 (view spoiler)[ I'm already in love with this book!
I love Wade, he's so smart and a great character. I loved how he found the Copper Key. Also Art3mis! I loved their first meeting, I wonder what will happen between them since they're competing against each other.
I loved the references! (hide spoiler)]

[Natalia]

Chapter 14 (view spoiler)[ Can't believe that they actually tried to kill him, but it makes sense, we are talking about billions of dollars, people do crazier stuff for a lot less (hide spoiler)]

[Natalia]

Chapter 18 (view spoiler)[ Poor Parzival, but Art3mis has a point (hide spoiler)]

[Natalia]

Chapter 23 (view spoiler)[ I wander what the quarter does. I'm sure that it's not random (hide spoiler)]

[Natalia]

Chapter 32 (view spoiler)[ I loved that he managed to hack the IOI system. He's so smart (hide spoiler)]

[Natalia]

Chapter 33 (view spoiler)[ I knew that Aech was hiding something, but I didn't expect that all that she was a girl (hide spoiler)]

[Natalia]

Ending (view spoiler)[ I loved this book. The ending was epic! (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Please can we have this reset for 6th May?

[Amaryllis]

Started over the weekend :) 7% in (Chapter two) (view spoiler)[so far I do like the setting and it was a real surprise that Wade is actually overweight and not the stereotype of a hero. I also find the underlying themes interesting - the big corporation planning to make the people pay for something that has been free all the time, etc.
Anyone else wishing we had free online tuition that actually counted when looking for jobs? And free books for everyone? (hide spoiler)]

[Amaryllis]

38%/chapter 14 (view spoiler)[okay, this was going sweet and I liked how Wade/Parzival pissed off Sorrento, but what the heck? Threatening a boy as well as his family with actual explosives around their home, because of a game? That's freaking nuts. Wow. I wonder how Wade will react now. (hide spoiler)]

[Amaryllis]

51% in/chapter 19 (view spoiler)[oh, oh my. IOI really did kill Wade's family and the others living with them - that's so messed up.
Also, Wade falling for Art3mis and neglecting the hunt is doomed to end bad for him. I bet someone will find the 2nd gate while he's still trying to get her to like him or something. Stupid, stupid boy.
But the chair turning into a bed and returning into a chair is hella cool. I want one too! The way he lives completely isolated sounds very, very depressing.. And why does he want to keep the world outside to not be distracted from his hunt, when he's just wasted all his time with Art3mis? People in love are really stupid. (hide spoiler)]

[Amaryllis]

57% in/chapter 21 (view spoiler)[exactly what I predicted. Wade wasted time moping, and Art3mis found the key. What an idiot.
Besides, his completely isolated life sounds very, very depressing. And that he removed all of his hair so he doesn't have to "waste" time on shaving/combing, and to fit better into his suit, really gave me the creeps. Honestly. (hide spoiler)]

[Amaryllis]

Finished - review (view spoiler)[this was an okay read for me - the pacing was mostly good and fast, but I couldn't understand Wade's behaviour at some points. I liked the ending and wonder what happens next. I could have done without the love interest and the ending between Art3mis/Samantha and Wade though.. But I liked the part about Aech being actually a black, gay girl. Didn't see that coming. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Mary’s, I’ve got snowed under with BRs and haven’t got to this. I might have to leave it for now.

[Abi]

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Reading from the 9th of September 2018

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[Natalie]

I finally managed to finish my last book which means I should be able to start this soon! 💕

[Natalie]

Finally was able to start this - hope I’m not too late? 8’D

6% (view spoiler)[Okay so while I know this came first, it definitely reminds me a bit of Sword Art Online - what with the kinda all-encompassing virtual reality world, and the eccentric rich guy who created it and then sends the players off on some “impossible quest”. At least so far they’re not locked into a death game 😛

Honestly, it’s surprisingly realistic considering the source material... it really does cover modern issues - just to an ultimate extreme.

Wade seems like an interesting character so far. Curious to see how his journey to find the “Easter Egg” will go. Hopefully he’ll be able to get away from his aunt by the end of this novel. (hide spoiler)]

[Natalie]

13% (view spoiler)[There’s been an impressive amount of 80s trivia references in this already o.O

Loved the argument about Star Wars and Ladyhawke though XD

Can’t wait to see when things start to REALLY get going c: (hide spoiler)]

[Natalie]

21% (view spoiler)[He’s going into the ‘Tomb of Horrors’ to find the first key! 😯

Wonder if he’ll be able to make it through th first time around, or if he’s going to need to do multiple iterations until he can manage it... if the map he has is accurate to the map of this tomb, he might also be able to get some weapon and armour upgrades? Maybe? (hide spoiler)]

[Natalie]

58% (view spoiler)[I love that Art3mis beat Wade to the second key - serves you right for “thinking with the wrong head” :P

You wasted so much timeeeee.

And the Suxors seem to be ahead of you now! Idiot! XD

Curious to see where this key is, and how Wade manages to get it (is there another NPC he has to beat to get to it?)

On the bright side.... we got to learn more about Wade’s “non-Oasis” life. All the real world conveniences are really intriguing... and also terrifying 8’D (hide spoiler)]

[Natalie]

74% (view spoiler)[I’m 100% lost. What the heck is Wade’s plan here? Why was “Bryce” arrested? What is going ON?! (hide spoiler)]

[Natalie]

86% (view spoiler)[Now that all of Wade’s reasoning behind becoming an ‘indentured servant’ are revealed, and you see how well all of his plans worked out... I have nothing but respect and admiration for the guy. Being able to sneak in and steal a heap of information from IOI, right under their noses, and then leak all the information to the masses? IMPRESSIVE.

And now the ‘top four’ will all be meeting in person - and going to the home of Halliday’s old co-partner, to hopefully finally take down the Sixers and win the tournament? I AM STOKED. (hide spoiler)]

[Natalie]

99% (view spoiler)[TAKE THAR SORRENO. WADE WINS.

And apparently became the new Anorak, with infinite powers in the Oasis o.O (hide spoiler)]

[Abi]

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Reading from the 18th of January 2019

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[Eva Luna]

Joining in! :D

[Raghad]

Eva Luna wrote: "Joining in! :D"

awesome!

[Eva Luna]

I just started and I am so freaking excited to read this book!

Chapter 0 and 1.
(view spoiler)[ The story grabs me from the first sentence! Wade seems like am extremely smart boy who is able to take care of himself in a ruined, deteriorating world. Ofcourse there is the horrible family member, with the 'bad' boyfriend(s). These type of characters always annoy me, just take care if him, he is a damn child. If she would just feed him and keep a roof over his head he would totally be able to make both your life's better by fixing up broken computers etc and pawning them. They could work together, but no, his aunt is just a horrible human being. XD

I'm really interested to read more about the virtual world and the scavenger hunt, but I first need to read some chapters for school. :(
(hide spoiler)]

[Eva Luna]

Next update: 12 days later, gosh I have been so busy but getting in some pages every day. I am so in love with this book and really hope I can finish it today.

Chapter 2 - 14.
(view spoiler)[
He found the first key and cleared the first gate. I am very curious if he is going to be able to quickly find the second key or if it gonna take years again. Also, I hope they are not going to follow through on the threat they made against him.... If they do, this company is very dangerous and powerful. Threatening someone his life over a game? Placing explosives around his house? Crazy!!
They can never get their hands on the Oasis!
(hide spoiler)]

Start of chapter 15
(view spoiler)[ Well that question got answered quickly, they actually did it.
They are crazy, killing so many people just to win the game!
Luckily Parzival is safe! (hide spoiler)]

[Eva Luna]

Chapter 15 - 24
(view spoiler)[I'm very happy all those brand deals gave Parzival a chance to safely get a new place to life, and actually be able to pay rent.
But the whole Art3mis/Parzival thing, I still believe they should have just worked together. Not fall in love and then Art3mis blocking him on everything. If the sixers are really that dangerous, and the world would be truly harmed if they got their hands on the Oasis I believe they should just work together. Aech, Art3mis and Parzival on a team together would be absolute heaven. I believe if they would have worked together they would have actually been able to clear the 2nd gate first and find the 3rd key, Now Sorrento is on top of the leaderboard and very close to winning the whole contest.

And Daito being killed, oof, that was a bitter pill to swallow. I can't believe this company tracks the highest ranked players down and actually tries to assasinate them! Him dissapearing from the leaderboard just made it so real in a way. (hide spoiler)]

[Eva Luna]

Just finished the book!! Yeah!
(view spoiler)[
This was such a good book, one of my all time favorites.
I loved that Aech, Shoto en Art3mis finally got together and joined forces, I was waiting for that for a while now and I believed it was totally necessary. (I was thinking Aech was a girl for a while now, and had to laugh when I actually turned out to be right).

I loved the final battle, the last gate and that the pacman coin actually had significance. Wade becoming the owner of the Oasis is perfect, he is pure good and I truly believe he will take good care of the Oasis. Wade sharing the money with Aech, Shoto and Art3mis also felt so right. They also deserved it. Art3mis and Wade meeting was also really cute.

I am just feeling all happy now inside.

(hide spoiler)]

[Isabelle]

18% - (view spoiler)[I'm loving the Easter egg hunt setup, but a little annoyed by the constant disruption of the narrative to explain basic gaming culture/jargon ("XP is experience," how DnD works, etc). Trying to keep in mind that this book was published before LitRPG became "a thing," but as someone who's grown up around gamers it gets tiring. (hide spoiler)]

[Isabelle]

47% - (view spoiler)[I was having a pretty good time, and then we took a sharp right turn into "giddy maybe-relationship honeymoon phase" and I'm not loving it. look, I want Wade to be happy, but ditching your best/only friend to hang out with a girl isn't cool. (hide spoiler)]

[Isabelle]

85% - (view spoiler)[Hm. Aech's identity - in her own words, "a fat black chick" - definitely exemplifies you can be whoever you want to be online, and I'm intrigued by this idea of subverting patriarchy by using a white male avatar. Something about the way it's presented still bothers me a little, though. (hide spoiler)]

[Isabelle]

100% - (view spoiler)[On the one hand it seems right that Wade was the only gunter to make it through Gate Three, but on the other hand it's so frustrating! They'd finally learned to work as a team, and I was so intrigued to see how they would settle who actually got the Halliday egg first - except of course it didn't happen, because the choice was made for them. The very ending scene is cute though! (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

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Date Changed. Restarting May 5th, 2020. Happy Reading ☺

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[Dannii]

I'll join you guys for this one :)

[Aaron]

Hi. Can I join this please?

[Akshita]

Just started reading!!

[Akshita]

8%
I suppose people were right about too many '80s references..
(view spoiler)[I could only get the Cosmos one so far. (hide spoiler)]

[HeatherH]

Akshita wrote: "8%
I suppose people were right about too many '80s references..
[spoilers removed]"

There're definitely a lot of them in there if you know what to look for!

[HeatherH]

32%
(view spoiler)[ This is a re-read for me but still loving it! I adore this virtual world and all the pop culture references. Also, Wil Wheaton narrates the audio and there couldn't be a better option imo. Parzival has gotten through the first gate and things are about to get exciting now that everyone knows he's succeeded! (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

First quarter - (view spoiler)[The prologue had me immediately invested. I'm not a huge gamer anymore but the concept of hidden easter eggs will never not appeal to me! I wasn't a fan of the 80s references in quite the same way and most went over my head but I knew to expect them from the little I knew about the book.

I quickly became less invested in this when I realised that the entire first section, of the book was basically dominated by world building. This world and the tech are SUPER interesting but we have spent SO many pages describing them in SO much detail. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Akshita wrote: "8%
I suppose people were right about too many '80s references..
[spoilers removed]"

They were pretty lost on me too!

[Dannii]

HeatherH wrote: "32%
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Glad to hear your enjoying it so much the second time around :) I don't think I'm wholly sold on it yet as the beginning has been super slow, but I am enjoying how the virtual world and our futuristic real one have been constructed. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Second quarter - (view spoiler)[I'm enjoying this infinitely more now that the quest has actually begun. The fight to get the first key was so fun and I felt very happy to have really understood my first reference when LOTR was mentioned, haha.

I was surprised how quickly the second key was reached, as I assumed it would take a good portion more of the book until we reached it.

Art3mis is an interesting character. I like her snark and am looking forward to seeing more of her character. I also really like Aech and the friendly competition he shares with Wade. They were both genuinely pleased for the other to reach the first key's placement. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Third quarter - (view spoiler)[Wade took the multiple deaths of the people in his trailer and those surrounding them too well. I understand he wasn't close to his aunt but I can't imagine feeling so little for the deaths of those I knew, regardless of how they treated me.

I'm still enjoying the actual story but couldn't really care about the blossoming romance between Wade and Art3mis. I wish the focused remained on the actual quest and the virtual world. (hide spoiler)]

[Akshita]

Dannii wrote: "Third quarter

Wow.. looks like you will finish today.
Unfortunately, i am not a very quick reader, so probably won't be posting updates frequently.
I hope you don't mind that..

[Dannii]

Akshita wrote: "Dannii wrote: "Third quarter

Wow.. looks like you will finish today.
Unfortunately, i am not a very quick reader, so probably won't be posting updates frequently.
I hope you don't mind that.."

I just finished it, lol. But of course not! I'll keep checking back in for as long as it takes you to finish. No need to rush :)

[Akshita]

Dannii wrote: "Akshita wrote: "Dannii wrote: "Third quarter

Wow.. looks like you will finish today.
Unfortunately, i am not a very quick reader, so probably won't be posting updates frequently.
I hope you don't..."

Thanks!
I am not sure how i feel about it so far. There is a lot of info dump...feels like I am reading a Wikipedia article.