September's BotM-Ready Player One

[Katelyn]

I'm really enjoying this one so far. I'm 75% in and I plan on finishing it soon.

[Katelyn]

I loved it!!

[Nakita]

OMG!! I loved this book so much!!

[Katelyn]

Nakita wrote: "OMG!! I loved this book so much!!"

YAY! Me too!!

[Nakita]

katelyn, while reading ready player one I felt like the characters sounded a lot younger than they were supposed to be, around 13, though they were 17. idk if it was just that they were too innovent, or immature. but sarah said she felt the characters felt older. what did you think?

[Katelyn]

Good question. You know, I didn't think about it much while reading it. Looking back, I think they seemed a little right for their age if not a little older. I do see where you're coming from too though. I wonder if it's just the world they live in that makes them seem innocent and slightly immature.

[Nakita]

Possibly. It could also be that I projecting myself on to the characters, and I started to get really into the internet and such at a young age.

[Sarah]

yea i agree with Katelyn. I thought the exact same thing :)

[Jennifer]

So I just finished and I'm wondering if anyone will mind if I post some book club type questions from online that we can all answer?

[Katelyn]

Jennifer wrote: "So I just finished and I'm wondering if anyone will mind if I post some book club type questions from online that we can all answer?"

Go for it! :)

[Jennifer]

QUESTION: Did the author do a good job of world-building? Could our community start looking like the
stacks by the year 2044?

[Nakita]

Yes. however, I don't think everyone would flock to cities. I think there would be some people who would prefere to live off the grid. I know my husband would, and as long as they were prepared and knew what they were doing, they would be fine and have a decent living. I think it would have made for a more interesting book if wade had run into people living off the grid, and living better than he was and would have afforded much better character growth.

[Katelyn]

I think she did a good job at world-building. I don't really see our community looking like that but I don't think that makes it unrealistic. The author, as all dystopian authors, took liberties with how our future will turn out because it suited her story and because nobody knows for sure.

[Jennifer]

I think, barring some huge tragedy that collapses our economy, it's unlikely that our landscape will change that drastically by 2044. But with our population growth and rising cost of living, The Stacks are not a completely unrealistic idea. I've seen several stories about single person dwellings that are being developed to help with the housing shortage.
I'm sure there would be plenty of people that stayed away from the big cities but I suspect those would be the people that already owned land and had an idea of how to support themselves. For those that live in the city and can't afford to buy land or continue to pay for an apartment if their rent doubles, they wouldn't have much of a choice but to maybe rent out a room in their current place. Things could easily escalate from there with people just trying to make ends meet and survive.

[Jennifer]

QUESTION: Explore the question of identity raised in the novel. What do the characters’ avatars tell us
about their desires and their insecurities? In reality, does our physical appearance give false
clues about who we really are?

[Sarah]

I would say yes. People tend to look at a person and start judging who they think they are but then they find out there completely different.

[Nakita]

*they're

[Sarah]

Nakita wrote: "*they're"

:p

[Jennifer]

Sarah wrote: "I would say yes. People tend to look at a person and start judging who they think they are but then they find out there completely different."

I tend to agree. I tend to be sort of judgey. I don't want or mean to be and it's something that I've been working on but it comes so naturally that it's a hard habit to break. I feel like people treat me a lot differently than they used to when I was really skinny. I've had random people shout comments at me in a parking lot because of my weight and it's fairly heartbreaking. I'm still the same person I always was but some people can't see past the exterior.

[Sarah]

Jennifer wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I would say yes. People tend to look at a person and start judging who they think they are but then they find out there completely different."

I tend to agree. I tend to be sort of j..."

Yea i understand that. I starting gaining in middle school and people do judge by weight.

[Nakita]

I've been made fun of my whole life for being over weight...