Apr 2020 - READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline

[Andrew, moderator]

This topic is for discussion of our April 2020 group read, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

To all who voted: thank you!
To everyone: I hope you'll participate and read this selection for our book club.
For those who do: share your thoughts as you read, please!
Spoilers are allowed; add a considerate warning if your comment includes any so members have the option to skip.

A few notes on this book:
* It came in at #76 on the final Great American Read list.
* It has a 4.27 average Goodreads rating.
* It was published in 2011, and was Cline's first novel.
* It was adapted into a movie, directed by Steven Spielberg, in 2018.
* And here's a relevant quote from the book, given the current situation in most parts of the world: "Going outside is highly overrated."

[Kevin]

Thanks!

[Mary]

I read this for my book club. I didn't used to think I was a fan of science fiction, but after reading this, The Martian, and Artemis, I think I might be. It was better than I expected. I'd like to also see the movie. I felt like I got to know the characters.

[Tajuana]

I just finished the book. I didn’t expect it to be as good as it is, considering that I don’t typically read sci-fi. I can’t wait to watch the movie!

[Andrew, moderator]

I started this yesterday. It's definitely the kind of thing I usually like, and I'm enjoying it so far. I'm a child of the 80s, much like the author, so most of the pop culture references are very familiar to me.

I've been pretty busy with work this week, but I have some downtime today, so hopefully I can make some progress on it.

[Andrew, moderator]

I'm about halfway through this book. I was kind of hoping I could finish it this weekend, but I probably won't.

There's a passage describing the main character's living arrangements and daily routine that sounds a little familiar to my own, right now. (I'll put this in spoiler tags, even though it's not much of a spoiler.) (view spoiler)[He's living in a modest one-room apartment, barely ever leaving it, and spending most of his time in the OASIS. He's working from home. He gets everything he needs by delivery, and doesn't ever really interact with the delivery people, or anyone else in the real world. (hide spoiler)] My own existence isn't quite as isolated as his, but it's not that far off. I'm in my apartment alone for, generally, 23.5 hours out of every day. I order a lot of essentials online and get them delivered. Most of my social interaction is via the internet, or text message, with an occasional phone call.

Early on in this book, it was looking like it might just be a fun adventure novel with a bunch of 80s pop-culture references, and no deeper theme, but it seems to be developing an undercurrent about the difference between real life and fantasy, between our idealized self vs our actual self. Anyway, I'm enjoying it a lot.

[Andrew, moderator]

I finished reading this today Here's a link to my review. This was definitely a fun, light, book to read while trying to deal with the mental load of the ongoing pandemic.

I also enjoyed listening to a Spotify playlist created by the author, some time ago, of many of the songs mentioned in the book. Here's a link to the playlist, for anyone else who might be interested.

I'm not really sure this book belongs on the Great American Read list, along with stuff like War and Peace and To Kill A Mockingbird, but it's a lot of fun.