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Details to be posted shortly, but the winner of the poll is Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, and discussion starts 7 June. So start trying to grab a copy if you're up for it....

As I mentioned in the selection thread, I got a copy of the audiobook from the library read by Wil Wheaton, and it is an excellent reading. Usually I'm not that big an audiobook person, I listen when I can't be reading a physical book. In this case I would find mindless tasks to do so I could keep listening.

I read this a couple years back and really enjoyed it, so you guys are in for some fun. I'll try to stop by the discussion once it starts!

2013 Group Read #4: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

GROUP READ DETAILS
Reading starts: As soon as you're able
Discussion Starts: 7 June 2013
*On the day, I'll add a note to the title of this thread to let people know the discussion's started. In the meantime, people can stop by this thread to chat, and I might post some bonus material about the book- but no spoilers until discussion opens please.

FACTS & TRIVIA
*Length: 374 pages
*First published: August 2011
*Author: Ernest Cline (US)
*This is Cline's first novel
*The book received an Alex Award in 2012 (from the Young Adult Library Services Association division of the American Library Association) and won the 2012 Prometheus Award (a US award for "libertarian" sci-fi).
*10months after the first edition release, Cline revealed on his blog that the book contained an elaborately hidden easter egg. This clue would form the first part of a series of staged video gaming tests, similar to the plot of the novel with the grand prize being a DeLorean. The final stage was to set a world record on one of several classic arcade or Atari 2600 games. This was completed by Craig Queen, who set a new world record in Joust. He was awarded his DeLorean on the TV show X-Play.
*Warner Bros. bought the rights to the film in June 2010.
*Cline also wrote the screenplay for the movie Fanboys. (Which I own a copy of & which is really cute! - R)


Additional Material
(You may want to avoid spoilers and read the articles after reading the book. Up to you..)
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For anyone who finishes I found discussing the book. Haven't listened yet but these guys end to be quite funny so I expect they're good :D

I just spent the afternoon downloading the audiobook (not easy without wifi, and very expensive when you factor in prepaid broadband charges)... only to remember just how much I dislike Wil Wheaton.
Damn you, Wesley Crusher! *shakes fists at sky*

Going back to reading the paper version. It's much less blurry in my head that way.

Ruby wrote: "I just spent the afternoon downloading the audiobook (not easy without wifi, and very expensive when you factor in prepaid broadband charges)... only to remember just how much I dislike Wil Wheaton..."

Ah, yes. You have not been keeping up with the Wheaton. He's redeemed himself for Wesley Crusher in the eyes of many who follow his gaming and internet activities, especially his guest appearances on 'The Guild'. If you still have the old image embedded in your psyche, I can see how it would be a problem.

Whitney wrote: "Ruby wrote: "I just spent the afternoon downloading the audiobook (not easy without wifi, and very expensive when you factor in prepaid broadband charges)... only to remember just how much I dislik..."

I know about some of that stuff.... I just can't bring myself to like him. He still irritates me. His delivery on the audiobook is pretty hammy too. I went back over the first couple chapters last night, and kept thinking how different it was in tone to what I was getting from the audio. To be fair, that's pretty much the way it usually goes for me with audiobooks though.

I'm in!

I'm in!

Anne wrote: "I'm in!"

Anne wrote: "I'm in!"

There's a glitch in The Oasis!

Ha!

I'm in. I skipped the last group read due to the afore mentioned cat problems etc but I can see from the synopsis that this is right up my alley. Before I joined ŷ������, I just read one book at a time, now I am going from book to book and surprised to find that it is possible to keep multiple pots etc going on in my head at the same time.

For anyone else reading along, here are the links to the songs from Ernest Cline's "official soundtrack" to the book. Tonight I'm planning to turn off the telly and put this on while I read. Enjoy!

"Official" Mix Tape on Ernie's Blog:

from Castle Anorak

..and the Spotify soundtrack:

Ruby wrote: "For anyone else reading along, here are the links to the songs from Ernest Cline's "official soundtrack" to the book. Tonight I'm planning to turn off the telly and put this on while I read. Enjoy!..."

Aww I wish I seen this when I first read this, love the idea of having a soundtrack to a book

Rachael wrote: "Ruby wrote: "For anyone else reading along, here are the links to the songs from Ernest Cline's "official soundtrack" to the book. Tonight I'm planning to turn off the telly and put this on while I..."

Me too. I just finished the book!

Still, for anyone who hasn't finished reading, please to enjoy my Unofficial Ready Player One Extension Soundtrack -
I made this extension track list so that, in addition to the songs in the official soundtrack, I could hear some of the Australian, Kiwi & UK songs I listened to in the 80s. I tried to stick to tracks that at least vaguely relate to the book, which helped keep it down to 14 songs. Enjoy!

Just saw that this is the next group reading. I've been wanting to read this book. Now I have an excuse to. I'm not sure how far I will get by the 7th but I will try to participate if I can.

Good on you, Karina. It is a fairly quick read.

I have to admit, my little 80s soundtrack has been slowly growing as I remember tracks that just HAVE to be on there!

Came across this little list of allusions and cultural references from the book:

Little List?? That is awesome.

Marc wrote: "Came across this little list of allusions and cultural references from the book:
"

That's wonderful! I knew there had to be a definitive list somewhere!

And on that note..... DISCUSSION IS NOW OPEN!

I really enjoyed the book, but then I was born in the same year as Halliday, and I'm a bit obsessed with 1984 (the year, not the book).

I'm keen to hear what other people thought: Did you find the pop culture references accessible?

One thing I didn't like about the book was that the bad guys were really over-the-top-comic-bookish, to the point of being cliches. It's a fairly minor complaint though.

I was born in the decade before Halliday, but the references covered my experiences pretty thoroughly. I suspect that I saw a lot of those films in the theater that he would have seen initially on video. He also was more familiar with the Japanese cartoons from the late 1970's than I am. I'd also like to hear what people unfamiliar with 80's pop culture thought of the constant references and endless arguments about things like Lady Hawke.

I was willing to overlook a lot of the minor quibbles I could pick with this book, but three things did bug me:

-The cartoony evil corporate bad guys, as you said.

-That a kid who grew up with drug addicts and abusive relatives in 'the stacks' would have identical sensibilities to a middle-class suburban nerd.

-And most of all, the little lecture from Halliday in the end about how important real life is. This is a book that is an unmitigated celebration of popular media and total immersion in the internet. A character that created a challenge intended to get people to dedicate their entire lives to watching old movies, playing video games, and adventuring in The Oasis tells us, at the very end, that life is out there. Lip service at its lamest.

One of the things I did like, aside from the joy ride that was the book, was how it touched on the equality of people online. It also (lightly) touched on how our online personal relationships differ from real-life relationships. When back online, Wade couldn't help but reconnect with Aitch as his long-time buddy, despite having found out she was someone very different from what he thought. I find similar things in my interactions with 'real' people; they are very different online than in real life. Sometimes it seems awkward to bring up conversations that happened online in person, as if it was almost two different people. Anyone else have this kind of experience?

I did wish the book was longer, a lot of the action sequences could have been more detailed and the characters a little more developed.

On the whole, I thought the book was great. The 80s pop culture references gave me warm fuzzy feelings :D The book gets a thumbs up from me!

This book felt to me just like an '80s movie: melodramatic, sappy, corny, and ridiculously charming in spite of all that! I don't think anyone who doesn't have at least a partial pop-cultural attachment to the '80s would enjoy this book (or anyone not in to the geekier side of pop culture, and I mean that in a fond way). I was born in '75 so reading this book was literally like a sentimental journal through my childhood. I would file this under "guilty pleasures".

Whitney wrote: "I find similar things in my interactions with 'real' people; they are very different online than in real life. Sometimes it seems awkward to bring up conversations that happened online in person, as if it was almost two different people. Anyone else have this kind of experience?"

Although their actual physical appearances differed a lot from their avatars in the book, the characters' personalities seemed consistent from virtual to real worlds. I've befriended people online and then met them years later in person with mixed success/ease. It's probably easier to be open online as you can't see how people react to you when you tell them you have a third nipple or that your parents made you panhandle on their behalf after elementary school.

One question I had while reading is for what age group this book was intended? The total '80s immersion would certainly make it appeal to the 30-50 yr. olds who lived through this era, but the emotional development of the characters and the lightheartedness make it feel like it's geared toward tweens (Z essentially gets his aunt killed, the neighbor he actually likes, and presumably many others and hardly seems to bat an eye).

I loved this book the same way I do the Flash Gordon movie that came out in 1980:

Whitney wrote: "I was born in the decade before Halliday, but the references covered my experiences pretty thoroughly. I suspect that I saw a lot of those films in the theater that he would have seen initially on ..."

I can't quite figure out when Halliday was born, but I suspect we're the same age, roughly.

I enjoyed the Ladyhawke references, but I like that, to Wade, the focus is on Broderick. It had Rutger Hauer AND Michelle Pfeiffer!

My review. I think I said more than once that I don't understand how it can be popular with the young folk...

I'm also shocked that it won a Prometheus award, honoring "libertarian fiction". Did I completely misunderstand the story? Is it not a condemnation of libertarianism? Sure, libertarian values work great inside the OASIS, but IRL the world is also running on L. Neil Smith's libertarian lines, and it's already gone to hell in a handbasket.

I had a huge list of dislikes, but it rang so many bells that I couldn't help loving it in the end.
- IOI: The Sixers. Really, that's just sloppy. Either, they should have been "fivers" or he should have found a way to call the company IIO. And if that doesn't make any sense, I don't think you're Cline's target audience.

- Halliday didn’t seem to have had very discerning taste. He listened to everything. So I did too. Pop, rock, new wave, punk, heavy metal. From the Police to Journey to R.E.M. to the Clash That's pretty discerning, compared to most of the other groups mentioned later (Rush excepted - "“the Gods of the North.�� Right on!).

- The Distracted Globe was located at the western-hemisphere intersection of the Boulevard and the Avenue, two brightly lit streets that stretched completely around the planet along its equator and prime meridian. Ahem. The prime meridian divides the western hemisphere from the eastern... How do you therefore get a "western intersection" of the PM and the equator?

- Typical American inability to understand the metric system. Wade/Bryce's apartment is said to be "ba­si­cally a cube, about ten me­ters long on each side." Assuming he really meant ten meters square, with a normal height (10 meters being a waste of about three floors), that's about a thousand square feet. That's larger than most apartments today, and surely ten feet squared is enough for someone who's grown up with half of the inside of a minivan, and a slot beside the dryer.

- Black Tiger had first been released in Japan under its original title Burakku Doragon. Black Dragon. The game had been renamed for its American release. I just felt this was gratuitously racist, even if true. It's the same name!

- My reinforced plate-titanium WarDoor swung down from the ceiling... Huh? So cocky, that he knows IOI will never show up without warning. In any case, when he first described the WarDoor, he implied it was permanently in place - which is the only thing that makes sense.

But I loved all the pop-culture references, and it made me feel my first university education (the one I wasted on D&D) might be worthwhile after all.

This strikes me as the perfect book to run through the website (which shows the links to other books, music, people, etc. in any book you search.

Derek, I didn't get the IIO reference (I assume it has to do with programming... Linux? So I also didn't get the "fivers" reference you made.) For no particular reason, I kept wanting to read IOI as AOL as I was going through the book (more for the rhythm of the letters than as some sort of direct analogy).

This book also struck me as the type of thing that could emerge from research done using marketing/demographic databases simply because none of the references seemed to be too esoteric or rare (I never considered myself a true geek because although I could finish most of the lines in Star Wars, all my friends and cousins could do this, as well as give the model numbers and specs for weapons and spacecraft). I kept wanting to see Halliday and Og as Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, but I think that's a stretch.

No, Linux is too new-fangled to be relevant to RP1. It's simple binary.

I am having a hard time deciding on what to rate this book.

As said before the characters were one dimensional (all of them) and I found the story cliched and very predictable. As Science Fiction the future prediction seemed very accurate and believable, but in the end there was no deeper meaning to it. A very shallow Sci Fi story.

Most of the references used in the novel really did not need to be in it. A lot of times it just seemed like the author trying to prove his "Geek Cred". It felt forced and kind of gimmicky.

But...... all in all I guess it worked. I did enjoy it through all the faults. Plus Rush's 2112. So epic.

Despite knowing nothing about gaming and disliking most things about the 80s, I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun exciting and really quite charming read. It was maybe a bit Young Adulty but in a good way. I shall look forward to Mr Clines next book, whatever the subject matter!

I was born in 84 so I don't remember much about the 80s. I was busy watching Inspector Gadget. I still found this book incredibly enjoyable even if I didn't understand all the references.

I thought the book was entertaining and reminded me a lot about my friends and I when we discuss pop culture. We're always trying to out geek the other with some movie or comic or video game reference. So even though I agree with the characters being slightly underdeveloped, I could also somewhat relate to them.

The book also made me nostalgic. Obviously not for the movies, games, ect mentioned in the book since most I have never encountered but for things from my childhood that I enjoyed. So I don't know if that was the books intended purpose but I love this book because of the memories that it brought up in me.

I had voted for another book for this Group Read, but since everyone was into this one, I went ahead and gave it a read. Although I'm definitely not as enthusiastic as some, it was kind of fun, yes, in an amiably geeky way. That said, I found it almost exasperatingly limited as a novel. Cline seems to list and explain more than he actually writes. I have nothing against spare prose, but some of the writing is so basic that it felt a bit ploddding. Like Derek, i underlined a few passages, and one of them really gave me a laugh:
"The '80s was a long decade (ten whole years), and Halliday didn't seem to have very discerning tastes."
Is it a joke? Ten whole years? I have more, but well...
Ben wrote: "Most of the references used in the novel really did not need to be in it. (..." )
I agree that a lot of the name-dropping was mostly decorative, ding-dong bell-ringing. But some of it was fun. My general impression: inoffesnsive and kind of fun. But I still think it would probably like RPO better as a film rather than a novel. just saying.

Yes, I think it's a joke. But my five year old could make a joke that good - and I don't have any kids...

I think, though, that all the 80s references DO need to be there - or we're left with very little of interest.

Derek wrote: "I can't quite figure out when Halliday was born, but I suspect we're the same age, roughly...."

He was born in '72.

"I think, though, that all the 80s references DO need to be there - or we're left with very..."

Yep. Pretty much the whole point of the book was to make a lot of references to 80's culture, whether germane to the plot or not. And even when they were relevant, I'd say it was more a case of the plot serving the references than the other way around. If you don't dig a lot of pop culture references, you are extremely unlikely to dig the book.

I'm also shocked that it won a Prometheus award, honoring "libertarian fiction".

In my experience, libertarians tend to focus on the 'freedom' side of things, and then start mumbling incoherently when asked about hospitals and sever systems.

Black Tiger had first been released in Japan under its original title Burakku Doragon. Black Dragon. The game had been renamed for its American release. I just felt this was gratuitously racist, even if true. It's the same name!

Wait, explain. To me this was just another bit of pop trivia. What are you keying into that says racism?

The 'Ten whole years" thing struck me as a toss-off wisecrack, not worth the extent of analysis it seems to be getting. The quibbles about the 10 meter high apartment and the prime meridian are legit. In a book that is a celebration of geekery, these are the kind of mistakes you shouldn't be seeing.

In short though, I'd say most everyone's criticism is valid. This is by no means a great work of literature. It's a bible of 80's trivia and video game geek-out framed by a wafer-thin story. I still loved it.

Well, "Burakku Doragon" is not Japanese. I'm not sure what they call it, but I understand that it's fairly common in Japan to use English names that are just slightly modified to sound more Japanese, but to say then that they "renamed" it for the American release is just laughing at the Japanese for not being able to say "Black".

Derek wrote: "Well, "Burakku Doragon" is not Japanese. I'm not sure what they call it, but I understand that it's fairly common in Japan to use English names that are just slightly modified to sound more Japanes..."

But they renamed it 'Black Tiger' instead of 'Black Dragon'.

Oh, wait, I think I see how you're reading it. Him saying 'Black Dragon' after 'Burakku Doragon' is him translating (or interpreting) the Japanese name. When he says they renamed it, he's referring to the American name of 'Black Tiger'.

I am without my computer till Monday so just want to make this one comment. What with the various Japanese animated series listed, I was surprised that the cult favorite Galaxy Express was not one of Wades influences. I was a mom in the 80's

Ah. Right. I guess I should have noticed that Tiger �� Dragon. Never mind. We return you now to your regularly scheduled discussion...

Derek wrote: "Well, "Burakku Doragon" is not Japanese. I'm not sure what they call it, but I understand that it's fairly common in Japan to use English names that are just slightly modified to sound more Japanes..."

Completely off-topic also: Is it weird that every time I glance at this post, my brain registers it as, "Bukkake Dragon"?

Whitney wrote: "A bunch of stuff..."
I agree with the entirety of your response, and thank you for saving me the trouble of figuring out how to say the same thing. :)

I didn't understand some of the stuff with Daito & Shoto also ( I mean apart from the rampant stereotyping of Japanese culture). There's a line about how the younger of the two lost his shit when the other one suggested they meet in real life, but it never really explains why. Did anyone else work that out?

I have to say, I did think some of the references were obscure enough to please me greatly - particularly the Max Headroom ones. I am the only person I know who recognises (and reveres) Matt Frewer from that role. I nearly wet myself when I saw that first reference.

Then again, perhaps this is because I'm Australian and the bulk of the references were American. Over here, (predicatbly) there was more weight at the time given to UK pop culture than is reflected in this book.

My partner is younger, (born in 1976) and hasn't read the book - He thinks he won't get the references because of his age. I thought I spotted quite a lot of late 80s references though. Are there any 76ers here that can comment?

I was okay with the thin plot and lack of character depth for the most part, but I think the villains could have been more subtle and with a better backstory without losing the comic-book/80s teen flick vibe.

Well, I wasn't born until 1988 and I still got a lot of the references... though definitely not all of them.

Ruby wrote: "Completely off-topic also: Is it weird that every time I glance at this post, my brain registers it as, "Bukkake Dragon"? ..."

Yes. And what's weirder is that I've seen 'bukkake' mentioned in two different places today. Neither one actuality dedicated to a discussion of bukkake, I would like to add.

Ruby wrote: "I didn't understand some of the stuff with Daito & Shoto also ( I mean apart from the rampant stereotyping of Japanese culture). There's a line about how the younger of the two lost his shit when the other one suggested they meet in real life, but it never really explains why. Did anyone else work that out?..."

Oh, yeah, them. I would like to retroactively add them to the list of things that bothered me. They were indeed most honorable stereotypes, and also pretty much the redshirts of the story. I suppose the Daito freak out may have been related to his total anti-social, shut-in status. Shoto says they were "hikikomori". Here's a wikipedia link: .

Whitney wrote: "Ruby wrote: "I didn't understand some of the stuff with Daito & Shoto also ( I mean apart from the rampant stereotyping of Japanese culture). There's a line about how the younger of the two lost hi..."

Yeah, fair enough. I just sort of assumed the book would explain his backstory a little.

Whitney wrote: "what's weirder is that I've seen 'bukkake' mentioned in two different places today. Neither one actuality dedicated to a discussion of bukkake, I would like to add. ..."

Does this help?

Derek wrote: "Black Tiger had first been released in Japan under its original title Burakku Doragon. Black Dragon. The game had been renamed for its American release. I just felt this was gratuitously racist, even if true. It's the same name!..."

Ignoring the whole dragon/tiger thing - I don't think it is racist to use the "Burakku Doragon" term. It's a legitimate Japanese form of speech, based on an English phrase.

I think it's similar in concept to some of the Scots/English writing I've seen, (like Irvine Welsh's books for example). A lot of non-Scots saw that as a bit of a gimmick, just phonetic spelling of Scottish people's accents when speaking English, albeit with a bit of local slang. But there are many who speak this way, so why wouldn't the written language be the same as spoken? I understand there's been a movement towards further recognition of this as a legitimate written language form for a while now.

I should note that I "understand" this NOW, having made what turns out to have been a rather ignorant comment on Twitter last year - along the lines of "Oh, are we being Irvine Welsh today?" Luckily I have Twitter buddies, who are willing to explain these things! I'm hoping Leo will jump in here too........... :)

Ruby wrote: "Whitney wrote: "what's weirder is that I've seen 'bukkake' mentioned in two different places today. Neither one actuality dedicated to a discussion of bukkake, I would like to add. ..."

Does this ..."

I don't feel a need to click the link, thanks. I think I've got a clear enough handle on the concept (so to speak).


"Ignoring the whole dragon/tiger thing - I don't think it is racist to use the "Burakku Doragon" term. It's a legitimate Japanese form of speech, based on an English phrase..."?

The original comment was based on a misreading. See messages 37 and 39.

What she said! You can't really ignore "the whole dragon/tiger thing", because renaming "Borakku Dorragon" to "Black Tiger" is legitimate. Especially if Japanese dragons are more like Chinese dragons than western ones; they'd look more like tigers than our winged dragons.

But yeah, it's weird that you keep seeing that as "Bukkake". Unfortunately, so do I...

"I am the only person I know who recognises (and reveres) Matt Frewer from that role. I nearly wet myself when I saw that first reference."

I wouldn't go that far, though all my friends know Max! I was juiced when he introduced Max and didn't immediately reference Max Headroom - and then he ruined it be explaining on the next page. Have you seen the BBC America show Orphan Black? Frewer shows up in episode 3 or 4 as a recurring character, and my wife and I both yelled "Max Headroom!" the moment he appeared.

Derek wrote: "I wouldn't go that far, though all my friends know Max! I was juiced when he introduced Max and didn't immediately reference Max Headroom - and then he ruined it be explaining on the next page.

But he did leave the 'Bryce Lynch' pseudonym unexplained for those who like to pick out the references for themselves.