Reddit reviews Ready Player One: A Novel

If you enjoyed watching Fan Boys (and enjoy reading) you should check out Ready Player One. Both the movie Fan Boys and the book Ready Player One were written by the same dude.

Also, his nerd credentials check out. He uses technological/MMO terms correctly without spewing too much made-up bullshit.


Edit: Sorry for the ambiguous wording, I meant that both Fan Boys the movie and Ready Player One, the book, were written by the same guy. As far as I know, there are no plans for a Ready Player One movie.

It was also mentioned in Ready Player One, in a key part of the story. Great read btw.

The best book I've read in recent years.

Ready Player One

It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?

By the way, there's a really good sci-fi book about VR. It's called "Ready Player One"

It's different in the narrative, but also touches upon the topic of people becoming addicted to the virtual world. It also contains a mystery that the characters had to solve, which I found to be pretty intriguing. Also, if you grew up in the 80-ies, you'll love it even more.

Looking forward to reading Ready Player One, I've been wanting to read that one, glad it was picked. Amazon has it for sale here for only $8 dollars.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, No Country for Old Men, and The Princess Bride also all seem to be fairly cheap buys on Amazon.

Read Ready Player One.. Great book that was really influenced by gaming in the 80's...well hell all things 80's

Ready Player One

Sounds like Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448

> "Quality" means nothing without privacy and comfort.
>
> This just feels like separating the rich from the poor even further.

Indeed, just take a standard dystopian sci-fi book and you will notice the poor people living in a container.

Have a little ambition, please.

Have you read Ready Player One? I think the platform they had in the book is exactly what Zuckerberg sees in the Oculus.

The Martian: A Novel - Sci Fi about a man stranded on Mars and his struggle to survive and be rescued.

Ready Player One - Sci Fi about a virtual world/video game scavenger hunt with the winner becoming the new ruler of the virtual world.

• Dune by Frank Herbert.
  
  
• Riverworld by Philip Jose Farmer - somewhat of a longshot, but something made me think of it.
  
  
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
  
  
• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.
  
  
• Battle Royale by Koushun Takami.
  
  
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
  
  
• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand .
  
  
• Neuromancer by William Gibson.
  
  
• The Running Man by Stephen King.
  
  You might even get a kick out of The Hunger Games or Divergent... And of course 1984 :)

If you like to read I suggest Ready Player One

It's a bit heavy on the '80s 'members, but otherwise a fantastic adventure story.

Started reading Ready Player One this weekend and am really enjoying it. I often wonder how technology will steer our culture in the next few years...

The second time I met Victoria (/u/chooter), she recommended Ready Player One and The Room to me. I'm not sure exactly what that says about her, but it's something good, I think :)

Ready Player One is also required reading if you enjoy this space.

Just finished, "Ready Player One" and it thoroughly entertained me.

Ready Player One

I enjoyed it, sort of a Willy Wonka meets Grand Theft Auto V less the killing.

Have you read Ready Player One? Based on the first part of this post, I think you'd really enjoy it.

I ain't so good at book descriptions but here's some stuff I really enjoyed -

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi: http://www.amazon.com/The-Windup-Girl-Paolo-Bacigalupi/dp/1597801585

The author would argue with me about this being SF - Atwood prefers the term "speculative history" I believe - but the entire Oryx and Crake trilogy is very good.
http://www.amazon.com/Oryx-Crake-Margaret-Atwood/dp/0385721676/ref=la_B000AQTHI0_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397411558&sr=1-2 the first book in Oryx and Crake, followed by Year of the Flood and Madaddam

Not so much a reference but the books title.

http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448

I try not to watch anything while I eat, it helps contribute to overeating.

For relaxing, I read. I was never a big reader, so I have to force myself to read a lot of the time. Once I start reading, I enjoy myself. If I'm not enjoying it, I'll find a new book. I'll throw out a recommendation -- Ready Player One was a pretty sweet book.

http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448

For those wondering how this was made:

1. The raw terrain is created using WorldPainter. That isn't grass; it's two shades of stained, hardened clay.
   
   
2. The large, customized trees are manually placed in using MCEdit. These trees are originally created by LetsLente and are available for download for use in your projects [here]
   (http://www.planetminecraft.com/project/native-trees-of-europe-template-repository-1779952/).
   
   
3. In ZBrush, a 3D model (the giant head) is sculpted or edited before being exported as an OBJ file.
   
   
4. That OBJ is run through Binvox to convert it to a schematic file.
   
   
5. The Schematic file is checked using ViewVox.
   
   
6. The final Schematic file is imported and posed in the WorldPainter-made World using MCEdit. It is then changed from default stone into Quartz.
   
   
7. For the first time, the world file is opened in vanilla Minecraft. Here the terrain is adjusted, with the small houses being built, the caves dug, and the waterfalls added. Smaller trees are bonemealed into existence along the ground, or hand built on the model. The model is also retrofitted to better fit it's surroundings. In my case, I needed to almost completely destroy and rebuild the nose.
   
   
8. The world is opened up using Chunky, excellent software built for rendering Minecraft worlds. The chunks that are visible from where the camera is are selected for rendering.
   
   
9. In Chunky, the render is set up. Light-colored blocks (like Quartz and Sand) have trouble rendering in Chunky under the default setup, so the sun's brightness, the photo gamma, and many other features are adjusted. The sun is also moved to where it best compliments the build. The sky is actually an image called a "Skymap" and there are many available online.
   
   
10. The scene is rendered, a process which can be very time-consuming for the computer based on the complexity of the lighting. While the scene is being rendered, it might be a good idea to leave your computer and read a book. I suggest Ready Player One by Ernest Cline or The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. ^^^DFTBA!
    
    
11. The image, now completely rendered, is imported into Photoshop. Here adjustments are made to the color of the photo. I find the David Nanchin actions to be helpful for this sort of thing, though I never run them full-strength. I also add in a water splash at the base of the water fall, and remove some pesky leaves that floated too far from their trees.
    
    
12. The final image is exported from Photoshop and is ready to be seen by the lovely people of /r/Minecraft.
    
    In Conclusion:
    
    These kinds of renders do take time. A user commented:
    
    > Pretty Certain you just imported a 3D model of a head using Binvox..
    
    And that's absolutely correct. However, that doesn't mean this kind of thing is simple to create! Certainly, this wouldn't be what it is without the help of external software- but the use of that software doesn't mean it can't be respected as a build. Don't say I just imported it-- it took a lot of work!
    
    TL;DR: I used a lotta software and it took a lotta time.

If you liked this video, you'd probably enjoy the book Ready Player One.

I can't vouch for it personally but Ready Player One has been on my to-read list for a while. I've heard from a few different sources that it's really good. Ties in with his interest in video games.

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.
But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

Agreed, I also wouldn't want to live in the past, unless your royalty, and even that is fraught with hassles. I want to live in the future on my own Dyson Sphere.

That's why the recent Interstellar movie was so interesting. An ultimately hopeful story written to advance a positive view in Sci-Fi movies, kind of like the Hieroglyph book, yet they still needed a dystopian element to even tell the story. And while there are glaring plot holes in the movie big enough to drive a black hole through, they were needed to advance the story. I still liked both the movie and the book.

Speaking of Star Trek, I wouldn't have my cell phone if some engineer didn't like it so much. Or even the Internet itself if DARPA hadn't been worried about nuclear bombs destroying the infrastructure. What's really interesting his how Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality will change society in the future. Like ReamDe or Ready Player One explore.

Nah, I've got a friend who calls herself that. I've also seen it used in Ready Player One, which is a great read, especially if you're old enough to remember the 80s.

Ready Player One

edit: Yeah, it's an angsty teen story, but it does give an interesting glimpse into how the generationally poor may develop a one-sided relationship with commercialized virtual reality.

Ready Player One. It's about a virtual reality game in the future and a contest that takes place when the inventor of the game passes away. It has a lot of 1980s pop culture trivia.
Edit: here's a link to it on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0307887448?pc_redir=1413280970&robot_redir=1

I second the Neal Stephenson suggestion, and I've got to add Ernest Cline's Ready Player One. It's as much a sendup to "nerd culture" as it is an exploration of trans-humanist themes, but it's written with much attention to detail. I couldn't put it down.

I heard about Ready Player One recently, and it sounds very interesting. It's general theme is dystopian reality with a MMO utopia. I was thinking of getting it to read while traveling for the holidays, but my library doesn't have it :(.

https://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/0307887448

Just to start the thread of Ready Player One love.

I realize there is a ton of fantastic sci-fi out there, but this book has stuck with me more than any other book in my collection.

Just recently finished "Ready Player One". A really fantastic novel chock full of awesome 80's pop culture references. Definitely an enjoyable read for anyone who loves video games, John Hughes movies, or awesome hair bands. The audio book is also narrated by Will Wheaton which is pretty great.

Good hacker/IT/short stories:

• Art of Deception - Kevin Mitnick amazon list of Mitnick
  
  
• Masters of Deception - amazon link
  
  
• Phoenix Project amazon link
  
  
• Ready Player One (good video game based science fiction) - amazon link
  
  
• Unix Haters Handbook (free PDF) - funny history of Unix bashing mailing lists link
  
  

to anyone really interested in VR and the future you really must read "Ready Player One" - http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448

Can't blame facebook for trying to make the first go at a Metaverse or Oasis. There is like a 90% chance they either ruin the company or drive it straight into irrelevance, but I might be okay with the risk to reward ratio. Especially since other companies are coming out with VR stuff to compete (hopefully).

"Ready Player One" is book about a kid world like that.

http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395719764&sr=8-1&keywords=ready+player+one

Read "Ready Player One" ? This is how it starts i bet. I wonder what the future brings. VR-goggles and haptic gloves. Haptic-tech is only in the beginner phase yet, but it will come. Then it's all integrated in some huge corp.

http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448

Here

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0553380958?pc_redir=1404734999&robot_redir=1

Snow crash

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0441569595/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1404785560&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40

Neuromancer

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0307887448/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1404785598&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40

Ready Player One

There is a stand-alone dystopian novel called ["Ready Player One"](http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/0307887448/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426611964&sr=8-1&keywords=ready+player+one_. Recently read it and pummeled through it in under a day (which is rare for me). I can't explain too much without giving a whole lot away and I haven't read the books that you have enjoyed, but I would recommend it!

Ready Player One by Earnest Cline

I think you'd like Ready Player One, it's steeped in nostalgia and gaming. It's also nice and light.

If you have any interest in video games or 80's pop culture I highly recommend the book Ready Player One, it was a really fun and engaging read.

This book is one I recommend to everyone who reads any non-romance genre of fiction with some regularity.

Looking Good, sweetheart, and so will I if I win ;)

http://www.roadtovr.com/2013/06/03/second-life-oculus-rift-support-ceo-rod-humble-interview-6348
http://www.polygon.com/2013/6/14/4429086/oculus-rift-hd-e3
=
http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448

We're watching the future happen here, people.

My favorite book would have to be Ready Player One :)
This book is so exciting, as it's about a video game virtual reality 30 years in the future. The creator of the world was single and had no kids, but he was also the richest man on the planet. Since there was no fair way to distribute his money, his will was a contest.

"Three secret keys open three hidden gates,
wherein the errant will be tested for worthy traits.
And if they have the skill to survive these straits,
they will reach the end where the prize awaits."

Halliday(The creator of the game) left this only clue to the world to try to gain his power and money. Six years passed before anyone finally figured out the first clue.

This book touches every gamer's nostalgia and you will want this game as soon as you finish the book. It makes you feel good to be a gamer. :)

Steam ID

Just Cause 2 :D

EDIT: OP, even if I don't win, I highly recommend this book :D

Has anyone read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. One part Willy Wonka one part The Matrix mixed with a side serving of John Hughes? If you like hunting for Easter Eggs this book is for you.

Edit: Punctuation

I finished 3 books last week, but 2 were easy YA books.

Hero by Mike Lupica - I know it's a kid's book and is supposed to be simple but this one was TOO simple. There was virtually no explanation as to why the kid or his father had superpowers, it felt like the author was just throwing abilities out there whenever it was convenient to give the kid more. Even though it was a kid's book, it definitely needed more depth or needs a sequel to go into further depth. I picked it up on a whim while at the library and read it in about 2 hours. I like superhero stories so that's why I decided to take it but it didn't do a whole lot for me.

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger - I really liked this one. There was a lot of sex in it for being a teen book but I guess it makes sense. The main character is a bitter, sarcastic type of girl, which I love. High school setting, the hot guy talks to her when she's at a restaurant with her friends and says he's doing it because she's the DUFF and increases his chance of getting with her hot friends. She of course hates him but over time ends up falling for him. She has a chance with the nice guy she's had a crush on for years but when they give it a go, she realizes they just don't mesh and she is meant to be with the "asshole" jock guy and he fell for her as well. It's of course a cliche storyline and predictable but it's a lot of fun, and there is a lot of great biting wit kind of humour in it. The author has written a few others I might check out. I was interested to find out that the author of The DUFF was a 19-year-old girl. It makes me frustrated because if she can do it at 19, why haven't I done it yet by 30.

Both of those were easy simple books, read them both in one day.

I then also read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book, definitely my favorite of the year so far. This seems to be a very polarizing book though, either you love it or absolutely hate it or were not impressed with it, there doesn't seem to be a lot of middle ground reviews. I thought it was a great fun adventure story set in the not-to-distant future that felt very real and quite plausible given the state of the earth's problems and our rapid progression of technology. It's 2044 and the world's gone to shit, and most of the humans spend their time jacked into OASIS, a fully immersive Virtual Reality game world. When the creator of OASIS dies, he announces a contest to inherit his fortune and control of the company. He has hidden 3 puzzles inside OASIS that the user has to find and solve, the first to do it wins. When an 18-year-old kid finds the first one after 5 years, all hell breaks loose. There is a giant corporation that cheats, steals and will even resort to murder just to win the contest, the kid is racing against them to finish it first. The creator was obsessed with the 80s and vintage pop culture, as that was when he was a kid and was his happiest time. So this OASIS world and these puzzles are filled with all kinds of references to old video games, movies, tv shows, food, and music. I loved this aspect of it because I am the right age to have been a kid in the 80s, so I remember most of the stuff in the book. Anyway, I highly recommend this one, but be warned that apparently not everyone likes it and thinks it's poorly written or patronizing.

This week I am reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower, of course, in time for the movie like everyone else driving the resurgence of popularity on this one. It shouldn't take too long, it's pretty short and easy to read.

I was considering giving The Book Thief a go but I'm thinking of scrapping that. I still have so many other books on the waiting list that I need to get to, that one not being one of them. I will see how I am feeling after 'Perks'.

It is seriously badass

Also announced that its going to be a Spielberg film, can't wait to see it come to life.

Honorable "already read them so I know they're good" mentions:

• Libba Bray - The Diviners (telepathic teenagers come together to stop a serial killer who's come back from the dead to finish what he started).
  
• Gillian Flynn - Gone Girl (a guy's wife disappears - did he do it? did she do it? who did it!? This one is a mindfuck that comes highly recommended).
  
• Ernest Cline - Ready Player One (in the not-too-distant future, 1980's culture reigns supreme, and one boy goes on a quest to win a 80s-culture scavenger hunt and save himself from his awful circumstances).

Ready Player One is a good one if you've got an interest in video games and like pop-culture references. It's a dystopian one, so feel free to ignore if that isn't your thing.

You may like Ready Player One

http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448

I would recommend my two of my favourite books

Ready Player One By Ernest Cline

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

I hope that you find a book you enjoy. Because Bookworms rule!

You might like Ready Player One.

Metagame

Ready Player One

Snow Crash

Tom Clancy's Net Force series

I kind of need to know more about that Ready Player One arcade cabinet, and I'm more than a little disappointed nobody else has asked.

Read the book (Amazon/Google Play/iTunes) before the movie comes out December 2017. (No referral links used.)

I wonder if this will work with Google Cardboard. I guess it depends on if the heavy lifting is done by the PC or the VR headset.

This is how I imagine the stacks look in Ready Player One.

Ready Player One is a novel written by Ernest Cline.

>In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.

> But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

It looks like we have a lot in common in terms of what we like to read! I absolutely love Heinlein and have read all of his books. We also have Ready Player One in common on our lists.

I think you would enjoy this book for sure. I think it has a similar feel to Heinlein but a little more modern.

Any book in my wishlist pretty much, i love reading so maybe this one.
Thanks for the contest!

This book because people on RAoA had lots of good things to say about it.

IM Banks - Consider Phlebas

Sprinkles!

Thank you.

Have you read Ready Player One? It is utterly un-put-down-able. I normally don't read for too long at a time but I couldn't put it down on a road trip!

It's about a dystopian future in which pretty much everyone just plays a virtual reality game. After the creator of the game dies his will says that whoever finds his three easter eggs in the game will inherit his fortune. + lots of 80's references.

Shaw is a brilliant actor and makes the film, IMHO. it's a shame he died relatively young. btw, check out this book if you haven't already. it's a quick but fun read. based on your responses here, you'd probably like it.

https://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/0307887448/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485409240&sr=8-1&keywords=ready+player+one
This is one of my favorite books and I think you would enjoy it.

Don't worry, SAO inspires my interest in virtual reality too. Well, I was already intrigued by the idea of a "virtual game" from way back when I read the Greed Island arc in HxH, but SAO made be dream bigger about virtual technology. I'm doing Comp Sci right now, with a concentration in Human Computer Interaction. Not sure if I'll be the the VR field some day, but it's a step closer to technology that inspires me.

I recommend checking out this book, Ready Player One. I don't really read much, but this was recommended to me and I ate through it like no tomorrow. It showcases a virtual reality system much closer to what's possible today versus SAO's nervegear design.

Maybe Ready Player One by Ernest Cline? He's writing a sequel, but I really think it can stand on its own. Here's an Amazon link so it shouldn't be spoiler-y.

Please tell me you've read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

You might like some of the following for your summer book adventures:

The Lies of Locke Lamora - if you like this one, then there's a second book in the series. I think it's shaping up to be a trilogy, but I can't recall off the top of my head. It's low fantasy, clever and occasionally snarky, with some fun intrigue and good action. It keeps up a decent pace, which is great.

If you enjoy magic realism at all, I really liked The Hummingbird's Daughter, which is about a young woman who becomes a saint. I found it to be really fascinating. It doesn't exactly qualify as magic realism, but it's fairly fantastical so you can't read it as realistic either.

The Passage was an interesting read, although I didn't finish it before I had to return it to the library, so the ending might suck :P It was a really neat blend of vampire mythology, science, and the apocalypse though, and I did make it about halfway through before I had to return it.

Finally, Ready Player One was a really neat sort of blend of space opera and adventure quest, with some good nostalgia thrown in for fun. Everyone basically lives in OASIS, which is a virtual reality sort of place, because the world is ugly and gross. This kid is taking part in a contest that everyone in the whole world takes part in, and it follows his progress. I thought it was really neat, anyway.

I'm going to ponder a bit more, and see if anything else strikes my fancy as something you might like. I love recommending books to people :)

>but for any other activity that you normally do with other people in the same room: Wii-type multiplayer games, sports, movies, etc. I really don't see it happening because the headset cuts off your communication with everyone around you.

It doesn't have to. Small microphones are ubiquitous (e.g. built into laptops) and the ultimate headset would have integrated headphones. Current VR is just now getting enough attention and funding to play with different ideas. The Valve VR headset has front mounted pinhole cameras and two spatial recognition anchors (called lighthouses) to allow you to move in a 3D space. Imagine if watching a 3D movie with someone was less like watching a screen in a theater (even a virtual theater) and instead placed you IN the movie, letting you walk around the 3D animated people like a holodeck. Difficult? Yes. Impossible? No. Unprofitable? Absolutely not. Technology is getting even more lightweight, so bulky, awkward plastic headsets will soon be able to slim to near-earbud level portability. And, once we can meet up both in person and over distance - as easily as we make calls at home and on foot - it may replace cell phones, Google Glass, VR headsets, and others with a sort of super-combine telecommunication.

For more on virtual worlds bringing people together: Second Skin

For more on Valve's VR Headset: Valve Demonstrates the Future of VR Better Than Anyone

For one possible future where VR is as I've described: Ready Player One

Sounds Ready Player One-esque. I'm personally not interested in the game within a game concept. Just gimme an efficient menu and let me play my game.

Yea, this reminds me a lot of that book "Ready Player One". Great read by the way.

http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448

book basically about that.

I've owned about a quarter of these books since high school, and I read two to three books a week, so your math isn't far off! I'd say I'm closer to maybe two thousand books, maybe 2500. I want to get an accurate count at some point! I also want to catalog them so that I can tell what I own without having to call home and have my SO tell me if I've forgotten (I forget pretty often). Just haven't gotten around to doing that yet. But someday!

Ready Player One is set in the near future, in the year 2044. It's a dystopian novel that deals with a virtual reality world. The guy who created the world died, and whoever solves his puzzle gets ownership. The puzzle is solved through a bunch of easter eggs hidden in the world, all of which involve 80's pop-culture and video game references. The first couple of chapters are kind of slow, but by about a quarter of the way in, it just sort of hooks you. I finished most of it in one night before passing it off to the SO. He's not a big reader, but he practically inhaled the book. We've been buying copies from my store when they come in, and just handing them out to friends ever since.

Indy is surprisingly graceful. He corners on a dime! My SO actually nicknamed him "Indy 500" because of his speed, although I'd say the cornering ability is more akin to that of an F1 car. Scott, on the other hand, has some slight brain damage and is pretty derp. He doesn't know how to retract his claws all the way, so they stick to the area rug in the living room as he walks across it. And his tail throws him off balance a lot when he flails it around, so he falls off the furniture when he's excited. Aw, dog! What's his (her?) name? What kind of dog? Also, dog tax.

So jealous of your weather right now! Mid-seventies is perfect. It's been in the forties and fifties this past week. 38º right now, but that's because it's five AM. Sleep is totally important! I don't do mornings. At all. Like, if I'm awake before noon, it's because someone's paying me to be. (Side note: maybe the military isn't the best idea for someone who likes to sleep in late, dude.) Field training should be interesting, if nothing else! Accepted for what?

Pressure cookers can be fun! Slow cookers might be what you're after, in the beginning. Pressure cookers can lead to accidents like this if you're not careful though. Slow cookers don't have, y'know, pressure, so they cook slower (hah, words), but it's the same principle. I've got a slow cooker, but I'm a little nervous to pick up a pressure cooker just in case! Don't want to lose my security deposit on this apartment so spectacularly. XD You should totally ask him! I bet he'd love to teach you. What kind of food does he make?

Yeah, dude, it was a pretty sad thing to watch. The guy stole a book that we paid $100 for, which we priced at $400 (Sex, by Madonna-- unopened, still in the mylar wrapping, and in perfect shape), and he got $20 for it at a pawn shop. I checked online and it doesn't look like the guy has any more convictions after that one (this was in 2013), so there's hope. His defense attorney gave a story about how the guy was abused by his father, made to steal just so he could eat... I don't doubt it. Coming from that sort of background, it's no wonder he'd turn back to theft whenever times were tough.

Jesus, our government sounds kind of like my store. We've spent so much money replacing the broken, leaky AC units that half our computers are still running WinXP while connected to the internet. Thankfully, with PCI compliance, at least they're not the POS terminals! Those are running Win7 and have no internet access. Hooray for F-35s?

Oh man, I've heard so many good things about The Witcher series! I've been meaning to pick them up, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm re-reading Discworld because SO is supposed to start them soon and I want to refresh my memory a bit. Next on my list is The Blood Mirror, by Brent Weeks. It's the fourth book in the Lightbringer series and it's a really well-done fantasy series. You should check out the Night Angel trilogy by the same author; it's good, and it's finished so you don't have to wait.

Holy crap I'm watching DS9 right now too! I'm halfway through season six! The SO and I started watching it together a few months ago, but I've been on leave because of my hysterectomy (I go back on Friday, woo!) so I powered ahead of where he last saw. Been trying to catch him up this past week. We also just finished Stranger Things, which was phenomenal. Highly recommended, especially if you liked The X-Files at all, or suspense-type stuff. After that, I don't quite know what we'll end up watching. Maybe we'll pick up Voyager? Or we might go back and actually finish TNG. I've seen lots of bits and pieces, but we never watched like, full seasons in a row. The SO grew up watching it with his dad, and has the science officer badge tattooed on his chest! I'm trying to catch up to what all he's seen, I guess.

Ready Player One; you're welcome.

Ready Player One. www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448

If you like stuff like this, I recommend reading Ready Player One! by Earnest Cline (also available in audiobook read by Wil Wheaton).

If you would be willing to allow me to swap two of the items for cheaper items, I would be grateful and appreciative if you would be okay with swapping the harry potter bracelet with this ring

I believe the ring size for that topaz ring should be 7!

and exchanging "the night circus" with "Ready Player One"

This might help ease the transition for you

Probably too late to this thread but relevant question:

Has anyone read Ready Player One? A friend recommended it for post-grad school applications fun reading but I made the mistake of starting it 2 days ago when apps are due this Friday and I'm so hooked I'm spending my lunch breaks reading it instead of editing my essays.

Ready Player One

by Earnest Cline

I'm not sure if anyone else has recommended it on this sub yet, but I will say that if you love FireFly, then you will love this book!

• Cryptonomicon
  
• Legion of the Damned
  
• Snow Crash
  
• Daemon
  
• Ubik
  
• River of Death
  
• 20,000 Leagues
  
• Halo: The Cole Protocol
  
• Halo: Ghost of Onyx
  
• READY PLAYER ONE

Ready Player One.
http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448/

If you haven’t read the book yet, ready player one is one of the best books i’ve ever read. It revolves around the idea that the world is in dystopia and almost everyone lives their life in the OASIS.

I think anyone who likes sci-fi and games and such should read it, oh it also has alot of refrences to the 80’s

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/0307887448

Thanks alot for the giveaway!

I know this post is 2 days old, which puts it in some sort of reddit graveyard, but I'll add my thoughts.

First, Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan is the definitive "modern" cyberpunk novel so check that out for sure.

Also, for more of a "5 minutes into the future" cyberpunk, check out the Nexus trilogy by Ramez Naam. The third book in the trilogy won the Philip K. Dick Award if that means anything to you.

Another series I liked, which has a great dark humor to it, is the Avery Cates series by Jeff Somers. Seriously, just read the 'About the Author' section at the bottom of that page to get an idea of the humor.

Have you read William Gibson's The Peripheral? It's a neat update on Gibson's cyberpunk vision now that the world has changed.

Someone else recommended Cory Doctorow. I actually think Little Brother is his best work, though it's young adult so prepare yourself for that.

Finally, I feel weird recommending this, but if you were a child of the 80s, have you read Ready Player One? It's pretty polarizing in this sub since you either love it or you hate it, but it is a popular modern cyberpunk novel.

Boys don't cry (title from one of my all-time favourite songs =D)
In a Year of 13 Moons (warning; REALLY triggering even from me, a pre-hrt woman who can't even cry when she is sad 9/10)
Paris Is Burning
The Crying Game (another triggering film)
The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Ma vie en rose
All about My Mother
Wild Side
Becoming Chaz
Tomboy (2011)
Beautiful Boxer (2003)
Soldier's Girl (2003)
The Badge (2002)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
Princesa (2001)
M. Butterfly (1993)
The Crying Game (1992)
Prelude to a Kiss (1992)
Myra Breckinridge (1970)

Here's a comic and book if you'd be interested in reading them:

http://www.amazon.com/Flutter-Vol-Hell-Can-Wait/dp/1484085957
About a cis lesbian who has the ability to shapeshift, including into a male, and has a huge crush on a straight girl to the point that she pretends to be a man, believing that she would be able to have a "straight" relationship that way. She isn't trans, at least not identified as a trans man since she identifies internally as a woman even when taking on a male body. If she's non-binary it doesn't seem like the series is intending her to be. Still its a good story and a decent ending for its first volume. It also has a side plot that could be inevitable in real life at this point: a rally of bigotted right-wingers trying to ban same sex marriage in the USA. It's second volume is kindle only on amazon so far so i haven't read it yet, but hopefully its as good as the original.
http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Like-Me-Jennie-Wood/dp/0692238069/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0DBX3BECWSV19086RCVF
She also made A Boy Like Me, a novel about a self-identified trans man, though this isn't scifi or fantasy like flutter is. Very sad at times, even for a trans feminine person like me who wishes i could switch places with him...
http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/0307887448/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1445063355&sr=1-1&keywords=ready+player+one

Read Ready Player One.
http://readyplayerone.com/

-


http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448

That is the future. Right there. Oh... maybe some political stuff might be different, and I think the tech will actually be better than in the book - unless we blow ourselves up, or suffer an economic apocalypse - I am convinced that the gaming life in this book is what we will see and experience.

I'm not going to call any of them "literature", but I've read and enjoyed a bunch of new-ish books recently.

• Ready Player One
  
  
• Little Brother/Homeland
  
  
• John Dies at the End
  
  
• Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates (and pretty much anything else by Tom Robbins)

You guys should check Ready Player One. It is essentially somewhat of a depiction of this picture. The world has gone to shit and they use video games and virtual reality to go to school and pretty much live a second life. The book is amazing in my opinion and written very well.

Ready Player One

If you think that's depressing, you should(n't) read Ready Player One.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline?

Movie: Headhunters. Don't let the subtitles deter you from watching this.

Song: Levan Polka

Book: Ready Player One

Been looking into this one. Heard there was a movie being made also. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0307887448/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2V8XJ4ANWV155&coliid=I1UAPN3PRPMCB8>

Sorry...that would help, wouldn't it...

Little Big Man is a historical fiction told from the perspective of a 111 year old man who recounts his time as a young boy moving west, then living with the Cheyenne, and then back with whites again. Along the way he meets all kinds of characters and figures. Think 18th century Forrest Gump (written a while before Gump though). I always used the Dustin Hoffman movie when I taught history but never read the book.

Ready Player One is a young adult novel set in 2044 where most of the population lives within a virtual reality gaming world and the real world has fallen to ruin. Within the game, its creator (a 1980s child and pool culture junkie) had created a quest to inherit his billions after his death. The story follows one, then a group of young players as they race against a mega-corporation to complete the three levels of the quest and earn their billions. It wasn't too bad since I got just about all the references and it wasn't wholly predictable as YA books can be, even if it was a light juvenile in parts with the writing.

Try Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/0307887448

"Ready Player One takes place in the not-so-distant future--the world has turned into a very bleak place, but luckily there is OASIS, a virtual reality world that is a vast online utopia. People can plug into OASIS to play, go to school, earn money, and even meet other people (or at least they can meet their avatars), and for protagonist Wade Watts it certainly beats passing the time in his grim, poverty-stricken real life. Along with millions of other world-wide citizens, Wade dreams of finding three keys left behind by James Halliday, the now-deceased creator of OASIS and the richest man to have ever lived. The keys are rumored to be hidden inside OASIS, and whoever finds them will inherit Halliday’s fortune. But Halliday has not made it easy. And there are real dangers in this virtual world. "

Ready Player One reference? Needs a Z, but I bet it is since he's a good parallel to Halliday or the Great and Powerful Og.

It caught me off-guard too. A buddy who also reads and loves Suarez's work, IM'd me one day asking if I got my copy yet, assuming I had pre-ordered. Needless to say I was on Amazon within 5 minutes.

If you liked Daemon and Freedom, check out Ready Player One.

Ready Player One is a fine choice for a young adult. Little bit of romance but nothing crazy. https://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/0307887448?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

I love books too, but struggle soooooo much with them. Meds seem like they are helping a little bit, as does scheduling a specific time of day (when the meds are working) to read. I'm trying to read for 15 minutes before lunch. That seems to be working, and I'm hoping that eventually I can build up to an hour.

Ready Player One has really held my interest! I might be able to finish it!! WOO!

Ready Player One?

OH MY GOODNESS they are so cute!!! :3 I have a little chihuahua/rat terrior mix named Pookie :)

Young Adult is great! I really enjoy dystopias as well! If you're interested in trekking down that path, a few good Young Adult/Dystopias are The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Giver. I also highly recommend Ready Player One and The Handmaids Tale :D

Relevant book: Ready Player 1

One of the main characters lives in an RV, from where she taps into the virtual reality universe.

It's one of the best scifi books I've ever read, btw. Highly recommended.

Gotcha, I totally understand. I don't think your assessments are incorrect! PS I also loved A Monster Calls.

I always recommend from Marcus Zusak - I Am The Messenger. He wrote The Book Thief, which got a lot of traction (because of the movie) but this is an earlier work with I think more gravity/character development, and a good bit of humor. It's about this kid who's an underage cab driver, kind of a loser, and starts getting these cards in the mail, putting him on a bunch of missions, all the while wondering who's responsible, and why. A bit fantastical, but also grounded.

​

Ready Player One crushes the atmosphere/setting, but if you're not into video games/VR as a theme, it might not be as interesting. However, my 65 year-old mom knows nothing about video games and she liked it, too, if that means anything, haha.

I mostly get audio books.

The books this year.

• 7 Halo books
  
• 1 mass effect book
  
• 5 Star Force books
  
• Ready Player One
  
• For The Win & The Makers by Cory Doctorow
  
• Into the Black: Odyssey One
  
• Redshirts
  
• The Black cloud by Fred Hoyle
  
• City of Golden Shadow (Otherland, Volume 1)
  

> It's not much different from a movie that claimed that the Earth was flat & that people said it was round as a conspiracy

That would be a fine premise for a movie. In the right hands, it could even make for a great movie. Playing with what the audience thinks it knows and turning that on its head, even if you're doing it with bullshit, is a classic storytelling device.

> or someone playing a game like WoW just to find an in-game Walmart.

So, the inevitable film adaptation of Ready Player One, then?

> universally acclaimed is unfounded

> ny times bestseller

> http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448

> umad